Jessica Bellef is a style chameleon. Working with photographer Denise Braki and our Creative Director Chris Deal since the earliest days of Temple & Webster, she has styled hundreds of products and been responsible for our consistently beautiful style. Her McGyver-like ingenuity has come into play in some very unprepossessing locations in and around T&W HQ, and she creates several different styles and moods in the course of one day, all without losing that gorgeous smile. 


A casual Christmas table, styled by Jessica Bellef. Photo - Denise Braki.

The way into a stylist's mind is through her Pinterest boards, so we convinced Jess to stay up late pinning images to create a virtual mood board of her personal style - what informs her aesthetic, and what she loves right now. Visit Jessica Bellef's Style Pinterest board to see how a stylist thinks - it sits alongside the boards of Karen McCartney and Caroline Walsh, allowing you to see into the headspace of T&W's top tastemakers. We talked to Jess about what she loves, and where she hunts for props and inspiration.

 

How did you start styling?
Even though I detoured into a marketing and psychology degree straight out of high school, I should have known I would have ended up doing what I do now. As a kid, I constantly rearranged my room and colour-grouped my possessions.

Fast forward a few decades and I ended up working as a visual merchandiser for fashion and homewares retailers. I was teaching visual merchandising and styling to students at the Whitehouse Institute of Design when I met Chris Deal, T&W's Creative Director. We did a few days of shooting with photographer Denise Braki and realised we were a crack team. A year and a bit later we are shooting as much as we can in a week, and I absolutely love it.



How would you describe your own style?
A little bit undone. I like things with quirk and character; I see beauty in imperfection. I love art, rough textures and interesting layers. I guess you could say I toe the line of vintage, often with a good dose of pop culture and street. For example, I have a massive Shepard Fairey 'Obey' print hanging above my kantha covered couch, with a Castiglioni Arco lamp beside it. There is no one defining style, that's too restrictive for me! Disco ball in the fireplace? Yep, you'll find it at our house.



Can you share any of your styling resources?
Op shops (I head to the south coast of Sydney to get the best finds!)
Mitchell Road Antique Centre, Alexandria
Redfern's ever growing list of homewares stores


Rugs from Nazar Rug Galleries, styled by Jessica Bellef. Photo - Denise Braki.

Where do you find inspiration online?
I love all the sites that take me into the homes and studios of interesting and creative people, for example An Afternoon With, The Makers, Freunden von Freunden and Where They Create.

For inspiration, I often browse the portfolios of interior stylists represented by Swedish agency agentbauer.com . They know how to create eye catching imagery! Blogger Miss Moss lives in a pretty sweet world and I visit her "Compendium of Radness" when I want to see something quietly pretty.


Jess and Walter G.

Quick 5

Star sign? Leo... a modest Leo
Early bird or night owl? Most nights I crash out early, usually because I have been running around nonstop since the break of dawn. But sometimes I get the creative urge late at night and my brain won't rest til I have written out all my ideas or done some sketching.
Favourite colour? My favourite colour is not a colour but a neutral: grey. I think grey is so verstatile, it plays well with so many other colours. It can be pretty or moody, dramatic or subtle, masculine or feminine, depending on the surrounding colours. My favourite colour palette at the moment falls into the world of grey/dusty pink/soft purple. My favourite colour and texture combination is a cable knit in beige.
Pet hate? Mozzies waking me up at night.
Can't live without? Laughs, my fiance and family, comfortable shoes.

You can also follow Jess's own boards on Pinterest, or find her on twitter and Instagram @jessicabellef.