Megan Morton’s School in Adelaide: Instagram, Styling & Photography

 

Do you remember the feeling of waiting for something when you were little? Like Christmas, or Easter, or your birthday? How little butterflies flapped around inside your tummy for days before, culminating in a swarm as the very night approached and you finally fell asleep, exhausted with all the excitement.

The arrival of the actual day was almost terrifying it was so important and wonderful. And then, you went through that day, that moment and suddenly, it was finished. All the waiting and wondering and guessing and dreaming, mingled up into a few weeks or days, ending in a glorious moment in time and then, gone.

This is what it has been like for me since I discovered my number one Styling Idol, Mentor (and general human being idol) Megan Morton, was bringing her School to Adelaide in June. I quickly jumped online and booked in for everything I could and discovered many other lovely Adelaide people doing the same. Imagine the enormity of my excitement when there was a further announcement of the opportunity for 10 people to work with Megan as Assistant Stylists, on a photo shoot for Fete Press, a simply beautiful Adelaide magazine. I think I was physically quivering that night. Of course I booked immediately.

There has then been a period of waiting. Pondering. Wondering. Dreaming. And when it comes to the photo shoot, learning and preparing under the guidance of Megan, as our little team gets ready for the big day on Tuesday this week. I have met some gorgeous women who I will be working with. I tried to explain it to my husband, “it’s like you got the opportunity to play in the grand final with Juddy for Carlton, you know?”. Ahhh, he said. He got it.

Are you an Interiors and Stylist addict? If so and you don’t know Megan Morton, you need to! A self taught Stylist, this week she has told us stories from her past and her own wonderful mentors, as well insights into her personal decorating history. Through this she gently guided us through our own personal decorating histories and exploration of the emotions of styling, to develop our own styles and directions. There has been a lot of learning and a lot of laughter in a perfectly inspirational creative environment. A little bit like being on a camp without the sleeping bags!

Megan Morton is not just a stylist and on of Australia’s leading ones. She is described as “prolific as well as passionate” and she is known for her generosity when it comes to knowledge. This is one of the key messages from her Styling Masterclass, the importance of not holding onto knowledge. She and her colleagues have certainly demonstrated this principle during their week in Adelaide. What is striking about her, beside her physical presence, is her genuine attention to every individual and her ability to talk – very fast and for a very long time! Collaboration was also one of the key messages from the beautiful Clare Bowditch at the recent Big Hearted Business Conference reminding us that there is such a lovely community of creatives out there who want to work together on our crafts. Go forth and connect lovely people!

All of the classes at The School are devised to “ignite your inner creative and help you discover the magic that happens when you work with your hands and your heart.” We have been lucky to have a range of some of the best craftspeople inside the industry this week, including Photographer Master Brooke Holm, Vignette Queen Kara Rosenlund and Instagram Enigma, Stephanie Somebody. All have been inspiring, open and generous. Did you attend any of these classes? If so I would love you to comment below about what your number one take home message was, or something you loved about the experience.

I met so many lovely fellow Adelaideans I would never have normally met. I was pushed outside of my usual work – clean – family – work routine. The food offering was some of Adelaide’s finest by Table Mantle Pantry and the range of venues, from Poet’s Ode at Hahndorf, to 1000 Chairs, to The Props Department, were creative marvels of their own accord and all well worth a visit. I went home after the styling class unable to sleep and styled and restyled my lounge into the wee hours!

Here are some of my photographs from the past few days. F45ollowing my learning, I expect my photography, along with my styling, to get better and better. If you get the chance, get yourself to something when The School comes to your town. You won’t regret it. And look out for our shoot in Fete Press!

Helen

xx