Art in Residence: Finding Life in the Objects We Live With

Ever wonder what breathes life into the most stunning architectural spaces? Nicole England knows the secret—it's not just about the walls and windows, but the personality that fills them.

As one of Australia's leading architectural photographers, Nicole has developed a distinctive eye for capturing not just the physical beauty of spaces, but their emotional resonance. Her work has graced the pages of Architectural Digest, Vogue, and Wallpaper, but it's her book series that truly showcases her unique approach. Starting with her bestselling Resident Dog books, Nicole discovered that dogs were the perfect narrative device to access extraordinary homes while adding warmth and spontaneity to architectural photography.

In this conversation, Nicole reveals how the concept for Resident Dog emerged from a simple question about her "perfect shoot day"—beautiful homes, ocean views, dogs running around, and good food shared during breaks. What began as a personal vision evolved into an international success, opening doors to architectural treasures from Kelly Wearstler's Los Angeles home to Luis Barragán's Mexican masterpieces.

Nicole's newest book, Art in Residence, explores another dimension of what makes spaces come alive—the personal art collections and treasured objects that reveal the souls of their owners. "A home really isn't a home unless it's filled with people's personal objects," she explains, whether those are million-dollar paintings or stones collected from a beach walk. Through intimate vignettes rather than just wide shots, Nicole captures the feeling of spaces in ways that traditional architectural photography often misses.

What's particularly fascinating is Nicole's creative journey—from studying fine art photography to initially pursuing fashion work before finding her true calling in architecture. Her patient, considered approach stems from her film photography background, where each shot required careful deliberation. This mindfulness shines through in her work, which feels both artistically composed and authentically lived-in.

Whether you're passionate about design, photography, or simply curious about what makes spaces feel like home, Nicole's insights will transform how you see the places around you. Listen in and discover why the most compelling architecture isn't just about perfect structure, but the life that happens within it.

Please do visit her socials to see her incredible work & her latest book Art in Residence.

https://nicoleengland.com & @nicoleengland

Art in Residence Book & Resident Dog Series

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
We're joined by someone whose work we've admired
for years, a photographer whohas the ability to capture not
just beautiful interiors but themood, materiality and emotion
within them.
Nicole England is one ofAustralia's leading
architectural and interiorsphotographers.
Her images have graced thepages of Architectural Digest,
vogue, living Wallpaper andbeyond, and she's collaborated

(00:23):
with some of the most respectedarchitects and designers, both
in Australia and internationally.
You may know her from herbest-selling resident dog books,
which offer a playful yetemotive take on architectural
photography, or her newestrelease, art in Residence, a
stunning visual journey through22 homes where art and personal

(00:44):
objects bring the architectureto life.
From photographing dogs indesign forward homes to
documenting deeply personal artcollections across the globe,
nicole's lens always tells abigger story.
We're so looking forward tohearing more about Nicole's work
, her creative evolution and therole of photography in shaping

(01:04):
how we see and feel design, aswell as her creative process and
the stories behind herbeautiful new book.
Welcome, nicole, thank you.
Thanks for having me.
Of course, I'm not sure if youand Lauren have met before, but
we know each other more,probably socially than anything

(01:28):
else, although we've probablymet before that but we didn't
really know each other well.
but I guess we've seen eachother a little bit more since
we're in the same social circlesin the industry.
So, it's kind of nice to have aproper discussion with you about
your work.
Yes, but have you met beforelauren?

(01:48):
Just admired from afar.
Like your work, your books arejust so impressive, um, and I
think what stands out for meobviously is the resident dog
book, um, which I have a copy of.
But, um, you know, the accessto the homes of the likes of
Kelly Wurstler and everything.
It's just like so impressive.

(02:09):
So it's really cool to meet you, thank you, thank you.

Speaker 2 (02:13):
I think it's amazing actually, the whole the dog, the
dogs and beautiful homes issuch a.
It's interesting that peoplethat you can almost have access
into people's homes that youwould never normally have access
to because you know they'revery private or they don't want
to talk to you or they've had itphotographed before, but then
as soon as you introduce theirdog and they, they feel that

(02:35):
their dog will be the star ofthe home.
They, the doors are opened andthey're welcoming you.
So it's a great concept.
You, you know.

Speaker 1 (02:43):
That makes so much sense.

Speaker 2 (02:45):
Yeah, exactly you know?

Speaker 1 (02:49):
I mean we might as well jump onto that and come
back to some other points, but Iwas going to say so.
Was that the whole ploy behindthe idea?
Oh, how do we get our foot inthe door while everyone loves
their pets?

Speaker 2 (03:03):
Yes, Well, I mean, I think overall it's just sort of.
I think I mean, everyone'sinterested in seeing amazing
houses, including me going andsneaking inside beautiful homes
but I think there's justsomething about being introduced
to these homes through the dog.
The dog that's just kind ofhanging out lying in the sun,
you know, running around chasingbirds or that kind of thing.

(03:24):
It just there's.
I think, you know, originally,when the idea came about, it was
kind of you know what is itthat I love about beautiful
homes?
So, you know, when I kind ofnutted it down as well about you
know what is it like to shootthese beautiful homes as well,
and what is it that I love themost, it kind of came down to

(03:45):
almost a lifestyle, or or youknow, what do I want to do with,
not so much my professionallife, but where do I want to be?
you know, and so it's kind ofyou know, I want to be in these
beautiful homes and I want theweather to be beautiful and I
want there to be an ocean and Iwant there to be a dog running
around and I want us to sit andeat some yummy food halfway
through the shoot and all thatkind of stuff.
So that's really when that'skind of like, okay, well, this

(04:06):
is kind of an interestingconcept to try and, you know,
pull all those sort of thingstogether through the eyes of the
dog.
And yeah, I had no idea itwould be so successful.
People love it.
People still talk about it now,and it's been a few years since
the book came out.
People still send me photos oftheir dogs and their homes as
well, you know.

Speaker 1 (04:26):
Oh, that's really cute.
I love that.
You should probably have alittle blog going as well, just
for you to post other people'spics.
Oh yeah, yeah, totally.

Speaker 2 (04:35):
I know so many dogs around these days too, you know,
it feels like every secondperson has a dog or more or more
dogs.

Speaker 1 (04:43):
Yeah, everyone, it's evening out More.

Speaker 2 (04:41):
Or more dogs.

Speaker 1 (04:43):
Yeah, it's evening out.
The average is higher.

Speaker 2 (04:46):
Yes, yes, they're like little humans now.
They're all dressed up inlittle jumpers and they have
their little beds and theirorganic food.
Oh, they're way spoiled.
I want to be a dog.

Speaker 1 (04:57):
Yeah, totally, or just live the dog's life,
potentially.

Speaker 2 (05:03):
Yeah definitely.

Speaker 1 (05:04):
Some of those dogs live in pretty stunning
surrounds.
They don't know how lucky theyare.

Speaker 2 (05:09):
I know they don't.
And I think some of the nicestones, which you know, the Kelly
Wessler one that you brought up,which was on the cover of the
second book, I mean, he wasWillie Willie Wessler, he was a
rescue dog, you know.
So, really, really, it was ragsto riches kind of story.
And God, such a beautiful,beautiful dog, happy little guy,

(05:30):
just so happy to be in thephoto, just would do you know.
It's like do you want to comeover here?
He's like sure you know youwant to come over here.
Sure you know.
Do you want a little belly rub?

Speaker 1 (05:40):
Sure you know, very, very gorgeous but sure, you know
, very, very gorgeous.
So.
So the idea of the book cameabout because you were like I
want to see gorgeous spaces andI want to also enjoy the process
of shooting these houses.
Like I love the way that youwere saying like to have a break
in the middle of the day andhave lunch and actually be in
these amazing surrounds.
Like I think that's like areally like a beautiful idea to

(06:03):
kind of, you know, almost setthat intention.
Well, how do I want to live mylife?

Speaker 2 (06:06):
how can I create a project?

Speaker 1 (06:09):
that, and then what has happened is it's such a
successful book, right?
Yeah, yeah, and it's, and Ithink it was.

Speaker 2 (06:18):
It was exactly that, and it was actually a mentor of
mine actually asking me.
She said you know, describeyour perfect shoot day, what
does your perfect shoot day looklike?
And so she sort of put me onthe spot and I was like, oh,
what does it look like?
And, you know, quickly wentthrough my head and um, and that
was a description that kind ofcame out and um, and and then
yeah, and she was like what'swith the dog?

(06:38):
which is kind of interestingthat that was the one thing that
she picked out.
She didn't pick out the um, youknow, having a long lunch or
the ocean view or anything likethat.
She's like why it was the dogand that story.

Speaker 1 (06:49):
So that's kind of where it came from.
That's so interesting because Irun a mentor group for interior
designers and literally thequestion that I asked them
yesterday was what one greatthing would you dare to dream if
you could not fail?
And it's such a great thing tothink about, you know, sort of
that sort of really dream goodlimitations on yourself, fail,
and it's such a great thing tothink about you know, sort of
that sort of really dream big,Don't put limitations on
yourself, yeah.
Yeah, and it's kind of scarysometimes to think about that.

(07:12):
What could I do if I knew Iwould never fail?
Like just that extreme.
Yeah, it's really fun and itworked yeah exactly, exactly.

Speaker 2 (07:23):
It's like your dream, yeah, your dream job or your
dream shoot or your dream designproject or that kind of thing.

Speaker 1 (07:31):
Yeah, none of us did it.

Speaker 2 (07:33):
And I was actually really surprised that it sort of
took off.
I mean, I knew it was a cuteidea, but I think the first book
was very much Australian-based,so it was all Australian
designers and Australianarchitects, and when I started
reaching out to people to askthem if they wanted to be a part
of the book, I kind of went toa lot of my favorite architects

(07:53):
to begin with and just said thisis what I'm doing.
You know, have you got a clientor a project that you think
would be suitable?
And the people were just comingstraight back going, my, I have
a house with a dog.
You know, the architects wantedtheir house and their dog and
everyone was super, superexcited about it and I sort of
couldn't believe it.

(08:13):
And so it kind of took off fromthere, and then the first book
came out and then, yeah, thesecond one being more
international, which was prettyfun to, you know, do mainly
America, england, australia, andthen I think I threw in a
couple of houses in Mexico aswell the Louis Barragan house,
which had nine rescue dogs, Ithink, running around the

(08:34):
property, which was prettyamazing, a property that was
designed for horses.
So you know, you've got thesebig, you know pink walls, and
this dog was going crazy runningaround inside.
So I couldn't yeah, I couldn'tnot miss that opportunity.

Speaker 1 (08:49):
Have you ever had some dogs that you're like oh my
gosh, whose idea was this?
This dog is just not behavingfor my shot.

Speaker 2 (08:59):
Yes, definitely.

Speaker 1 (09:00):
Don't work with children and animals.
And you went.
I'll challenge that Definitely.

Speaker 2 (09:08):
Definitely I was going to say, yeah, no go.

Speaker 1 (09:12):
Well, when you just described that Louis Barragan
with that pink wool on thehorses, it's such a powerful
image because I think we couldall well, I can picture that in
my mind's eye, and so you mighthave had a preconceived idea of
oh, wouldn't it be great if isthat?
How do you approach photographylike that?
Or do you have to just wait forthose happy accidents to happen
, those most spontaneous?

Speaker 2 (09:34):
I think it's a bit of both.
I mean, at the end of the day,I always say to people that I'm
an architectural photographer,not a dog photographer.
So, I do go into these houseslooking to photograph the house.
It's an architecture book andthe architecture is brought to
life by the dogs.
So I really don't want the dogsto be posing.
I mean there's a couple of poseshots just because you know

(09:55):
they're beautiful, but generallyeverything is like how are
these dogs naturally using thespace?
So I try to ignore them a littlebit because if you don't ignore
them they will just be on edge,you know watching and kind of
playing up to you and playing tothe camera.
But there's also somethingquite nice to kind of capture
with that too, because that'sthe dog's personality.
So you know, if the dog's kindof like running up and you know

(10:19):
stealing your shoe and runningoff with it, then you kind of
want to capture that playfulnessas well.
Shoe and running off with it,then you kind of want to capture
that playfulness as well.
But then if the dog's justlying and sleeping in the sun,
it's like quick, you know, let'sset up the camera and be really
quiet not to disturb him, andset it up and capture him
actually sleeping in the sun.

Speaker 1 (10:37):
So we definitely did kind of play it.
It's a bit like wildlifephotography then, isn't it?
Yeah, in a sense, becausethat's what you have to do in
that, in those senses, to tryand capture them.

Speaker 2 (10:52):
You know the people that like lie in waiting for
hours for that moment, right,hopefully you're not doing that,
yeah, yeah, but still also veryconscious of the fact that I'm
photographing the space um thebest I can.
So I've already got a uh, anidea of how I want to photograph
the space um, and so if thedog's a little bit kind of off
to the side, then I'lldefinitely kind of bring him in
a little bit, push him insometimes, literally push him,
pull him a little bit.

(11:12):
You know, and dogs are okaywith that.
That's the funny thing.
They're kind of like okay, yep,you know, they roll over a
little bit.
Yeah, that's a fun project.
And you know I've probably saidthis a million times before
that I remember the first coupleof shoots I did.
I would come home and I'd belike, why is my face so sore?
Like you know, it felt so mycheeks felt really sore from

(11:33):
just laughing all day.

Speaker 1 (11:34):
Yeah, that's a nice feeling, isn't it?
Yeah, that's a sign of a greatday at work.

Speaker 2 (11:40):
Isn't it?
Yeah, so I guess that's kind ofyou know.
I mean, after two books withResident Dog, I guess I was kind
of like, okay, what's next?
You know and I'm going to keepdoing Resident Dog till the cows
come home.
But I thought, yeah, it's timeto sort of extend on the basic
theme of it, which is stillarchitecture and still beautiful
, beautiful homes.
But you know how else are theybrought to life and how else you

(12:03):
know what else brings thepersonality and the joy and the
warmth and the soul to the homes?
And you know, the first topicthat came to mind for me was art
and objects, because I feellike there's, you know, a home
really isn't a home unless it'sfilled with people's personal
objects, which could bemillion-dollar paintings, but it
could also be sticks and stonesfound at the beach, or your

(12:25):
child's drawing on the wall, or,you know, your grandfather's
old chair or a book or that kindof thing.
These are all the things thatadd these kind of layers of
personality and soul.
So that's how the next bookcame about.

Speaker 1 (12:38):
No Dogs.
I sort of wondered did youconsider at any time calling it
resident art?

Speaker 2 (12:44):
Yes, I did.

Speaker 1 (12:46):
Because it's sort of it is a continued, like you just
said.
Like I mean, it's always acuriosity how you decide what
that next book is going to beabout, but you were trying to
kind of keep that same idearight of the things that bring a
home to life.

Speaker 2 (13:00):
Yep, yep, definitely, definitely.
And so, yeah, resident Art was,I think, the original name, and
then I don't know, there's sortof I felt like maybe there was
something a little bit clankyabout it or and that's I mean,
art and residence is kind ofit's still taking in the words,
but just kind of changing itaround a little bit, and it's
also a take on artists andresidents, which is, you know,
about the people within thespace.

(13:22):
So it kind of felt a little bitmore I wouldn't say poetic, but
just a little bit moreinteresting.

Speaker 1 (13:28):
I think you can say poetic.
Yeah, I understand that.
You know it's interesting whatyou're saying and I couldn't
agree more about those thingsthat you mentioned of what makes
a house a home, but I feel likewhat we often see in
photography is they're the verythings that are taken out of a
shot.
Have you ever found that aswell?
Absolutely, it's a fine line.

Speaker 2 (13:50):
I guess it is a fine line.
I think I would always takepersonal photos out of a shot,
you know if it's a family photoor the Christmas lunch or that
kind of thing, or the kids, youknow, in a photo frame beside
the bed.
I kind of feel like that's alittle bit too personal yeah um,
and but you know the but, yeah,the, the art and the objects I

(14:11):
think are just they're different, because I mean it's definitely
not about I mean it is aboutdecoration.
I think that that's one thing,but um, so much more than just
decoration um and because it'sdefinitely it's like a little
insight into, into who thesepeople are, which I also find
kind of interesting too, becauseI remember the publishers
saying that they wanted to haveportraits of the people that

(14:31):
lived in all of these homes, ineach, in each story, and I kind
of was like well, kind of feellike the art is the portrait in
a way, because you do get thislittle insight into who they are
, you don't have to be.

Speaker 1 (14:42):
That literal right that this is their
representation, this is thetelling of their story, is
through those pieces and that'sthe whole point of the book in a
way.
Yes, exactly.

Speaker 2 (14:51):
I think you can tell a lot about somebody by what
they, what they wear, what theyread, you know.
Even going into people's homesand seeing the books on their
shelves you kind of go okay, youcan get a really good idea of
who they are, or the lack ofbooks, yeah, or the people I'm
suspicious of.
Not judging.

Speaker 1 (15:09):
Oh, I'm judging, yeah , so it's yeah.

Speaker 2 (15:14):
Try not to judge the people with that dog.

Speaker 1 (15:16):
Sorry, because I get that.
That's not everyone's thing.

Speaker 2 (15:18):
People without books.
Cats, though, definitely judgethem.

Speaker 1 (15:25):
I have a bit of a soft spot.
I'm a dog person but I have asoft spot for kinks because we
grew up with probably everyknown pet in the universe at
some point.
That's what my childhood waslike I would never had a snake.
Never had a snake or a spider.
That's because my mother'spetrified of snakes and I am
petrified of spiders, or used tobe.

Speaker 2 (15:46):
Maybe you should have had a snake and a spider as
your pet then.

Speaker 1 (15:48):
Well, maybe, maybe.
I admire snakes and spiders now, though, I find them really
interesting and curious.
I'm not as scared as I wouldhave been when I was younger,
but my sister loves her cats andI was babysitting last night,
and she has a new kitten calledGeorge, little black kitten, and
he is hilarious.
I just was entertained thewhole time.
I was just sitting on the couch, I didn't need to watch

(16:09):
anything, because he's just oneof those super active, like it's
like parkour around the room,and then I was like George,
where are you?
And then he'd be like rightnext to me with his face like hi
.
Hi, there Just the personalitywas, so I think they can be cool
.
I'm not a big fan of all thehair.
What about I've got one for you, nicole?
What about resident guinea pigs?

Speaker 2 (16:31):
Oh yes.

Speaker 1 (16:31):
That's your thing.

Speaker 2 (16:32):
My guinea pigs are so cute they are very cute I love
guinea pigs, though, too.

Speaker 1 (16:38):
I think they're gorgeous.

Speaker 2 (16:39):
They're such cute little critters, Animals, full
stop.
One of the people, actually oneof the women who's in Art in
Residence is a woman calledMichelle Okedona and she has
this amazing, amazing house inNew York Not house, it's a loft.
It's one of the original Soholofts and I saw her online and I
saw her doing an interviewonline and I just loved her and

(17:03):
it was basically a working.
It was her studio as well asher home.
I also read somewhere that herstudio was the inspiration
behind the set for the movieGhost.

Speaker 1 (17:12):
Oh wow, Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore Is iconic.

Speaker 2 (17:16):
We just watched that the other week that movie.

Speaker 1 (17:19):
It's so awesome that apartment.

Speaker 2 (17:20):
Isn't it?
Yeah, patrick Swayze too.
Oh, he's gorgeous.
Those big windows, windows,this giant window, and the
columns, the fluted sort ofcolumns are still yeah, yeah,
it's amazing so I saw that whenI was working on resident dog,
and so I sent her an emailsaying love you home.
This is a book I'm working on.
Don't suppose you have a dog.
Uh, she responded straight awaysaying I'm sorry, I don't have

(17:41):
a dog.
I used to have free flyingbirds, but now I just have fish
and I just loved her from thatmoment.

Speaker 1 (17:50):
I just loved her.

Speaker 2 (17:51):
Yes.
So when this my second, thisart in residence book came up
and I thought I'm going tocontact her again, so I
contacted her again.
So remember me, you know Istill love your house and I
would love to come andphotograph it for this new book.
And she said, yes, I went thereand photographed it so was it
everything you thought it wouldbe?
yeah, yeah, everything.
I thought it would be includingher as well.

(18:14):
I think I arrived at the timespecified.
Um, I think your husband cameto the door and michelle came,
like sort of floating down thestairs.
She's in her 80s now.
I think she came floating downthe stairs.
She's in her 80s now.
I think she came floating downthe stairs in this long black
silk dressing gown.
She came down she's like youknow, hi and make yourself at
home and just going to getdressed and have a cup of tea,

(18:35):
and yeah, and then she justworked.
She worked for the.
She worked like a yeah, justnonstop for the entire day while
I just kind of potted aroundand photographed this place.

Speaker 1 (18:43):
Oh, that's magic and yeah, it's very beautiful.
Oh, do you ever sort of pinchyourself and think, oh, my God,
this is cool?
Yes, definitely, oh, that'swonderful.

Speaker 2 (18:57):
It almost feels sometimes when I look through
the book, it almost feels like adiary in a way, to you know the
travels and the people that Imet in the homes I got to
experience and that kind ofthing.
So when I look through eachhome and it just reminds me of
all sorts of different thingsyou know.

Speaker 1 (19:09):
I never really thought about that, but that
would be so true.
It's almost like when you lookat it, it's like your personal
experience.
When we look at it, we just seethe beauty of the images and
what's within them.
Yeah, that's funny, isn't it?
It's like your own littlejournal.

Speaker 2 (19:22):
Yeah that's funny, isn't it?
It's like your own littlejournal, yeah, and sometimes I
think too, and I don't know howto do that.
I mean, maybe I don't know howto do this, for you know any
books coming up, but I thinksome of these stories are
actually really nice to tell.
I mean, there's obviously wordsin the book that talk about the
art and the architecture and thecollections and what inspired
the collections and theinterviews with the people, but

(19:51):
sometimes it's those little, Idon't know the.
You know it's like the.
I photographed that anapartment in Chicago who is the
grandson of Mies van der Rohe,and that was an introduction
through another house that wasin resident doll.
And so I went to this home,which is in the top floor of the
Lake Shore Drive apartmentbuilding designed by Mies van
der Rohe top floor and they liveup there and you know I mean
the house.
The apartment is absolutelystunning, full of old, you know,
mies, furniture.

(20:13):
But also you know things thatyou know, like Mies' old ashtray
was just sitting there on thetable and his old cigar box and
his old candelabras.
Their dining table was his olddesk.
You know all these beautifulstories.
And then, just kind of at theend of the day, they made Aperol
Spritz and sitting up theredrinking and chatting, and then

(20:34):
the other grandson of thegrandson you know turned up for
a drink as well.
And that's a beautifulexperience of the people that
live behind these kind of homes,and sometimes those stories are
really nice to tell which areoutside of a book.

Speaker 1 (20:48):
Yeah, you almost need to do on the next one of a
second photographer capturingkind of like a behind the scenes
of the moments, or you documentit.
Let's sell it to Netflix.
Yeah, basically it's adocumentary of you doing the
book, which actually could be.
Look at all the stories you'vegot, just like little moments,
like that would be so good towatch.

Speaker 2 (21:08):
Yeah Moments with these people.
Yeah, nicole, we'll pitch itfor you.

Speaker 1 (21:12):
Yeah, I'm curious to know was this creative path
something you've always known,or has it sort of evolved over
time?

Speaker 2 (21:21):
I've always loved books.
I think.
So doing my first book waspretty and you would know this
too, because you've done booksyourself was that you know
there's something so specialabout having doing a book and
there's something kind of quiteold fashioned about it now as
well.
I mean, people are coming backto buying books, or maybe they
buy more novels, or I thinkpeople still have coffee table

(21:41):
books, definitely.
But yeah, there's somethingkind of old fashioned about
print and paper and the smell ofit and the texture of it and
the weight of it and holding itand that kind of thing.
So I think when I did my firstbook, it was definitely
something that I hadn't plannedon, absolutely, but something
that I was very excited aboutdoing more of.
So you know, I always say topeople that making books is not

(22:03):
going to make you your millionsat all, but the process of it
you know, whether it's a diaryor whether it becomes your
portfolio or whether it'ssomething you know.
Yeah, simple, it's a specialprocess, but I mean photography.
I mean I've always donephotography for a long time and
it's gone through ins and outsof different styles of
photography, starting in fashionand advertising and taking a

(22:27):
break and coming back toarchitecture.
But yeah, I don't know.
I don't think you ever I didn'tplan it.

Speaker 1 (22:33):
Oh, so can you tell us, have you only studied?
Oh sorry, doll, no, that waswhat I was going to ask.
Yeah, like, where did you sortof start out?
You mentioned fashion andadvertising.
I did.

Speaker 2 (22:43):
Well, so I mean, I studied photography.
I learned photography at schooland then, when I finished
school, I went on to universityin Auckland in New Zealand, to
Eaglem Art School, which is afine art school part of the
university, and it's a four-yeardegree where you specialise the
first year you do a bit of theuniversity and you know, it's a
four-year degree where youspecialize, uh, you, the first
year you do a bit of everythingthat you specialize for three

(23:03):
years, which I did withphotography and I think you know
, being a teenage girl, ofcourse, I wanted to do fashion
photography you know it's like,of course that's what I want to
do.
And then I started doing it andrealized it's actually not what
I want to do at all well, whywas that?
I don't know.
I think it just wasn't my style, it wasn't my jam.

Speaker 1 (23:19):
It's quite different, isn't it?
It's really fast, yeah.
Whereas I feel like you're tome and I could be wrong you're a
much sort of calmer consideredperson.
I can't imagine you kind oflike.
I mean, it's not better orworse, it's just a very
different pace, definitely, yeah.

Speaker 2 (23:37):
Yep agree, and I definitely, yeah, yeah agree.
And I think also too that umcoming out of art school, they
never really prepare you for acommercial uh, the commercial
reality of working in theindustry.
They train you as an artist tothink about things and to ponder
and to write about it and thatkind of stuff then you come out
and then you know you do yourfirst shoot, a fashion shoot,
and by the time it getspublished into a magazine it's

(23:58):
changed and cropped and writingall over the top of it.
You sort of.
It was really quitedisheartening and so I did give
it up for a while.
But my, my brother's anarchitect and and my mum's very
into interiors and design, so Iwas kind of brought up in a
household of um, always talkingabout architecture so, and
growing up in houses that werequite architecturally designed
as well.
So I think you know, you know,after taking a bit of a break,

(24:21):
yeah, and I sort of went back tophotography and started back on
, started with architecture andI was like, oh yeah, okay, this
is more, this is more my speed,you know, for taking my time,
considering each shot, you know,setting it up perfectly, that
kind of thing, which is verydifferent from fashion and
advertising.

Speaker 1 (24:38):
And you sort of talked about that you are a very
sort of patient.
You wait for that moment, youwait for the right shot and that
it's kind of film inspiredwhat's sort of the process and
where's that kind of come from?
Did you find that was justnaturally how you worked, or is
it what you've evolved tothinking is the best way to
capture?

Speaker 2 (24:55):
things.
I think it's probably a bit ofboth in a way.
I think definitely learning onfilm, because that's that's how
old I am.
Learning photography on film,uh, you do, you.
You learn to be a lot morepatient because you can't take a
thousand photos.
We can, but you don't and so youreally do consider your shot
and set it up quite perfectly.

(25:16):
So I started with that and evenwhen I took a break and came
back to photography it was backback.
It was in, it was.
It was digital then.
So so I had to kind of re.
No, I mean, I kind of had tore-look at the way I did things.
But in the end I still shoot inthe same way as I shot before.
So my camera does lots ofthings and there's a lot of
buttons and so on that Iprobably don't really know how
they work.
But for me it's always aboutthe actual what I capture and

(25:40):
how I capture it.
So if I spend a lot of time,you know, finding the perfect
composition, setting up thatcomposition, waiting for the
right light and then taking theshot, that's kind of just the
way I work and how I've evolved,but then I actually think
that's my personality too.

Speaker 1 (25:55):
You must see that, Bree, though like working with
different photographers in yourstyling work, like these
different approaches, it'sreally interesting, isn't it?

Speaker 2 (26:02):
Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1 (26:03):
Yeah, and you do.
You always get a slightlydifferent result depending on
the team you can, and I findwhat's great about working with
different, I guess, approachesis you just learn more.
You just learn more thedifferent people that you work
with, and you might takesomething away from working with
that person and think about itthe next time you're working
with someone else.
So it just I don't know ithelps build your career.

(26:26):
I don't know qualities, the wayyou work.
It's always good, I think, ifyou're working with the same
person all the time, you'll getinto maybe a great rhythm and
you might produce great results,but it's always better to be
challenged a little bit, I think, and and absolutely, you either
go.

Speaker 2 (26:39):
No, I'm no, I still prefer the way I'm doing it, but
at least you're thinking aboutit from a different perspective,
absolutely and I think thatgoes with everyone that comes to
a shoot as well like I feelI've actually learned a lot from
stylists that I've worked withright from the back, in the
beginning too, just the way thatthey because I think stylists
are amazing and I can set up theshot and I'm like, yeah, this
is the best composition for thewalls and the ceiling and the

(27:03):
windows you know that sort ofthing and the furniture.
And then a stylist comes in andjust starts adding color and
texture and shape and all thatkind of stuff and it completely
transforms it.
But it makes me think, oh okay,next time I set up this
composition, I can considerthings like this, or I can place
things in a different spot.
That doesn't have to go there.
I can put it there and it justfeels a little bit odd or that

(27:25):
kind of thing, and whether it'sa stylist or whether it's
working with a designer or anarchitect, you know everyone
looking at things differentlyand having little suggestions as
well.
Yeah, it does kind of help youfind your own style or your own
way of doing things.

Speaker 1 (27:38):
Oh yeah, I'm not good at that.

Speaker 2 (27:40):
Yeah, it's just good.

Speaker 1 (27:41):
Who are some of the stylists that you've worked with
, or do you have a few that yousort of just really gel with
nicely?

Speaker 2 (27:46):
Yeah, well, probably the very first one that I worked
with was a girl called JaneReid, and we worked on a lot of
different magazines right backat the beginning when I first
started.
Probably more recently, I workwith Natalie James a lot.
She's one of my favorites.
She actually came on the SecondResident Dog book tour with me
and she did the styling for thewhole book, which is fun, great.

Speaker 1 (28:09):
You're being amazing.

Speaker 2 (28:10):
Swee Lim, who's more of an art consultant slash
stylist as well.

Speaker 1 (28:16):
We know Swee.
Swee is gorgeous.
We love Swee.

Speaker 2 (28:18):
Yeah, and all three of those.
You know.
They have completely differentstyles as well, you know, and
what they, how they see things.
So, yeah, I love working withthem.

Speaker 1 (28:27):
I find it so interesting sometimes just to
watch the interaction because Ifind styling myself I just the
pressure.
It's so much harder than itlooks.
So I'll bring in like a stylistor maybe an assistant and it's
like the equivalent of likefinishing each other's sentences
, like with the photographer andthe stylist sort of creating
this one image together.

(28:47):
It's like they know that theyneed to move that one centimeter
to the left, like they justkind of work together.

Speaker 2 (28:53):
It's really cool when you get that nice collaboration
, yes, and it makes such adifference.
And I think you know, as aninterior designer, I think you
know you see the space threedimensionally and so you can set
up the space and put the vasethere and the table there and
everything like that.
But then, as soon as the cameragoes in front of that, it looks
completely different becauseall of a sudden the couch is

(29:13):
blocking the table and the vaseis sitting in front of the light
and and so on.

Speaker 1 (29:18):
So all those little adjustments it can make some
spaces really hard to captureactually uh, they may be amazing
in person.
I've been in those spaces whereyou go this is amazing or even
gone to do recce's for a shootand walked in and gone.
The house is fantastic but it'sjust not going to work because
this is going to be shootingright out the window and this is
this angle and even moving itaround, like so it's funny.

(29:39):
You can have an amazing housethat just doesn't shoot well, it
doesn't mean the house isn'tfabulous.
You'll just never see the mostit can be on print.

Speaker 2 (29:47):
You know, like yeah, yeah sometimes it can be the
opposite too.

Speaker 1 (29:50):
That's what I was gonna say I think it's more
often the opposite, because youcan make that happen.
I mean, you can.
You can almost style, know apretty crappy space or shoot it
a particular way, or you knowwhether it's the shadows that
suddenly make it interesting,where there's hardly any
architecture.
You can bring that in.
I think it's harder to probablytry and make something work

(30:11):
that you can't move walls, youknow, true, true.

Speaker 2 (30:14):
Which kind of goes back to, you know, that original
question that you had, lauren,about, you know, shooting the
space how it is or kind ofsetting it up too much.
And I kind of feel like therehas to be that balance because
and it depends on the home aswell that balance of this is
their home, this is how theyhave it, and whether an interior
designer has come and helpedthem with it and then they've

(30:34):
come in with their things.
I mean, there's obvious thingsthat you kind of want to remove,
but generally speaking, anddefinitely with the book, you
know where the houses have beenparticularly chosen for the
architecture, the design, thefurniture, the styling.
You know being able to tickeverything off, and this is how
they live.
So this is how people shouldsee it this way, you know.
So would you?

Speaker 1 (30:53):
move in this particular book the way it's
shot.
Are you really pretty muchcapturing what is there Like?
Was there a lot of like,styling or moving of objects, or
was it pretty much?

Speaker 2 (31:04):
this is how it's lived in yep very much how it's
lived in.

Speaker 1 (31:06):
So, yeah, that's really nice, yeah, yeah I mean
working with clients so oftenyou know that what they're
seeing is just not real yes,it's just not real, yeah so it's
nice that there's thatauthenticity there, and I think
that's with the resident dogbooks as well, that having the
dog in there somehow it justmakes it feel so much more lived

(31:27):
in, and I really love spacesthat capture that, that feeling
of how somebody's actuallyliving in the space, rather than
a really overly styled spacethat you just, it's just too
contrived, it's just not

Speaker 2 (31:39):
my favourite, but yep , it's just another way of,
another way of doing it.
That's all, definitely, andthat's why I think sometimes
also with when I even think,when I think about art and
objects too, and how that kindof brings the space to life.
So there's, you know, you couldalmost look at, um, I mean you
could definitely look atfurniture and books and that
kind of thing, but sometimes itcould, I mean it could be the
architecture itself, you know,as it almost doesn't need

(32:00):
anything that goes in it,because the architecture itself
is the art, or the architectureis designed around a particular
sculpture that sits in themiddle.
The architecture is, it's aroundit.
Or, you know, it could literallybe the light that comes through
some beautiful images in here,where the lights is coming
through and hitting the wall andthat in itself becomes its own
art you know, because thepositioning of the home and the
sun and the nature and the wall,and that in itself becomes its
own art, you know, because thepositioning of the home and the

(32:21):
sun and the nature and thelandscape and all that kind of
thing.
So yeah, it's kind of lookingat not being too too exact on
what art and objects has to behow do you find the properties?

Speaker 1 (32:32):
like you mentioned, it was a sometimes it's the
people you know or how did youeven source, like all those
properties for the, I guess allthree of the books?

Speaker 2 (32:41):
Yeah, I think I mean I always start off with
contacting the architects who Ilove the most.
Yeah, you know the people whoseprojects I love the most,
whether I have a relationshipwith them or not, it's always
like.
You know, I love your work andthis is the book that I'm
working on, and sometimes, ifthey don't know my work, I send
them one of my last books sothey can see how it will look

(33:02):
and the type of photography andstyle, etc.
So with the dogs it was kind ofharder, because I was kind of
saying you know, I love yourarchitecture, but do you have a
client with an amazing one ofyour homes that has a dog as
well?
Yeah, minor detail yeah detail,yeah, but I also think I mean
it's much easier now thanprobably how it used to be,

(33:23):
because you know so much isalready published.
So it's very, I mean, which isgood and bad in a way, because
you know you can go on to allthe big design and architecture
awards all around the world tosee what's been entered, what's
been shortlisted what's been, etcetera.
Again, you can't trust thosephotos, though.
That that's actually what thehouse looks like so you have a

(33:43):
completely different nature andart, you have to dig a little
bit deeper just to make surewhat you're getting.
But then also at the same time Ialways kind of I know that I
want to get a set amount ofhouses, but then I also I also
leave it a bit open because Ikind of go okay, you know, this
book's going to have 20 houses,you know bros, chicken and
vegetables, or something.

(34:03):
She was telling me about afriend of hers who has this

(34:24):
wonderful home which is theHopkins House in London by Patty
and Michael Hopkins, which is avery, very famous, famous house
, and she said, oh, you shouldmeet my friend Patty and I'm
like.
So she introduced me to Pattyand I was able to photograph
that house in the book which youknow, if I had booked it too
tightly and everything like.
So she introduced me to pattyand I was able to photograph
that house of the book which,you know, if I had booked it too
tightly and everything was alltoo perfect, I would have missed

(34:44):
out on that.
And and it happened a couple oftimes throughout the um,
throughout the trip.
It was like, oh, you shouldmeet my friend so and so, and I
was like, yes, there was oneparticular house that I kind of
just trusted that I didn't, ithadn't been photographed before
too, which is also really nice.
And uh, the two guys said to me, oh, you should meet our friend
, um, who has this house and um,so and I just trusted them that

(35:05):
I knew that they had such goodtaste that it would be really,
and it's been.
It's probably one of myfavorite houses in the book as
well it's like a modernist housebuilt into the rocks in upstate
new york.

Speaker 1 (35:15):
So I feel, um, you're really good at manifesting,
nicole, like because it's like,that's how the whole resident
dog thing, that was kind of amanifestation like what's your
perfect day, and then sort ofbuilt on that and just leaving
those gaps for almost life tohappen and for the right
opportunities to presentthemselves.
I actually really believe inthat and it's just like, but

(35:35):
you're just very casual about itand it kind of all just worked
out.

Speaker 2 (35:39):
I know Like a really wild.
Actually I hope that it does,yeah, like, but you're just very
casual about it and it kind ofall just worked out.
I know.
Yeah, cross my fingers, yeah,it's good.

Speaker 1 (35:47):
I guess do you have a favorite.
Do you what's your standout?
I guess do you have a favoritebecause of the way it was shot,
and do you have a favoritebecause of the experience of
shooting?

Speaker 2 (35:56):
it.
Oh, that's so hard.
Um, I think that making youchoose it is because I think
that in in all the books too,that there's a lot of variety,
which is kind of an interestingthing too, because I, you know,
people were to say you knowwhat's your style of, you know,
what does your home look likeand what do you want to live in.
You know, I'd probably prettymuch say you know, this is a

(36:17):
particular, this is what my homelooks like.
But then when I'm choosinghouses for the book, they're all
wild and different, because Ithink, in a way, when I get to
each house, I'm kind of likethis house is so beautiful, you
know the colors and the texturesand the.
You know, it's so crazy, orsomething.
And then I walk away and I goto the next shoot and I'll be
like this house, this house ismy absolute favorite, you know,

(36:40):
and for a completely differentreason.

Speaker 1 (36:42):
So um so funny yeah, and there's something.

Speaker 2 (36:45):
I don't know whether it has something to do with just
how it feels as well as well ashow it looks.

Speaker 1 (36:49):
Absolutely, I think it always comes down to that in
the end, doesn't it?
I mean, I think it's funny.
Even you know, having been inthe business of shooting faces.
You know because of that smokeand mirrors, that sometimes the
best shots may look amazing, butactually the experience might
not have been, the owners mighthave been awful, or it was just
a really bad day or somethingwent wrong, but actually the

(37:11):
shots ended up beautiful.
But I think when you fall inlove with the space in real life
, it has a lot to do with theway it feels, doesn't it?

Speaker 2 (37:17):
yeah?
Which has a lot to do with theway it feels, doesn't it?
Yeah?
Which has a lot to do with thepeople, the people that live
there Also.

Speaker 1 (37:22):
It's a lot to do with .
It could feel great, butcapturing that in photography is
so hard.
How do you?

Speaker 2 (37:29):
do that.
Yes, the feeling.

Speaker 1 (37:33):
The feeling, and I think that's where your work
actually captures that feelingand it is that lived in it's
exquisite architecture.
But it does feel somewhat, Iguess, a bit more relaxed and
personal and it just feels sogood so.
I think that's so clever Arethe feelings created because

(37:53):
there's sort of a visual storyto the shots.

Speaker 2 (37:56):
I think this book Art in Residence it feels a little
bit different from maybe, uh,the photography.
It feels a little bit differentfrom the last two books and, and
also probably a little bitdifferent from my normal work
photography as well.
I decided to get a lot tighterin on these homes, so I think it
was an.
It was an interesting processto go through, took three books,

(38:17):
because I remember the firstone it was like I was just so
excited about doing a book thatI kind of went out and I'd book
the house and I'd go and I'dphotograph every single room,
like I was going to a job, youknow, the bathroom and the
kitchen and the lounge room, thedining, and it's like I needed
to capture the whole house, andnot that maybe every image was
used in the book, but I was kindof still thinking in the same
way as I would for a job.

(38:38):
The second book I was kind ofcoming in and out of that I knew
that I needed to change my wayof thinking, that I'm my client.
I don't have a client, you know, or the publishers are probably
my client, but I could actuallyI could do whatever.

Speaker 1 (38:51):
I wanted with this house.

Speaker 2 (38:53):
And then this third book.
I really settled into it and Ithought I actually don't need to
shoot the whole house at alland I just captured these little
moments and they're much, muchtighter.
I was probably also thinking alittle bit about how the book is
designed and how I wanted theimages to be on a page and that,
you know, a page is a, is aport, is a portrait size.
So, unless so, a landscape photowould really have to run across

(39:15):
two pages, or it's going to behalf a page, you know, with
white space or with anotherimage on top of it, which then
it becomes really busy.
So so I sort of, so I ended upreducing the amount of images
for each home, because the booksonly got so many pages and each
story would only have so manypages, which means I could only
really capture eight, you know,six to eight really excellent

(39:38):
shots of this home.
And how am I going to capture ahome, you know, and how that
essence of the home and the artand the objects and and how it
feels, in such a small number ofimages?
So so, yeah, so quite a lot ofthe houses you won't see a big
living room shot in a bathroom,in a kitchen, you know all of
that.
It's just these little moments,there's little moments of where
you think maybe you wouldsearch and look at something, or

(40:00):
this little moment when youentered a home or you entered a
room or that kind of thing.
So it's kind of probablyinteresting for people that read
it, because they probably haveto think a little bit.
They almost have to piece thehouse together themselves by all
these little moments.

Speaker 1 (40:12):
I love doing that, though, and I think that those
more tighter shots they do evokemore of the atmosphere and the
feeling.
Agree, I, I mean, I feel likethat.
They're my favorite kind ofshots, but, um, you know, just
talking about like social mediaand stuff, they never do that
well, people want to see thewhole thing, but, you know, it
is that intimate experience of,yeah, holding the pages and

(40:34):
looking at all the details.
It's like such a different,such a more pleasant experience.

Speaker 2 (40:39):
Let's face it absolutely, and I think, even
when I'm on a job with anarchitect and I'm documenting
the space for them, um, wealways go, okay, we need to get
a whole shot of this, the space,and and everyone agrees and we
take it and everyone's like, yep, that's great.
But when you do get thosemoments, those little corners or
those little vignettes,everyone goes oh, I love that

(41:00):
one and I do for some reason,like the hands.

Speaker 1 (41:04):
I don't know if it's what you said, lauren.
Maybe it is a social mediashift, I'm not sure, but I'm
kind of putting it down to maybemore houses are being
documented in that way of thisis the house and this is the
architecture, and even maybemagazines have kind of shifted
to having a lot sort of widershots and we do a lot less of
what I call like little, youknow, pickup shots of vignettes,

(41:25):
and those to me are the bestones and I kind of miss that.
You know, I was looking back atsome old projects even and
going, oh, these are suchbeautiful shots.
I know they don't tellnecessarily the story of the
room, but they tell anotherstory like a.
You know, I don't know.
I do think they are probably abit more emotive.
Generally agree, totally agree,yeah, beautiful, yes, um.

(41:47):
And actually we are fangirls ofalicia as well, the, the writer
that I believe she wrote thecoffee copy.
For which books, exactly?

Speaker 2 (41:57):
the latest one, the Ashton's Tense.
Oh, the latest one.

Speaker 1 (41:59):
Yeah, right, yep, yep , she's gorgeous.

Speaker 2 (42:01):
She is gorgeous.
So clever yeah, so clever yeah,very, very clever I quite love.

Speaker 1 (42:07):
I like the.
I do love the layout of thebook and that sort of one page
of here's the story and then youcan kind of take the rest in or
vice versa, rather than kind oflike snippets on pages.
I kind of like it and it's notlike you know you need to sit
there for hours.
It's just a really great, likeI don't know, quite emotive,
strong little story that's toldin that one page and she does

(42:27):
such a beautiful job of that,yeah.

Speaker 2 (42:29):
And I think that's kind of what the purpose of it
was.
I mean, because you know a lotof these homes, you know we
could talk about the materialsand the structure and the design
and you know, and maybe it'salready been photographed before
, so you could probably findthat information on an

(42:49):
architectural website or thatkind of thing.
But for her to actually go inand interview every single
homeowner and ask those reallyquite personal questions about
what is it about this art andwhen did you buy it and why did
you buy it and how does it makeyou feel, and you know all those
sorts of things were kind ofthe things that you'd never read
in an architecture article.

Speaker 1 (43:05):
Yeah, because there's never any room for that right.
No, they're too busy writingabout the space and they can't.
They might ask those questions,but that's the stuff that kind
of gets, maybe edited out.

Speaker 2 (43:13):
Yeah, yeah, and I think that's probably what the
of a book is in a way is to kindof, you know, to be able to get
inside or take a differentangle and tell a different story
.

Speaker 1 (43:23):
Yeah, than what the magazine does, and apparently
there's some people in the bookswho have over 300 artworks in
their home.
That's huge.
I don't even know how you goabout deciding which ones.
Like I would forget, I oftenopen a drawer and go oh I forgot
I had that T-shirt and I onlybought it like a month ago, so I

(43:44):
have 300 pieces of art I'd beforever going wow, this one's
amazing.
Where did that come from?
Again?

Speaker 2 (43:52):
Totally, totally Well , a lot of these people have
their art documented.
You know, they actually havefull catalogues of their art.

Speaker 1 (43:59):
Well, if you have 300 , you can't do that.
And I guess a lot of it'sinvestment too, and insurance
and all of that yeah exactly.

Speaker 2 (44:09):
So yeah, it's sort of stored off-site and then it can
come in and out and theyre-change it, change it around a
lot and that kind of thing.

Speaker 1 (44:13):
So yeah, do those people do you think, have as
much connection to all of thosepieces as they would, say,
someone who only has, like Idon't know, five amazing pieces.

Speaker 2 (44:22):
But yeah, I do think so because they've gone and
they've chosen it for a reason,I think, and I don't think I
mean there's no one really inthe book that was just a
hardcore collector, forcollecting purposes.
Yeah, okay, they.
They were choosing art based onpersonal.
Yeah, and a lot of.
I mean one one I can think ofin particular, I'm not sure how
many.
He had a lot of art, but heneeded to know the person.

(44:44):
He needed to know the artistwhose art was hanging on his
wall.
So, you know, quite often hewould have multiple works by the
same artist, because he startedoff loving the art, buying the
art, meeting the artist, havingdinner with the you know, and
then all of a sudden they becomemates and friends and so he
could just talk about everysingle artist that was on his
wall and he had that kind ofwhole salon hanging.

(45:04):
There are lots and lots ofdifferent art on the wall, but
he could talk about each one andhow they've affected him and
his life.

Speaker 1 (45:13):
And you know, yeah, a lot of them are mates, which is
pretty nice.
It's really cool.
Yeah, I've only read a few ofthe pages because I haven't had
the book long enough, but that'ssort of making me want to
really read every page now tojust I love actually really have
.
you know, I mean both Lauren andI love art and we always talk
about spend your money on art tohave that personal connection

(45:33):
with it, especially to know whothe artist is and the why of how
it was created, or and thenalso then put your layer of
meaning on it.
That's what, what's sobeautiful about it, I think.

Speaker 2 (45:42):
Yeah, and you really do get that with Alicia's text.
You really do kind of get thislittle insight into why the
artist is in the home.
And, yeah, and it's beautifuland a lot of it is sentimental,
a lot of it's been brought downthrough the generations from
great, great great grandfathersand these are modern, amazing
architecture design homes andthere's big old paintings.

(46:03):
You know, on this white walland you know there was one that
was a Belgium house, a house inAntwerp, and the great great
grandfather portrait was on thiswall and every night they have
a little daughter and everynight they walk past the
painting and say goodnight.

Speaker 1 (46:19):
Does its eyes move and follow her across the room?

Speaker 2 (46:30):
Yeah, does its eyes move and follow her across the
room?
Yeah, so how did this idea forthis book come about?
It was just probably this, likeI said with them after resident
dog it was.
It was again just sort oflooking at things, that, um,
that that brought life and souland personality into a home.
So, yeah, I mean, I think, yeah,art and art and objects was
something that was kind of dearto my heart as well, you know,
and I think it's interesting too, because I also think art and
objects it takes time to collectas well, you know.

(46:50):
I mean I remember when I firstleft home, I just was in an
apartment with a table and achair and a couch and you know,
it's like that's all I hadreally.
And then over time, you know, Inow look at my walls and it's
like, oh, you know that I gotfrom that person and that I got
from that person.
You know that was each piecehas kind of got some kind of
story behind it.
Or you know I found that on theside of the road, or my mum

(47:12):
gave me that, or you know Istole that off an ex-boyfriend
or you know that kind of thing.
They all had that sort of somekind of story.
So I know that's.
I think that's kind of an yeah.
So that's kind of where theidea for the book came from.

Speaker 1 (47:25):
And did you approach the publisher?
Did you say, oh, I have aproposal, but how does all of
that process work?

Speaker 2 (47:31):
Yeah, well, I mean the original, the resident dog.
Original was was that becauseit was very kind of new.
It was like this is my, this isan idea.
It was a very easy idea topitch because you know it's
incredible homes and the dogsthat live there, very easy to
understand and I have to say so,clever, like if you think about
the venn diagram of like peoplethat love dogs and then people
that love architecture.

Speaker 1 (47:52):
There's like a big crossover, so they're like they
must probably just two circlesoverlapped.
There's like a tiny little,tiny little bit of nothing they
must have been like this isbrilliant, like push, go, go for
your life, nicole and so then,then, then, the second book, you

(48:18):
know.

Speaker 2 (48:18):
So that was pretty easy.
And same with this one too.

Speaker 1 (48:20):
It was just, you know , it was just pitching the idea
of just because it's easier, ifyou, I guess, if you've had
success, the next one yeah, it'sa bit easier to get over the
line definitely, definitely, andyou know it's and you've
already got a relationship withthem as well so you know you

Speaker 2 (48:34):
always discuss it together.
In a way, it's like this is youknow, I've got this idea, this
idea and this idea you know what?
And they've got, you know,publishers.
Publishers are there to run abusiness too.
They're there to sell books, sothey need to make sure that,
whatever idea that you come upwith, they're like yep, that
makes sense, people will likethat, and they already know how
I work too, and so they knowthat, yep, I can deliver, I can,

(48:57):
you know, bring the images, Ican make it happen, and it'll be
all there on deadline and thatkind of thing.
So there's a bit of trustinvolved in that too?

Speaker 1 (49:05):
And what about working with Alicia?
Was that a suggestion with thepublisher, or have you known
Alicia in her work?
How does that sort of pairinghappen?
Yeah, so I pretty muchrecommend.

Speaker 2 (49:16):
I have recommended everyone.
I kind of just want to workwith my people in a way so cool,
yeah, so I've worked with um,the same book.
The first book designer wasdifferent, but then the second
resident dog and art andresidence was the same book
designer who I love.
Um, also melbourne based.
Um.
And then I've had differentwriters resident dog writers
were slightly different from theart and residence one and I

(49:38):
think that, yeah, I know aliciaand I love, love Alicia and I
know her work and I knew thatshe'd also started going out and
started her own business too,so it was kind of perfect timing
.
So, um, yeah, and I loved herstyle.
So, again, I guess what I do isI, she was in.
I then tell the publishers thatI've got this great writer yeah
, here's some examples of herwriting, and I don't think they
even read it.

(49:59):
They were like yep, great ifgreat.
If you're happy, we're happy.
So it was sort of it's a goodteam.

Speaker 1 (50:04):
How long did it take to shoot?
So, if you're because you weretraveling overseas as well, did
you just kind of like squish itall into a tight timeframe, or
did you do it in bits and piecesover a longer period of time?

Speaker 2 (50:14):
I always wonder that, because obviously to travel
from Australia unfortunatelythere's a bit of time in it,
right, I know well, I ended up.
What I ended up doing was I didthe england, I went over to
england and did the english anda few european houses together
and then I came back toaustralia and then I went over

(50:34):
to america.
I came back and maybe for sixweeks and I went to america and
did the american houses and thencame back and during that time
I would just do the australianhouses kind of in.
So I think with Resident Dog Idid it all in one go and it was
a really.
It went to England and thenAmerica and was really pretty
full on and not so glamorous,you know, traveling for work so
glamorous but it actually wasn'tat all, because all you're

(50:56):
doing is literally flying andpicking up a car and checking
into an airbnb or a hotel andthen driving and got you know
and you, and it's also this kindof I don't know whether I'm
paranoid or there's a slightfear in the back of your mind
the whole time that you're,you're on a schedule and if
anything happens like you getsick or you, you know, you're um
or something, you know anythinghappens like that, then the

(51:17):
whole schedule, you know howdoes that?
You know, yeah, and then youhave to start back at square one
and everything has to changeand the flights have to change
and the accommodation, and youhave to fly back and you fly
back again.

Speaker 1 (51:26):
Oh my God, that sounds horrible.
You've kind of burst the bubblethere, because I just imagined
you're having chicken roastdinners with your, and then
you're having Aperol and there'sa dog.

Speaker 2 (51:37):
I know, sorry, the reality, the reality of shooting
the book.
But the second time around Ithink I was a much more.
I mean as much as there'salways a kind of stress behind
it.
I definitely gave myself a fewdays in between to make sure
that I could.
There were days that ifanything was to happen you know
that it started raining orsomething and it was awful

(51:57):
weather I could change it.
Or if it wasn't, then you knowknow, I got that day free to go
to go to and explore a city orthat kind of thing.

Speaker 1 (52:05):
So you're doing it anyway.
You're there anyway, right,even if it's only a day, just to
have some kind of experiencewherever you are like.

Speaker 2 (52:14):
Yeah, I think it's important to take that moment, I
agree, and I think that'ssomething I don't know, maybe
that's something that you kindof learn as well, because I
think, you know, I don't know, Isort of sometimes I think that
I'm there for I'm there for workand I'm there to accomplish
something, so I must go andaccomplish it and then, yeah,
trying to find a happy mediumbetween the two, um, I think

(52:35):
it's, yeah, it's a have to learn.
You know, I think I I come froma background you know my
parents are hard workers and youknow my dad said you know you
work nine to five and get thejob done, kind of thing.
I think you know that the newway of working is to be able to
you know thread other thingsinto it to, yeah, make the most
of it.
So, yeah, so, hopefully the nextbook will be.

(52:56):
It will just get better andbetter.

Speaker 1 (52:57):
hopefully Then, I won't come back at all.
That's what I was gonna ask.
Have you got an idea foranother book?
I do yes oh, anything you cantell us probably not yet.

Speaker 2 (53:11):
Not yet too early, probably a little bit too early
so have you started working onit um sort of I've definitely
started thinking about it a lotand so yeah, so, yeah, so I
think yeah probably next yearI'll start working on that one.
Okay, so that'll be fun too.

Speaker 1 (53:26):
That's fun.
So you've got your books,you've got your interior design
architect clients.
Do you do other like commercialwork as well?

Speaker 2 (53:36):
Not so much no.
Pretty much architecture is myniche yeah, Architecture and
interiors.
So I was working witharchitects, interior designers
or suppliers, some of the youknow, the furniture or lighting
or bathroom people, sometimesthe developers or the builders
sometimes.
But yeah, that's what I enjoyphotographing.
So sometimes I'll do a portrait.
Every now and then, when adesigner asks me, I'll say can

(53:59):
we, you know, and I'll pop theminto the architecture and take a
photo of them.

Speaker 1 (54:03):
but yeah, it's something it's so awkward for us
as well.

Speaker 2 (54:07):
Yes, having your portrait taken, and it's also
it's usually the worst time.

Speaker 1 (54:11):
I really got lucky.
On the last one I did, I don'tknow, maybe because the house
was, um, it was one of myprojects and it was a very kind
of finished house.
Maybe it was just a little bitless stressful.
But usually we're like runningaround trying to make sure
everything's perfect and thenit's like, okay, let's get a
lovely glamorous shot of you.

Speaker 2 (54:30):
Never at the end, You're never feeling good right.

Speaker 1 (54:33):
Yeah, it needs to be at the start, but at the start
you don't feel like you've gotthe time.
So it's just this kind of weirdstress and and I don't know
what it was about the last shootI did, I was just feeling like
yep, going to plop myself in ashot and I actually really love
it.
I don't know, maybe I justdidn't overthink it.
Yeah, I think it's so hard.

Speaker 2 (54:48):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (54:49):
I agree, I agree.
So you've just moved into a newplace, mount Martha, are you?

Speaker 2 (54:54):
going to shoot that, probably.
I mean, you know, well, I don'tknow, probably I'll take some
pictures of it, I don't knowwhat, for just for myself, I
guess.

Speaker 1 (55:03):
Yeah, we need to see it.
Yeah, we need to see thetransformation.

Speaker 2 (55:07):
We probably need to shoot it kind of sooner rather
than later, because you knowwhen you probably find, with
your houses too, is that onceyou settle into a home you don't
look at it anymore.

Speaker 1 (55:15):
You know, when it's new and fresh, it's exciting.

Speaker 2 (55:17):
That's true for sure.

Speaker 1 (55:19):
Yeah, I love that excitement of the new house.

Speaker 2 (55:21):
Yes, well, maybe you can come and visit one day too.
I will.

Speaker 1 (55:24):
We'll take you up on that.
We'll have our pearl sprints.
Yes exactly Deal Well.
Thank you so much, Nicole, forjoining us.
It's been such a great chat andsuper interesting.
I've loved all the stories Same, and we'll be coming up to say

(55:45):
hi, um, yeah and yeah.

Speaker 2 (55:46):
Really can't wait to see what the new book is about
too.
Yeah, thank you, got us insuspense.

Speaker 1 (55:48):
It's so inspiring.
I think it's just meeting,meeting yourself, somebody who
is just in their creativity.
It's just so inspiring.
So thank you for sharing allthat good vibe with us thank you
.

Speaker 2 (55:59):
Thank's been fun.
We're all going off to manifest.

Speaker 1 (56:02):
I know I'm going to write down my big dreams.
Yes, good Thanks, nicole.
Thank you, bye.
Thank you.
We've got the utmost respectfor the Wurundjeri people of the
Kulin Nation.
They're the OG custodians ofthis unceded land and its waters
, where we set up shop, createand call home and come to you.

(56:25):
From this podcast today, a bigshout out to all of the amazing
elders who have walked before us, those leading the way in the
present and the emerging leaderswho will carry the torch into
the future.
We're just lucky to be on thisjourney together.