alun callender's blog

This month in Homes and Gardens magazine is a feature on Jessica Light, who creates with time old traditions and a wide range of materials beautiful passementerie.

Her trims and tassels are used by fashion and interior designers as well as appearing in royal commissions.

I went to photograph Elizabeth Ockford at her studio as she was creating a new range of wallpaper for Zoffany.

She uses traditional print making techniques that have hardly changed for almost 500 years, creating stunning designs.

It was for &London, a beautifully designed new publication for Strutt & Parker.

I finally got to see the Hofesh Shechter Dance company perform Political Mother, it was an incredible performance combining contemporary dance, with the atmosphere of a Rock performance with the oppressive power of a George Orwell Novel.

If you get the chance to book tickets I strongly urge you to go, it was certainly an experience and the first dance performance I’ve been to that handed out ear plugs before hand!

I had the chance to photograph Hofesh Shechter in 2010 just before the debut of Political Mother for the Brighton festival, and to have the chance to photograph the end of a rehearsal.

More details to be found here:

http://www.politicalmother.co.uk/politicalmother.html

Its that time of year when the parsnip makes a welcome return to the blog!

To celebrate this lovely cold weather, a spicy soup is in the making.

To follow its progress I’ve downloaded the David Loftus Hipstamatic pak. How splendid it is!

Both the soup & the app.

Ptolemy Mann is a brilliant weaver, textile designer & colour consultant.

She seamlessly blends traditional techniques with the latest digital technology, creating inspiring colour combinations.

It was a really interesting morning spent in her London studio on commission for Homes and Gardens.

Lunch was served up by Mark Hix during the summer for a Marie Claire shoot.

The chef created a most lovely lunch using responibilty sourced fish from our coasts, but not before a delivery of foraged sea greens arrived at the location.

If I had of known I could have brought him some strawberries from the allotment.

Lars P Soendergaard Gregerson is a Danish potter based in Suffolk, his seemingly simple designs belie a great craftsmanship.

I made the photographs below for this month’s Homes & Gardens.

It was sad news to hear that a beautiful Barbara Hepworth sculpture was stolen from Dulwich park before Christmas.

I had very fond memories of cycling past it on my way to & back from my old allotment in London.

I hope it is found and not melted down as this is a loss for all of us.

Anyway I thought I would have a look in my archive to remind myself of St Ives and her Garden in Cornwall.

She really was the greatest British sculptor of the 20th century.

My first shoot for Tatler appears in the January 2012 issue.

It is the home of Luke & Alice Irwin and their family, in deepest Dorset.