A Beautiful Chronology

Life is interesting, isn’t it? How timing and events, curious circumstances and appointments unaware, can come together in a beautiful chronology that you couldn’t have planned if you’d tried?

Around this time in 2013, I sent an email to Country Living magazine contributing editor, Catherine Burke, along with photos of our home. With that simple hello, the gears were immediately set into motion for a photo shoot and feature in the magazine (which came out in early 2014). I spent the summer seeing to the many finishing touches before the Country Living crew arrived in late September to photograph our house.

On the morning of the first day, as the stylist, editor, and their assistants began to arrive, they all said we were so lucky to be having photographer Victoria Pearson shoot our home. I couldn’t wait to meet her and watch her magic. Sure enough, a sweet soul and kindred spirit she was, besides being an amazing photographer. We discovered that we shared a love of knitting, animals, beautiful interiors, and a quiet country lifestyle, a thread that would keep us connected thereafter.

At some point in the course of the three day photo shoot, I learned that Victoria was from Ojai, California. I perked up at this because I’d been a long time follower of designer Brooke Giannetti, who, at that very time, was building her family’s dream home in Ojai, along with her architect husband, Steve, and documenting the process on her blog, Velvet & Linen. Although I’d never been there, I knew Ojai was a small town, and being a small town girl myself, I knew people who live in them tend to know each other, so I asked Victoria if she knew the Giannettis. Surprisingly, she didn’t. I remember telling her a little about them, and then quite frankly saying she was going to have to meet them, because, clearly, their two worlds and talents needed to coincide.

Fast forward to spring 2018.

Brooke & Steve Giannetti’s home and five acre place, Patina Farm, is finished, landscaped, and stunning. They’ve since written a book of the same name, documenting their home and their vision for it, a follow up to their first book, Patina Style, where they describe finding and honing their personal aesthetic for home and lifestyle. They’ve grown into their place and casual life in the country with the addition of a menagerie of sweet farm animals - mini donkeys, mini goats, sheep, ducks, chickens - and Brooke has just announced their upcoming third book, Patina Living, in which they describe the farm aspect of their lives.

And the photographer for the book? Victoria Pearson. (!!)

I may have gasped aloud. I know I immediately dashed off an Instagram message to Brooke, Steve, and Victoria, saying something along the lines of, Congratulations! I KNEW you should meet each other!

Then I sat in blissful wonder at how the world works, sometimes.

Earlier this year, in the deep of a cold Wyoming winter, I received an email from Brooke to all her readers, announcing a spring open house and Patina Living book signing at Patina Farm.

I booked my flight.

The last three days of my recent California trip was spent in the sweet hollow of the Ojai valley, staying in Victoria’s beautiful studio guest house, surrounded by orange groves (oh my, an entire post about that coming up!). One week ago today, I stepped through the gate of Patina Farm, then through the front door of Brooke & Steve’s amazing home. They were so gracious and kind. What a moment it was to experience their talent and work in person, to see what vision and creative freedom can do, to see their farm animals grazing out the rose-covered windows, all of it captured by Victoria and bound into the stacks of books at the signing table.

A beautiful chronology, indeed.