Get The TechniqueToday's post is written by Anduin Havens, Art Director for The Martha Stewart Show.
More than any other area on the set of The Martha Stewart Show, the Craft Area changes with the seasons and holidays. We started Season 5 with light summery colors but moved quickly to the warmer, more autumnal palette of Halloween. Thanksgiving soon followed, then Christmas. January saw chilly greens and blues.
We enjoy coming up with new ideas, some of which become craft projects on the show, like the ribbon snakes Halloween decoration, and the corner-punched hearts from the Valentines set. Currently we are celebrating yarn crafts, with many beautiful skeins given generously by Lion Brand Yarn Studio.
Chip Glynn is the set decorator in charge of the Craft Area. We brainstorm and find the story we want the area to tell. Chip then collects a wonderful assortment of inspired things from our stock, from the company prop library, and from innumerable other sources. The decorating process starts well in advance with much planning and organizing. When the day comes to dress the set, it can be very fun! Tuesday we had one hour to change over the set for the Pink Show - that takes a lot of planning!
1 At the start of Season 5, the Craft Area color was pale green and brown.
2 Chip found beautiful shells and coral – a display of the summer’s treasures.
3 The set is decorated for Halloween the entire month of October
4 These snakes are made of wired ribbon and jewel eyes.
5 November brings warm rusts and browns. The display of spools and ribbon was Chip’s creation
6 The cubbies on the left side of the room.
7 Snowflakes made of doilies stretched in embroidery hoops bring winter to the Craft Room.
8 We loved the ribbon and spool display – the addition of Buri animals bring it into the woodland theme for Christmas.
9 In January we refresh our senses with more bright green and soft browns. Our ribbon is supplied by Masterstroke Canada and the boxes come from Russel and Hazel.
10 Valentine’s Day dressing is so fun and pretty!
11 These paper hearts were edged with corner punches. Martha demonstrated how to make these on the show.
12 Cubbies in the Craft Area – Chip really pays attention to detail.
13 The Yarn Craft Area, thanks to Lion Brand!
14 We are ready to dress the set for the Pink Show.
15 Chip removes the green inspiration board…
16 … and replaces it with a pink one.
17 Anduin hangs a pink knit dress.
18 The Craft Area dressed for the Pink Show!
Keep watching to see what changes happen in the Craft Area the rest of the season. I hope they inspire you!
From: Eliza B. | 3/4/10 at 10:22 am
Changing the set for the seasons is almost like redecorating a room to reflect each phase of the year ... the warm lighting and greens and browns above look very cozy and inviting!
From: MMC in San Diego | 3/4/10 at 12:06 pm
As a long-time viewer, I'll have to say that the seasonal set decoration is one of the things that brings me back to the show again and again. You guys have a dream job--using color and seasonal objects to reflect the season. I *just love* your work!
(And then when they play re-runs during the summer, it's interesting to see the seasonal set design out-of-season. Quite a jolt to my sensibilities!)
Please know that none of your background set designs goes unnoticed! Your work greatly enhances the whole experience. XO
From: Mieko | 3/4/10 at 5:55 pm
What a great idea to have an inspiration board which can change according to the themes of the room throughout the course of the year. I love it. I have a plain cork board right now, but I'll cover it with a spring theme fabric this weekend. As usual, thank you for sharing such fantastic ideas!! I love checking in with your blog.
From: *gemmifer* | 3/4/10 at 10:07 pm
Chip's sounds like a dream job, and he definitely does it incredibly well! These sets are beautiful at first view and so very interesting when you move in to see all the attention to detail. I would be happy to spend each day in this craft area--it is very inspirational!
From: Anita P | 3/5/10 at 9:42 am
Thanks for sharing all this behind the scenes info, makes me appreciate the show that much more. Great Work!!
From: Carmelina Lounsbury | 3/5/10 at 1:04 pm
loved the pink set....yum, yum, yummy!!! sounds like the perfect job!
ciao
From: Yarns on Set: The Martha Stewart Show | Lion Brand Notebook | 3/7/10 at 9:01 am
[...] blog over at Martha Stewart.com, so see photos of the set in its many beautiful incarnations by clicking here — the final set with yarn-decor is towards the [...]
From: Patio Furniture Garden | 3/10/10 at 8:50 am
[...] Incarnations of the TV Craft Area « The Crafts Dept. [...]
From: NIORMA JEAN STRAWSER | 8/2/10 at 8:05 am
Fairly recently you had a TV show which included the craft for making a PAPER/VINAL WALLET.
This morning I've been searching for two hours on the internet for these instructions with NO LUCK!
CAN ANYONE HELP??????????
Thanks in advance. jean