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Creatives at Home: Jane Collins in Her Sunroom
Food stylist Jane Collins shows us around her dining room and prop storage space, where she arranges beautiful camera-ready food spreads
In our new series, we get to know some of Australia’s talented creatives and the innovative spaces that allow them to let their imaginations run wild
Ever wonder how magazines make the food in them look so wonderfully delicious? Well that’s the work of professionals like Jane Collins, who has been styling food for the last 15 years. Collins started her career as a chef and trained under some of Australia’s most well respected chefs, including Kylie Kwong and Neil Perry (where her love of Asian food developed). Her passion for food styling prompted her to leave the hectic life of professional kitchens behind, and pursue a more relaxed life in her Newport home. From her sunroom, Collins styles beautiful food layouts and creates recipes for her blog, working with some of the best photographers and magazines in the business.
COMMENT TO WIN
To celebrate our favourite Australian and New Zealand creatives and their homes, we’ll be asking each creative in this series to choose a giveaway gift. All you have to do to enter is comment on why you love this house. The winner of Jane’s chosen prize – a $50 voucher from The Lost and Found Department – has been announced. Well done rwalton5!
Ever wonder how magazines make the food in them look so wonderfully delicious? Well that’s the work of professionals like Jane Collins, who has been styling food for the last 15 years. Collins started her career as a chef and trained under some of Australia’s most well respected chefs, including Kylie Kwong and Neil Perry (where her love of Asian food developed). Her passion for food styling prompted her to leave the hectic life of professional kitchens behind, and pursue a more relaxed life in her Newport home. From her sunroom, Collins styles beautiful food layouts and creates recipes for her blog, working with some of the best photographers and magazines in the business.
COMMENT TO WIN
To celebrate our favourite Australian and New Zealand creatives and their homes, we’ll be asking each creative in this series to choose a giveaway gift. All you have to do to enter is comment on why you love this house. The winner of Jane’s chosen prize – a $50 voucher from The Lost and Found Department – has been announced. Well done rwalton5!
Collins and her family moved into their beachside home 12 years ago. At the back of the house in the sunroom, the food stylist sets up beautiful spreads for magazine-style photoshoots. The north-facing room offers her the best light and stunning views of the ocean, which she says is one of her favourite parts of her creative space. Collins explains that working from home not only gives her the opportunity to do what she loves, but also to be closer to her twin daughters, making her feel completely at ease even while she works.
For a food stylist, the dishes and props that the food is presented on can be just as important as the food itself. Therefore, an abundance of plates, bowls and serving platters are always on hand in Collins’ home. “Over the years the props room has been growing,” she says. “But they’ve all earned their keep.”
Collins has been collecting props for her shoots for the last 15 years, and many of them come from secondhand stores and markets.
The large dining table, which is used for larger gatherings of family and friends, often gets pushed to the side when Collins is using her creative space for work. But it also serves her well as the perfect props table, when the look suits her brief.
Collins prepares all the food for the photoshoots herself, and is always busy in her open-plan kitchen. Using her skills as a chef she still enjoys cooking, but now has the liberty of doing it for herself. Cooking and styling, and lately also writing her own blog, has given Collins the flexibility to enjoy a career in a field that she loves, without all the stress inherent in life as a chef.
The style that Collins embraces in her work is clean and simple, chosen specifically to highlight the food that’s on display, and make it the star of each shot. “For me, it’s all about the food,” Collins says. “Each shoot is different and I use different props depending on the brief,” Collins say. “Right now, I am loving the marble range of boards that I have recently added. The stone adds a warm dimension to any image.”
Marble board: The Lost and Found Department
Marble board: The Lost and Found Department
“I love the old vintage boards, with textures and unusual hues,” says Collins. “Imagine the food that has been prepared and eaten off them… the stories they could tell.”
Collins’ work days are varied, with her styling two to three food shoots a week. However, a lot of the creating and styling taking place in the sunroom these days is actually for her blog. The last shoot she did was for an upcoming feature on her site, which details what Christmas plate you should bring to a party.
She has also been known to paint and re-paint the walls of the room for a shoot, along with some of the boards she uses for her food – it’s all about getting the right canvas for each dish.
Chopping board: Major & Tom
Collins’ work days are varied, with her styling two to three food shoots a week. However, a lot of the creating and styling taking place in the sunroom these days is actually for her blog. The last shoot she did was for an upcoming feature on her site, which details what Christmas plate you should bring to a party.
She has also been known to paint and re-paint the walls of the room for a shoot, along with some of the boards she uses for her food – it’s all about getting the right canvas for each dish.
Chopping board: Major & Tom
Collins explains that one of the biggest challenges she faces when styling a shoot in her sunroom is that the floor dips slightly in the old house. This can make the table uneven, so she regularly elevates it with the help of some old timber blocks.
To improve the light and design of their home, Collins and her husband added calico sails to the ceiling and painted the entire house in light neutral tones. This was a major change from the home’s previous mission brown colour.
One of the stylist’s favourite features of her sunroom, and one she couldn’t live without, is the windows; “They let in a nice cool breeze from the sea,” she says.
To improve the light and design of their home, Collins and her husband added calico sails to the ceiling and painted the entire house in light neutral tones. This was a major change from the home’s previous mission brown colour.
One of the stylist’s favourite features of her sunroom, and one she couldn’t live without, is the windows; “They let in a nice cool breeze from the sea,” she says.
With her background, the food Collins prepares not only has to look good, but also taste delicious. “I am very aware of flavours, textures and taste – you always need the crunch,” she says. “I am into the simple concept of letting the food tell the story, and I believe you eat instantly with your eyes.”
Find out how to make a chocolatey version of this pavlova
Find out how to make a chocolatey version of this pavlova
For this reason, Collins likes fresh, uncomplicated dishes both for cooking and styling. She will, however, try more complicated dishes over the weekend.
To add colour to her shoots, the stylist often includes fresh herbs and chillies, and adds crunchy elements for visual texture. She also ensures that the props she uses are simple, so as not to overpower the image. At the end of each shoot, the lucky taste testers, including the professionals on set and Collins’ family, get to help her clear every plate and platter.
COMMENT TO WIN
To celebrate our favourite Australian and New Zealand creatives and their homes, we’ll be asking each creative in this series to choose a giveaway gift. All you have to do to enter is comment on why you love this house. The winner of Jane’s chosen prize – a $50 voucher from The Lost and Found Department – has been announced. Well done rwalton5!
For terms and conditions, click here
MORE IN THIS SERIES
Nahji Chu in Her Kitchen
Lisa Russell in Her Potter’s Studio
Two Architects in Their Backyard Office
To add colour to her shoots, the stylist often includes fresh herbs and chillies, and adds crunchy elements for visual texture. She also ensures that the props she uses are simple, so as not to overpower the image. At the end of each shoot, the lucky taste testers, including the professionals on set and Collins’ family, get to help her clear every plate and platter.
COMMENT TO WIN
To celebrate our favourite Australian and New Zealand creatives and their homes, we’ll be asking each creative in this series to choose a giveaway gift. All you have to do to enter is comment on why you love this house. The winner of Jane’s chosen prize – a $50 voucher from The Lost and Found Department – has been announced. Well done rwalton5!
For terms and conditions, click here
MORE IN THIS SERIES
Nahji Chu in Her Kitchen
Lisa Russell in Her Potter’s Studio
Two Architects in Their Backyard Office
Name: Jane Collins
Age: 43
Occupation: Food stylist and food blogger at Sizzle and Swirl
Location: Newport, Sydney
What’s made here: Beautiful food and table spreads for photographing