Pas de Deux Editorial Shot by Shelbie Dimond

I've admired Shelbie Dimond's photography for what seems like ages. As an analog photographer with a distinct artistic voice and penchant for all things vintage, romantic and beautiful, Shelbie has an innate ability to capture measured moodiness in quiet moments. I first learned of Shelbie's work when I began Honey Cooler Handmade back in 2011 and we had gone back and forth casually discussing doing a shoot for a while. When I found out that Shelbie was moving to Los Angeles, I just knew I had to finally book a shoot with her before she became too famous to work with me.

As a former dancer, I have long wanted to do a ballet-themed shoot with my lingerie. Lingerie and ballet seem like a sensible combination - both epitomize femininity and precision. Lucky for me, Shelbie was also itching to do a ballet themed shoot and was able to connect with Ryan Lee and her dance partner Raul Orozco, both ballet dancers in Colorado. Before we knew it, Ryan and Raul had their tickets booked and came out to shoot with us in San Francisco's beautiful Firehouse 8.

Ryan wears pieces from the Spring/Summer 2016 Janus collection, which is slowly being released and is available here. Rebecca Taff is responsible for Ryan's beautifully ethereal hair and makeup. I was delighted to see a few shots front this series posted on The Lingerie Briefs last month.

I hope you enjoy this photo series as much as I do, and be sure to check out more of Shelbie Dimond's incredible work on her site.

Photography by George Liao

I'm absolutely adoring these photos by George Liao shot at the Cotton Mill Studios in Oakland featuring Honey Cooler Handmade lingerie front and center. The shots star model Jordan Kimberly Popovich of Look Model Agency with hair and makeup by Alexandra Iriarte. Enjoy!

Cotillion Crop Top, Cotillion Bloomers

Cotillion Crop Top, Cotillion Bloomers

Deco Skull Cami, Deco Tap Shorts

Cotillion Chemise, Deco Sleep Mask, Deco Skull Camisole

Three 'Grams: Sharing the Love

I can't believe that Valentine's Day is almost upon us and I'm proud to say that I've been busier than ever filling out my stock for the year's most romantic holiday. I threw a big party with Rue Magazine and Zelma Rose just over a week ago, plus two Valentine's Day trunk shows, one at Dark Garden and one at A La Folie. While the in-person events are over for the moment, that doesn't mean that the HCH Etsy and BigCartel shops aren't fully stocked and ready to fulfill your most frou frou of Valentine's Day dreams. Make sure to scope out what I've got in stock, and remember - use code VDAY2014 until February 14th in either shop for free domestic (US) shipping on your order of ready-to-ship items.

I hope your Valentine's Day is a magnificent one! Following me on Instagram yet? Find me here - when I get to 1000 followers, I'll be giving away a big-ticket HCH item!

My trunk show with A La Folie.

My favorite SF landmark, the Palace of Fine Arts.

My Deco Bralette, Dixie Ribbon Corset and Tammy Knickers shot by November Light.

Photography by November Light

I'm absolutely in love with these shots of my Moonshine Chemises on model HollyElysa Miller from the talented Tom of November Light Photography. I shoot most of my one-of-a-kind pieces on plain white backgrounds, so it's just lovely to see these brought to life! Enjoy!

Zella Moonshine Chemise

Jessamine Moonshine Chemise, Lovina Knickers

Rox Moonshine Chemise

Tillie Moonshine Chemise

Hermione Moonshine Chemise

Jessamine Moonshine Chemise

Three 'Grams: Starting Off Strong

Wow. It's been quite awhile since I picked up my proverbial pen and added a little love to the HCH blog. Things have been busy to say the least, and my holiday season stretched just a tad longer than I had originally anticipated it would. After visiting family in Pennsylvania and Florida, we returned home to San Francisco just in time for a giant New Year's Eve party with some college friends. The next few days included a trip to Tahoe, lots of cooking with pals, a jaunt up to Muir Woods and Tomales Bay Oyster Company, and a New Year's Eve reboot party.

The icing on top of my magnificent holiday was meeting Dita Von Teese at Dark Garden while she was promoting her new Von Follies lingerie line. I sent the burlesque legend a box of HCH lingerie last year and we talked a bit about Honey Cooler Handmade. No big deal, right?

I hope your holidays were just as wonderful! To see more of the past few weeks' craziness (including partying with The Bachelor's dashing Juan Pablo - no kidding!), be sure you're following HCH on Instagram!

An impossibly cozy view from our cabin in North Lake Tahoe.

New Year's Eve (take two) at the DNA Lounge

Chatting lingerie with Dita Von Teese

Three 'Grams: Color of the Year

I've been so busy lately that blogging has taken a major backseat for me, but don't think for a second it means that things are all quiet here in my neck of the woods. I'm working hard to launch the first cohesive and official HCH Collection in the next two weeks. I've spent the better part of the last few months drafting, draping, fitting, sewing, organizing and doing all the other grunt work entailed in apparel design. From costing to hand grading, I've had my hands in dozens of different pots and I've loved all of it! There's so much on the horizon, so for now I wanted to take a quiet moment to throw out a Three 'Grams post.

Emerald was Pantone's color of the year and my recent Instagram shots have seemed to fit the trend pretty well. 

Our Hitchcockian room at The Burlington Hotel in Port Costa

Ribbon Corsets in progress for my trunk show with Dollhouse Bettie

 Chicken soup that helped fix this week's wicked cold

Three 'Grams: Happiness Is...

What a month. Actually, what a last-few-months.

Working on developing my collection as a one-woman show has proven quite the task: fun, challenging, exhausting, exhilarating. My big official lookbook shoot was this past Sunday and I can say with no hesitation that it was a perfect marriage of talent once again. My photographer Antonette Streeter is literally my aesthetic soulmate and made the whole shoot an absolute dream. Stylist Dominique Guillen, hair and makeup artist Rebecca Taff, model Alexis Hutt and videographer Tim Prestoza made up a pretty exquisite team. As we began to sneak peeks of the photos and video in progress, each of us found ourselves shaking our heads in amazement. The initial raw images are so exciting that I was almost in tears when I first saw them - though that could also be a symptom of the inevitable emotional exhaustion that comes after a project of this magnitude!

In the week gearing up for the shoot, I made sure I had a bit of fun to temper the stress. A potluck and an afternoon full of drinks at my favorite watering hole ensured that the weekend would go smoothly. And smoothly it went. Take a peek at what made me happy this week - and while you're at it, hit up my Instagram page to see even more sneak peeks into Sunday's shoot. You won't be disappointed.

Potluck setup

Alexis is a neo-pinup at Sunday's shoot

Trick Dog's phenomenal cocktails remove all symptoms of stress,

especially when paired with girly pow-wow time.

Three 'Grams: Evening Romance

Autumn has has made her magnificent entrance and the season is really off to a fantastic start. I just got back from New York a few days ago, where I witnessed one of the loveliest weddings I've ever attended, that of Sharin and Ryan, both very talented opera singers. The wedding was the highlight of the trip, but seeing a bunch of close college friends was a close second in significance... being in New York always reminds me just how much I miss the East Coast and all the great friends I have there.

As the summer has wrapped up, I've noticed a lot of my Instagram photos are darker, possibly because all the fun I've been having has been at night!

A birthday bonfire at Ocean Beach

 HCH Ribbon Corset headed to Dollhouse Bettie

True love at the Hudson

Three 'Grams: Ivory Everywhere

HCH Collection Bralette

Saturday morning fog before the 20th Street Block Party

The original Edwardian ribbon corset I used to draft the HCH version

Three 'Grams: (Not) Neutral

This week's Instagram photos were almost all neutral in color, but the week left me feeling anything but beige. I finished the first samples for my silk collection, set to release later this year. My first fitting with my lookbook model is next week, so I'm heading into the weekend with a huge sense of accomplishment. In the collection, you'll find updates of old HCH styles and a few new ones. A sneak peek below along with other shots from this week, including a peek into my previous life as a dancer who loved to play dress up - So... not much has changed!

Duck fat peach blackberry pie for a birthday party

New style: HCH Garter Belt

Steph in middle school

HCH in Chaos Magazine, Summer 2013

While I often loan lingerie pieces out for photo shoots, it's rare that the final product gets published, no matter how impressive the photography. But when Spain-to-SF-transplant stylist Anna Fortuny contacted me about having my pieces as part of a Chaos Magazine shoot, I had a feeling I'd be seeing HCH in lights, and boy was I right!

Two of my Deco Camisoles were featured as part of Chaos Magazine's Dolls Issue in an editorial titled Friendship, Love and Truth by photographer Reese Herrick.

Paulette Deco Camisole [SOLD]

On model at left: Penelope Deco Camisole

Download the full magazine here - it's all-out gorgeous and well worth the $5!

Photography and Styling: Reese Herrick

Assistant Stylist: Anna Fortuny

Makeup and Hair: Tara Abrahams

Models: Aspen and Haley at Cast

Red, White and Blue

Ever since I returned home from Europe I've been playing catch-up at HCH HQ, part of which has involved re-taking my Knicker, Bloomer and Garçonne Tap Short photos. Those of you who follow HCH on Facebook and Twitter know I've been struggling with photographing bottoms on a mannequin for the past few months. Two agonizing paint jobs, hundreds of discarded photos, a purchased (then abandoned) lightbox, and a tripod later, I feel like I may have finally nailed it!

So, just in time for the inevitable patriotic run-up to July 4th, here's a sample of what's been going on on the HCH site and Etsy in red, white and blue.

Mimi Knickers, Charity Knickers, Peggie Garçonne Tap Shorts

What do you think?

Au Revoir, Europe!

I'm finally back in San Francisco after three weeks in Europe, a trip my husband and I had been waiting to take together since we graduated from college.

We spent the last few months planning our journey, one that saw us from Reykjavik, Iceland all the way to Barcelona, Spain. We spent all 21 nights in twelve separate, beautiful locations, each with its own specific charm, language and climate. (Let's just say I'm glad I packed both heavy duty galoshes and diaphanous dresses - we saw our share of both freezing rain and warm sunshine!)

What a wonderful adventure, and thankfully I was able to take some truly fantastic photos of our explorations - here are a few of my favorite Instagram shots, and there are plenty more here!

Thingvellir National Park - Iceland

Victoria & Albert Museum - London, England

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Antwerp, Belgium

Hotel le Clos Raymi - Epernay, France

Tuileries Garden, Louvre - Paris, France

Palais Garnier - Paris, France

Me in our Paris apartment

Amboise, France

Galerie des Glaces - Versailles, France

La Boite aux Huîtres - Bordeaux, France

Biarritz, France

San Sebastian, Spain

Basque countryside, Spain

Zaragoza, Spain

Casa Batlló - Barcelona, Spain

Though each city and town was special in its own way, I found myself really drawn to San Sebastian - a big surprise, since I thought Paris would be my favorite place out of all of them.

Where's your favorite place to travel?