I was having a good amount of difficulty devising a cohesive holiday exhibition this year. So many non-traditional holiday designs abounded – from Smashbox's brightly colored sets courtesy of Yago Hortal to Shu's Maison Kitsuné collab, it was tricky to come up with an overarching theme that made sense. But one word kept coming to mind: cozy. I decided that this year I'd do an exhibition that reminds one of being cuddled up in a big sweater (hence the cable knit pattern on the exhibition poster and labels) and a warm blanket (possibly faux fur – I am so in love with mine!*) on a quiet winter night, enjoying holiday sweet treats while watching the snow fall outside and seeing twinkling holiday lights from the houses nearby. There was also a good dose of childhood nostalgia as inspiration, like fond memories of Christmas tree decorating, making cookies and coming in after a long day of sledding to have hot cocoa. So every item I chose this year captures these ideas in one way or another. In the interest of saving my sanity I did a smaller exhibition in the office.
Yes, as with last year's exhibition one of the items still hasn't arrived so there is an empty shelf. When the item does get here I'll retake the pictures and update…hopefully. Looks like I never updated the photos from last year's exhibition, whoops. Update 12 /26/15: Sigh. The item arrived…completely shattered. :( So I'm not able to take new pictures still. I have reordered it and hopefully it will arrive intact and sometime before winter is over. Update 1/24/2016: Yay, it got here! New pics below.
Starting with the top rows, left to right, here's a Stila paint can and the Apres Ski trio. Doesn't the Stila girl on the trio look so content with her toasty knit hat, ski jacket and mug of steaming hot chocolate?
While these Victoria Swedish soaps have vintage illustrations (hello Christmas nostalgia!) I also included these since the old time-y Santas remind me of my dad's Santa collection – he has Santa figurines from all over the world and a range of time periods, and growing up I always liked to watch him arrange them on the mantel over the fireplace where we'd hang our stockings.
Mmm, red flannel…
Remember how I was a little bummed I couldn't get my hands on these Nivea tins? Well, the illustrator who was responsible for the images on them, Joelle Tourlonias, actually contacted me and thanked me for writing about her work, and she sent me 4 of them completely free! How awesome is that?! I seriously can't thank her enough, especially since they are so perfect for this year's theme. There is something so comforting and sweet about these illustrations.
Etude House Snowy Dessert set:
I was too lazy to get up on a ladder to take a photo of the items sitting on the shelf, so here they are on the desk. The gingerbread man looks like the little fella from Shrek to my eye. As you can imagine, since this both looks and smells like a gingerbread cookie, I've had considerable trouble preventing MM staff from eating it!
Second row, left to right.
Cosme Decorte King of Sweets reminds me of all the magical baked goods and candy that only come once a year.
Guerlain Perles de Neiges Météorites and Rouge G lipstick:
Way back in April I used MAC's Apres Chic campaign in my roundup of strange headwear in makeup ads. While the model does look bizarre, I imagine she's pretty warm and cozy! Incidentally, the makeup items shown with this ad are from a totally different collection, but I think they went well together. Oh, and the ad is just a reproduction I printed, not an actual MAC postcard, something I forgot to put in the label.
Maquillage Snow Beauty:
So that's the exhibition. I wish you all a very cozy and peaceful holiday season and hope you stay toasty this winter!
*Do yourself a favor and buy this blanket. Seriously. I swear I'm not affiliated in any way with Pottery Barn, nor did I get it for free, I'm just super happy with it! It doesn't shed, is ridiculously soft and not itchy, and is incredibly warm. Be warned, you may not be able to get up once you're under it. 🙂