I’m Paige Wassel. WAS the Newsletter is your weekly dose of design inspiration, where group participation is part of your final grade.

We’re taking you behind the scenes of the effort that goes into launching a product in this issue. This week, it’s all about the set and the photography, so we’re pulling back the curtain…the shower curtain, specifically.

As a prop stylist for nine years, I can tell you the perfect set is necessary to showcase a product most effectively. The backdrop must add to, not subtract from, what we’re featuring. It’s got to inspire the mood, create that vibe, give you all the feels.

That’s how we found ourselves with a bathroom dilemma. We struggled to find a space to rent—either they weren’t right or they were too expensive. Were we going to have to build a set ourselves? (Spoiler alert: we did not want to have to build a set ourselves.)

Instead of recreating the wheel, we thought, “Wait, don’t we know a lot of cool people with great style?” So we went to Instagram and put out the request to rent YOUR cool bathrooms. Let’s just say this…YOU delivered with your submissions and we are so grateful. It was an embarrassment of riches and was hard to narrow down the choices. But here’s where we landed:

The Green Bath

We loved the light and the tiling in this bathroom. This space showed off the different styles of curtains to perfection.

The Craftsman Bath

This one spoke to us because we adored the rich wood paneling. It felt like something you’d find in a classic Chicago space and we love that for us.

Yaro’s Bath

The third space belongs to my friend Yaro. We chose this one because he let us paint it this gorgeous brown color (Iced Coffee by Benjamin Moore).

What you don’t see is the effort that went into making the curtains, and we’re so stoked for how they turned out. You can get your hands on them when they’re released on October 20th or a snag a few pieces early at the pop-up.

You might think making shower curtains is easy. Think again. For example, the orange and chartreuse ones are custom-dyed fabric. The panels are part of the design. Because shower curtains are so big, the fabric needs to be custom-made (like bedding). But our whole ethos is using deadstock or vintage, so we incorporated the panel design so we could still source in L.A.

We’ll have another drop coming out in February-ish, but let’s get through this one first.

BEHIND THE BEHIND THE SCENES

When you see the end product, you don’t think about the helping hands to create these scenes, but we do and we want to honor them.

Group Project

Kate and I were really lucky to have my new assistant Maren coordinating the production and locations, as she planned two hours for each space. And of course, we needed our favorite photographer Julian Sage because we don’t want to do a shoot without him.

The Chaos You Don’t See

Unlike Marie Kondo, we don’t love mess. But it’s all part of the process.

Everyone’s Input Is Important

Everyone brings something to the experience, even if all they add is vibes.

Lemme just say this—I don’t know how anyone does a product launch without having been a prop stylist first. My nine years on set are the reason I’m able to art direct. Between Kate and me, we know photography, lighting, etc. and that’s made all the difference.

So don’t ask us how we did it, we just did it and it was hard… but worth it.

AND DON’T FORGET

Next weekend’s vintage happy hour hang:

KATE’S PAINT COLOR OF THE WEEK

Color: Normandy

Finish: Any

Room Light Level: Any

Check out Kate’s paint consultation business here!

xx,
P