Better Homes & Gardens / Color / Sea Shades

Photography: Kat Teutsch, Styling and Art Direction: Marcus Hay for SMH, Inc 

Out takes from the shoot, Photography: Marcus Hay for SMH, Inc 

For the June issue of Better Homes & Gardens, Marcus was asked to pair up once again with the wonderful Photographer Kat Teutsch to work on a series of color trend related stories. You can see more to follow in the comings months. This time the subject matter was Sea Shades.

Having grown up near the beach most of my childhood and being very lucky to do so, This months Color Story was close to my heart reminding me of my earlier life in Sydney, Australia. Here at SMH, Inc we just love shades of blues and greens and nautical themes. Coral fans are just so magical and when paired with glass and driftwood, a still life comes alive, you can almost smell the ocean breeze.

Better Homes & Gardens / Color / Peony Pinks

Photography: Kat Teutsch, Styling and Art Direction: Marcus Hay for SMH, Inc

Out takes from the shoot, Photography: Marcus Hay for SMH, Inc 

For the May issue of Better Homes & Gardens, Marcus was asked to pair up once again with the wonderful Photographer Kat Teutsch to work on a series of color trend related stories. You can see more to follow in the comings months. This time the subject matter was Peony Pinks.

Peonies are native to Asia, Europe and Western North America. Scientists differ on the number of species that can be distinguished ranging from 25 to 40, They have compound deeply lobed leaves and large, often fragrant flowers, in colors ranging from purple red, pink to white or yellow, in late spring and early summer. The peony is among the longest-used flowers in Eastern culture, In 1903, the Qing dynasty declared the peony as the national flower.

We don't know anyone who does not love this flower and they are always such a pleasure to work with although they can be unpredictable, they can go from tightly bunched like small balls to overflowing and petals dropping within a few hours, Actually in this shoot it was the lighter Peonies that decided to open earlier than the darker ones as you ca see in the picture.

Better Homes & Gardens/ Home / Berry Reds

Photography: Kat Teutsch, Styling: Marcus Hay for SMH, inc

Photography: Studio Marcus Hay, Inc, Behind the scenes shots of props

Tis is the Season where berries are abound. Marcus styled this color story for the magazine Better Homes & Gardens and it's on news stands now! It's always a wonderful experience to shoot with Photographer Kat Teutsch.  

We always like working with the dynamic nature of red at SMH, Inc but red historically is associated with the color of blood, it has also historically been associated with sacrifice, danger and courage. In the USA and Europe red is also the color most commonly associated with heat, activity, passion, sexuality, anger, love and joy. In China, India and many other Asian countries it is the color of symbolizing happiness and good fortune, At the holiday's red berries means celebration and used for decoration. 

Many of the berries pictured here are of the bittersweet family,  a semi-woody vine  which scrambles over other plants, the berry is poisonous to humans and livestock, kind of ironic that we associate both the dangerous color red and toxic berries with the Holidays but we love them anyway, even if tempted just don't eat them! 

Better Homes & Gardens / Home / Regal Purples

Photography: Kat Teutsch, Styling: Marcus Hay for SMH, Inc

Photography: Studio Marcus Hay, Props sourced for the shoot and shot while setting up

Photography: Studio Marcus Hay, Props sourced for the shoot and shot while setting up

Purple was the color worn by Roman magistrates; it became the imperial color worn by the rulers of the Byzantine Empire and the Holy Roman Empire and later by Roman Catholic bishops. Similarly in Japan, the color is traditionally associated with the Emperor and aristocracy. For us at Studio Marcus Hay it will always be associated with the late and great singer Prince who sadly passed away earlier this year.

When sourcing for this image Marcus tapped into rich velvets, amethyst crystals and feathers. Purple runs the gamut of tones, Anywhere from a rich deep blue purple to a lilac to a red hued burgundy.

We enjoyed shooting this image for Better Homes & Gardens featured in the November issue and shot once again by the lovely Photographer Kat Teutsch. 

Better Homes and Gardens / Crushing on Copper Cover / Oct, 2016

Photography: Kat Teutsch, Styling by Marcus Hay for SMH, Inc 

Photography: Kat Teutsch, Styling by Marcus Hay for SMH, Inc

Behind the scenes; Photography and Styling: Marcus Hay for SMH, Inc 

Behind the scenes; Photography and Styling: Marcus Hay for SMH, Inc

We were delighted when Better Homes and Gardens Magazine,  with whom we contribute regularly on color related stories and covers asked us to style the October cover which is on newstands currently to celebrate the emergence of Fall and the color/ metal Copper.

Working with the team we created a number of crafts executed by the amazing Andrea Greco, a long time collaborator at Studio Marcus Hay, Inc who spent many hours copper leafing everything from pumpkins to gourds to wooden bowls, even birch sticks! 

Marcus spent a great deal of time researching copper props and making sure there was a combination of beautiful older and newer copper items.

We loved having the opportunity to work again with the ever talented Photographer Kat Teutsch and delightful BH&G's Senior Style Editor Eugenia Santiesteban Soto and Creative Director Jennifer Mandara. 

Look out for more color inspired pages In BH&G's in the coming months. 

Better Homes & Gardens/ Home/ Peach & Mint

Photography: Kat Teutsch, Styling by Marcus Hay for SMH, Inc

Props sourced for the shoot, Left: A selection from the prop houses, Alternative surface and ceramics by the very talented Clay Kat Ceramics

Peach and Mint can be reminiscent of the 1980's when we had a love affair with that color combo way back then. This Summer in 2016, it looks fresh again! Sherbet tones always seem cool and inviting. 

When Marcus was asked to style this months Home/ Color pages for Better Homes & Gardens, He wanted to embrace the stone fruit of summer in the way of peaches and use them within the shoot creating a modern take on a tea party. Using props from Fort Standard, Mud Australia, Hay Copenhagen and Clay Kat Ceramics he created a very graphic shot with Photographer Kat Teutsch 

Look out for next month's color trends also produced by Marcus and the team at SMH, Inc.

Better Home & Gardens/ Home/ Yellow

Photography: Kat Teutsch, Styling and Art Direction: Studio Marcus Hay, Inc

Sourcing Images Photography: Studio Marcus Hay, Inc

Sourcing Images, Photography: Studio Marcus Hay, Inc

For the latest issue of Better Homes and Gardens Magazine, Marcus for SMH, Inc was asked to produce a color trends story with the color Yellow. 

As most of you would know we love a color trends story and yellow is a particular favorite, Yellow is often reminiscent of the 1960's where some the inspiration for the propping came from for this image using some items actually sourced from that era including some of the yellow plastic molded trays and ceramic dishes. It was the era of "Mellow Yellow" but in our eyes, mellow is hardly a word you would call yellow, When Donavan sang "They call me Mellow Yellow" in 1966, It was rumoured he was singing about smoking dried banana leaves, Maybe it was just a color that had popularity in the 1960's as soon after in the same year the Beatles released "Yellow Submarine" with Donavan's help, he was obviously into the color! 

It's so much fun to create these stories most months for Better Homes and Gardens and to work once again with the delightful Photographer Kat Teutsch.

Better Homes & Gardens/ Spring Color Trends/ Whisper Whites

Photography: Kat Teutsch, Art Direction & Styling: Studio Marcus Hay, Inc

The palette and props, Photography: Studio Marcus Hay, Inc

Working on a new image for magazine Better Homes and Gardens with Photographer Kat Teutsch is always a pleasure and here at Studio Marcus Hay, Inc really speaks to our love of color trends and theory. 

Whisper Whites was this months theme and we were excited to use almost non color this time after so many months of using bright color palettes. It's always a favorite and feels so serene and classic. With just a hint of pink or blue for instance we paired many textures including porcelain, ceramics by Elephant Ceramics, limestone, travertine, marble and satin ribbon.

Evoking classical themes, we wanted it to have a Spring feel, hence the use of blooms including peony roses, tulips, carnations and runucculas. We also sourced fossils and crystal to give it a link to the natural world.

Look out for our next color story for the magazine out soon.