For the last couple of weeks I have had the pleasure of working with photographer, Kent Dayton, on capturing new images for Merida Home to help tell our incredible story!
The Team (Left to Right) – Christina / Carrie / Kent / Whitney / Maegan / Heather (Front-Center)
Carrie (Merida’s Marketing Manager) and I planned for 2 separate shoots. The first was at our Fall River facility where product swatch and studio photos were taken. Kent also explored our manufacturing facility and started capturing the people and development behind our products.
The second shoot was located at a beautiful home on New Hampshire’s Lake Sunapee. This shoot was meant to help express how the rugs are used in an actual room setting. I thought this was a perfect location for Merida Home. The house used to be an old camp, and has now been updated to have a very sophisticated presence with a fun, comfortable feel. Below are some behind the scenes photos of setting up each shot and the final images Kent captured at Lake Sunapee.
BEFORE
Viewing some of the first shots on Kent’s laptop of the living room with our Kona rug
AFTER
Final shot of Kona Black Walnut
I ended up using a bunch of throw pillows and blankets to help tie in the rugs with their surroundings. The wood floor in the living room had been painted a deep indigo blue, and walls a warm orange. I thought it would be best to enhance the complimentary colors and add persimmon toned pillows to the couch. With all the hues combined the rug popped and completed the setting!
BEFORE
Whitney and Christina arranging the children’s room to feature our Kids Viewpoint rug
AFTER
Final room shot with Fair Isle Capri
We really wanted to keep each photo clean and focused, so for the kids room we eliminated any clutter and simplified the elements. The dark blue throw was a bit too heavy and didn’t work well with all the lighter tones in the room. It wasn’t really allowing the rug to shine. We replaced it with a cream waffle weave throw. This brought in a new texture and softened the color palette.The final shot shows the light pale yellow walls and sea glass tones of blue in the furniture. This allowed the garden of color from the Viewpoint rug to glow. We threw in accents of toys and pink slippers, but kept the overall feel clean and inviting with the focus being on the rug.
BEFORE
Kent snapping images of our Madagascar Glacier rug while Carrie oversees
AFTER
Final shot of a Madagascar Glacier runner
This was a fun shot to set up. The painted wood floors of solid blue to checked yellow draw your eye through the composition. Even though there are a lot of elements to look at in the shot, the rug still is the main feature. It’s texture is so dimensional against all the other smooth surfaces in the room.
I’m really glad we were able to use this beautiful home to showcase Merida’s rugs. It was a very successful day and we were able to get 14 different room shots. We are in the process of finalizing the photos now and I’m excited for them to be posted on our website soon!
Earlier this year Merida visited the Rhode Island School of Design president’s house to meet with John Maeda (RISD President), Pat Brown (Media + Partners), and Beth Garvin (VP of Institutional Engagement). They were in the midst of furnishing the house and were eager to place Merida rugs!
John’s goal is to fill the first floor, which is used to bring members of the RISD community together, with furniture, textiles, accessories and artwork, all created by RISD alumni. Of course, I was excited to give back to my alma matter and to see the designs in such a beautiful space at RISD!
After presenting, Merida learned that RISD had a meeting scheduled with the Target Corporation for the following week – the house was in dire need of rugs. We were able to quickly make and ship two Bricks rugs from our Structure Collection for delivery before their event.
Below, John speaks about our visit in his presentation about RISD, Start Engaging Here, at Knoll’s Boston showroom. It was great to hear how pleased he was with the results!
You can also check out John’s post, Merida Meridian Marvelous, on RISD’s blog.
We still have some additional rugs we hope to place in the home such as, Links in Butterscotch for the dining room, Hydrangea Lime Light for the living room, and Folk Bitter Chocolate for the library. It’s going to look fantastic!
