✵ Pretty little celestial creamer by UK designer Susie Cooper acquired via eBay. ✵
photos & content © Lara Rossignol
Good Finds 
It has been raining non-stop all weekend, last night thunder and lighting joined the party. I hate few things more than driving in the rain and I had to do a lot of driving this weekend. I just took my time and kept my speed down, while others sped past sputtering me with water as they went. I won my tournament which was a prelim to qualify for the U.S. Amateur Championships. I will head to Tampa for that event in early November, it will be the third time I have played in it. Anything interesting in Tampa for me to check out?
An easy & fun way to add a personal touch, I have loved rubber stamps since way back when. You may have noticed this little guy in the intro to my website, it is from an actual stamp I bought at least 20 years ago, scanned and made into a jpeg. I even found a font by Keith Bates that has some very cool stamp art.
I have built up quite a kawaii collection since then most recently a set by Shinzi Katoh, a fantastic nature set from Chronicle and oh how I want this Eames set but it's out of stock. My newest is a groovy custom return address stamp I just got from The Paper Princess. You can also find a large variety of colored inks, like mine from Paper Salon. Or try some ink pens for even more precise color applications.
❀ I am off to South Carolina for another tournament, so have a wonderful weekend and I will return next week with another fantastic giveaway!
all photos & content © Lara Rossignol
Crafty, Kawaii Friday 
As the mercury drops there are few meals I find more satisfying than a good bowl of soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. I like extra sharp cheddar, a good bread (a soft potato bread in this case) and for some extra zing I sprinkle some Old Bay & garlic salt on each buttered side before grilling. This gives it a kind of texas toast spin.
Food Finds 
I wish I could remember the exact date, I do know it was the early 90's when I got the assignment to photograph Patrick Swayze. It was a cover shoot for The Cable Guide, which though a small outfit, paid well and flew me via the fabled MGM Grand Airlines to L.A. for the shoot. The art director was great and very open to letting me just do my thing. I was not really a fan of Swayze's but I had really liked Ghost and at this time he was pretty huge. I shot at Smashbox studios and was very impressed that he showed up solo with no entourage in tow. It made sense though, as I soon learned he was just a very nice, down to earth man who was also patient and willing to try anything I suggested, not always the case when working with celebrities.
Most know he has had a long battle with cancer, which he sadly lost earlier this week at the age of 57. I went into my file cabinet and pulled the file I have from the shoot. I have not looked at them in at least six or seven years and was actually amazed at how much we had shot. I do not even remember the sweatshirt set up above. The top shot was scanned from a color slide, an image I remember loving but I am sure has never been published. As I believe is the case with most of these. It came from the same set up below and I think the progression you can see in the proof sheet* is interesting. *Please forgive my fogging scanner it reacts badly to humidity.
He was even game enough to dawn some vintage cowboy gear and walk over to the nearby Rae's Restaurant, a legendary Santa Monica diner with classic signage.
I may not have been a fan before I met Patrick but I certainly was one after. Because of my work I am privileged to meet some unique and talented people. The challenge is to capture something of what makes them so in an image. It can be an intimate tug of war while you work to gain the subject's trust. In a few rare cases, such as Patrick, the subject gives even more of themselves than is fair to ask...
all photos & content © Lara Rossignol
