Behind the Scenes: Early Fall 2010 Catalog Shoot
Talk about inspiration. The location shoot for our Early Fall 2010 catalog took place in a very heavenly setting – San Carlos Borroméo de Carmelo Mission, one of California’s oldest Spanish missions. Founded in 1771, the seaside mission remains active to this day and is a place of unbelievable beauty and serenity. We always love shooting in California, but Carmel holds a special place in our hearts. The people are unbelievably accommodating and the unique architecture and lush landscaping in Carmel are truly breathtaking. In fact, the gorgeous earth tones reflected in the building and grounds of the Carmel Mission served as the design muse for our entire catalog!

Candy Friedli at the San Carlos Borroméo de Carmelo Mission
Our trip to Carmel also helped inspire the theme of this catalog, “Destination DownEast”. Just as a roadmap highlights the local attractions, our catalog pages point out fashion “points of interest” along the pathway to fall. Just look for the coral-colored asterisks – they mark some of the hot new fashion trends and “must have” looks, from fun, geometric prints and metallic thread scarves to retro argyle. This catalog is definitely a fashion primer for what’s new and now!
The colors at the Carmel Mission also influenced the backdrop for our indoor studio shots. Our photographer had a huge piece of fabric that was treated with actual mud and earth! It was weathered and looked like it was from the 1770s. The muted neutrals and earth tones really helped to make our new fall colors and prints pop right off the page!

We brought in a few new faces for the Early Fall catalog. You’ll see in the studio shots that we feature a new model with Leanne, a lovely brunette named Amera. And on-location at the mission is Danielle, who is also our cover girl. For our DownEast Girl shoot, we had three adorable pint-sized models showing off our early fall styles. Sadie, on the right, has modeled for DownEast for the past two years. She’s joined here by Hannah (middle) and Sydney (left). These little ladies are naturals and really made our Girl line come to life!

From the stunning mission grounds to the vintage Porsche that appears in some of the shots, our new Early Fall catalog really corners the market on style and atmosphere. Not to mention, we were very fortunate that the coastal weather cooperated for us. All week long it poured, nearly requiring us to cancel. On Thursday, however, things dried up enough for us to complete a full day of shooting under gray, cloudy skies. Those days are really the best for outdoor photography, since it eliminates harsh lighting and shadows. But no sooner than I said, “that’s a wrap,” the downpour started again. I’m thinking maybe there was a little heavenly intervention that kept the rain away long enough for us to get our work done? Just another good reason to shoot at the Carmel Mission!

One more unique thing about this catalog: the special offer on the front cover for 10% off your next entire online purchase! Simply enter promo code FALL10 at checkout through August 31, 2010.
I hope you’re enjoying a fantastic summer and looking forward to a fashionable fall!
All the best,
Candy




















