.portfolio .nicola rickard Styling
.contents
. about me 5 .Helen Round 6 .Kingscombe Farm 12 .cottagecore 18 .Rebecca Roberts 24 .adverts 34 .cocktail feature 28 .making 38
.about me
With a background in broadcast journalism and marketing, the move to interior design & styling came from a decision to follow my passion in the industries. Graduating with a degree in Interior Design, Decoration & Styling from Arts University Plymouth in 2023; my growing interests sit within commercial & residential dressing; home staging & styling work. As a ‘hobbyist’ photographer I also appreciate & understand the photographic needs from a studio & on location.
A keen ‘maker’, I enjoy creating physical elements to my styling; incorporating a client’s brief, as well as showcasing their products or space to the best of my abilities.
As an individual I’m enthusiastic to learn, work across design platforms & throw myself into every project until completion.
4–5
.Helen Round
.Shop styling
Helen Round is a well-known textiles & soft-furnishings creator based in South-East Cornwall. Helen wanted her shop window dressed for the festive period, but wanted her sustainable ethics & low-impact production methods highlighted at the same time.
It was decided to extend the work across the whole shop, festively styling it with a small collection of hand-crafted rag wreaths created from material off-cuts featuring Helen’s designs & colour palettes.
A studio shoot was also completed to assist with social media content over the festive period.
.Helen Round
.Shop styling
.client Helen Round
.concept Creating a small collection of hand-made wreaths of various sizes & rag finishes (traditional, knotted & wrapped) for a sustainable visual merchandising approach - the brief was to embrace Helen Round’s creative working ethos by incorporating re-purposing into the shop styling. This was then mixed alongside the best selling product ranges for customer’s attention.
Continuing the re-purposed approach, fabric covered baubles & trees were also made. And to complete the festive look; wreaths, swags & garlands were made from local greenery.
The finished aesthetic was ‘Christmassy’ but with a sympathetic nod to sustainability, while ensuring Helen’s products remained the centre of attention.
Then, to reach Helen’s growing on-line following, I wrote a blog post detailing the reasoning for the finished aesthetic, as well as including a ‘How to...’ guide, should any of her 14,000 Instagram followers wish to emulate the style, as well as up-sell her packs of off-cut materials.
.web https://www.helenround.com/ blogs/stories-from-the-studio/ diy-christmas-decorations-fabric-wreaths
8–9
.Helen Round
“We really enjoyed working with Nicola and her styling, using her own bespoke made props and our product range, was much admired by both customers and the team at Helen Round.”
10–11
Helen Round
.Farmhouse rental styling
Kingscombe Farm in North Cornwall is a set of converted farmhouses & barns, now serving as a small set of holiday lets, which are rented out as short stays throughout the year. The main farmhouse & some of the out-buildings needed dressing for Christmas for holiday guests.
This was to be the first Christmas the barns were open for two years (following Covid-19) & the owners felt the need to make a special effort for their guests to welcome them in for the festive period.
.Kingscombe
.farmhouse rental styling
.concept The brief was to put together a collection of traditional festive styles sympathetic to the build, period & features of the spaces, with a neutral colour palette that was welcoming to guests.
With a changeover of guests throughout the Christmas period, the products needed longevity to ensure that they would last the duration, but also look good throughout - I made sure that any greenery had a water source or were hardy enough to last.
Antique glass decor was used on the table settings & a traditional Christmas theme for the rest of the spaces. With the mix of guests enjoying a stay, the look needed to be universally appealing, so no bright colours or themes were used.
.client Kingscombe Farm Holiday Cottages.Kingscombe
14–15
.Kingscombe
“Nicola’s design transformed our farmhouse! Her work was sympathetic to the style of the house yet innovative.
Nicola brought fun and flair to the project; working efficiently to create stunning results. We look forward to working with her again on our next venture.”
16–17
Adi & Sue Rowe Kingscombe Holiday Cottages
.cottagecore
.interiors trend feature
The concept of this shoot combined Cottagecore with a greenhouse dining setting - both trends highlighted by trend forecaster WGSN as emergents of Covid- 19 lockdown.
The shoot was mocked to fit with the style of ‘Country Living’ magazine as part of a series of styling, editorial features, interivews & adverts in the style of the publication.
18–19
.interiors trend feature
.client Country Living magazine
.concept An interiors trend emerging from the Covid lockdowns of 2020, Cottagecore stemmed from the re-discovered interest of being at home, along with the nostalgia of idyllic times spent with families; with the trend itself growing (in the first instance) online.
The greenhouse dining setting grew out of Covid-19 restrictions of how many people could get together inside; this greenhouse setting meant more people could meet without breaking Government restrictions.
I created the shoot in an old potting shed greenhouse at a home in Cornwall, there were a lot of dried flowers in place which added to the look. Materials like gingham, lace & ditsy florals were the centrepiece of the scene.
20–21
.cottagecore
22–23
.product styling
Rebecca Roberts hand-crafts ceramics that artistically represent the South-West’s coastline. A former Arts University Plymouth student & now locally-based ceramicist, Rebecca wanted a set of professional images to be used on social media platforms, her website & for general branding purposes.
.Rebecca
.Rebecca Roberts
.product styling
.concept Often purchased as gifts, the idea was to curate a collection of images that would set Rebecca’s products in lifesyle, allowing potential customers to view them ‘in situ’ rather than just on a shelf.
The two main product lines, ‘Coastline’ (crockery) & a collection of abstract bowls, were set in the different seasons of the year - from a Spring breakfast to Christmas hot chocolate.
Visiting Rebecca to catch her working behind the scenes, meant there was good opportunity to understand her way of working & what she envisaged for her range of ceramics & how that then might be translated into the styling of the shoots.
.client Rebecca Roberts ceramicist
26–27
.Rebecca Roberts
28–29
.adverts
.styled adverts
The concept of these shoots was to emulate recognised national adverts as featured in mainstream lifestyle magazines.
This collection of adverts was mocked to fit with the style of ‘Country Living’ magazine, part of a series of styling, editorial features, interivews & adverts in the style of the publication.
30–31
.styled adverts
.client Country Living magazine
.concept I curated, styled & photographed these adverts as part of a mocked magazine project. With the aim of emulating Country Living magazine, the companies featured are often seen in this publication & with a December edition, had a heavy lean of Christmas advertising.
Page 3: Salcombe Gin is a South Devon distillery. I wanted a simple, enticing image that let the brand speak for itself.
Previous double page: enticing festive food styling for a Waitrose Christmas advert. Sharing platters have become increasingly popular & I felt this was a good choice to highlight Waitrose’s vast range
Opposite: the idea for the Morris & Co advert came from the feature wall in the image. I found it at a house in Cornwall & decided to make a round & square wreath in William Morris fabrics to tie it together.
I had a collection of Dunelm Christmas decorations already & like to create simple, modern displays with excess tree baubles so used the glass vases with fairy lights & placed the LED ‘Merry’ light on top.
32–33
.christmas cocktail feature
A collection of styled cocktails, also a sample of my own photography.
.cocktail feature
.christmas cocktail feature
.client Country Living magazine
.concept A festively styled collection of cocktails & recipes for a full mock-up of Country Living magazine
36–37
.making
.making
A keen maker, in addition to the items made in previous references, this small section documents some of the other making previously completed
.client various
.concept Owning a home that has been the subject of re-development for the last 4 years, the front door that was there on purchase still remains in place now. Since moving in I have almost constantly made a seasonal wreath to go on the door, which turned into a small cottage industry for people in the local area.
On the initial page of this section is an autumnal wreath that I made & use each year. Opposite is a hops & berries wreath made for a coastal North Cornish home for the festive season.
On the following page is a small home bar, which was re-purposed from an IKEA Billy bookcase for a sustainabilty project.
40–41
.making
.making
.contact
.mail nicola@rickard-design.com
.phone +44 7585 844216
.web rickard-design.com
.social instagram/rickard.design
LinkedIn/Nicola Rickard
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www.rickard-design.com