Helene Dujardin: Friendsgiving

We met Helene Dujardin through Instagram. Her gorgeous food and lifestyle photography grabbed our attention and we were smitten. Helene is a French expat from Provence who moved to the US in the late 1990s to study history and never left. Living in Charleston, South Carolina, she dedicates herself to the craft of food and lifestyle photography. Her work is published internationally. So when we asked Helene if she would like to work with some DBO HOME pieces, we were thrilled when she said "yes." We were especially delighted that she teamed up with prop stylist Angela Hall. Angela is also a jewelry designer and metalsmith. She and her chef husband own Mediterranean influenced Lana Restaurant in Charleston.

SETTING THE TABLE

Helene created a casual yet elegant dinner party for her tribe of gracious, generous, talented, opinionated and always engaging friends. While she usually entertains around a less involved menu and more casual table, with the holidays in mind she went a bit beyond for a more festive table for the family she chose (and, who chose her back) before the craziness of the real family.

"It's a luxury to be able to gather around a feast that many people don't have so we like to spend time getting things together, cooking, setting the table, taking it slow, eating and catching up on life. While most friends gathering are more casual, once in a while it's nice to give thanks to the ones in your life by having a decked out table. A celebration of friendship and simple pleasures in a season that usually stresses everybody out!"

Helene chose to mix both color and texture for her place setting laying a base with the Burl Dinner Plate in Mussel and adding on the Kashmir Salad Plate in Brown Sugar and the Kashmir Noodle Bowl in Blush. She also chose a Kashmir Large Oval Platter for the turkey and Burl Charcuterie for appetizers. Working with Angela Hall to design the table, they embraced the modern colors of the season including grey, copper and a touch of green. A mix of high and low candles took the place of a large centerpiece for guests to enjoy without having their view of one another blocked. The round wine glass were from Anthropologie mixed with Angela's own taller water glasses. The copper drink ware also came from Angela's collection. The coasters and extra copper mini bowls Angela made in her own jewelry studio. Adding touches of pewter, marble and the copper pieces to our delicate looking porcelain, the table is feminine, not frilly.