Jesse Freidin has had a lifelong passion for photography. His obsession began as a boy with an observant curiosity and a Fisher-Price toy camera. Dogs came into the picture a bit later.

While living in San Francisco in his twenties, Freidin held various jobs, none of which grabbed him. “The only thing I loved was being a photographer,” he says. Then, one odd job created the connection that would define his future. With no previous dog experience, Freidin began working at a doggie daycare facility. His first day left him unsure about his job choice, until one memorable pit bull approached.

“We locked eyes and all of the other dogs stopped barking,” Freidin says. “Something just clicked and it was fascinating. That began my career working with dogs.”

Freidin’s goal is to photograph his subjects at their most comfortable. Photo by Jesse Freidin.

While dogs are Freidin’s specialty, he contends that his focus on dogs is actually a study of humans. “For me, photographing dogs is an exploration of our own relationships and how those relationships define us as humans,” he says. “There is something powerful about the unconditional love we develop within the dog-human bond that we don’t really see anywhere else.”

Freidin’s process is simple. He talks in depth with his clients and challenges them to open up. He finds his clients share a common behavior — they are emotionally open and able to access the love for their dogs in a very honest way. “I’m creating a safe space for people to say, ‘I value this creature and this feeling of love,’” he says. “Once that sense of trust is established, the work is just easy and fun.”

Freidin seeks to capture the dog and human bond. Photo by Jesse Freidin.

Creating a relaxed and peaceful atmosphere is important to Freidin. He avoids the use of treats and toys whenever possible. “It’s a beautiful balance of controlled chaos. It’s my job to make everyone feel calm and in the moment,” he says. The real character comes out when dogs are comfortable and people are comfortable with them.”

Freidin enjoys photographing in locations of significance to the pet owner. Here, the Golden Gate Bridge acts as a picturesque backdrop. Photo by Jesse Freidin.

Freidin, whose work has been featured in everything from Vogue and Cosmopolitan to People and the Huffington Post, found his own comfort in North Adams, Massachusetts where he lives with his 11-year-old Boston terrier named Pancake. Having grown up in the suburbs of Boston, lived in a major city and traveled extensively, Freidin enjoys the slower pace of small-town New England.  “It’s nice to be part of a small town where I know what’s going and am participating in the community,” he says.

Jesse Freidin and his Boston terrier, Pancake, take a seat beneath the gallery of Freidin’s work inside his North Adams studio. Photo by Valeda Stull.

The thriving artist community and creative movement in North Adams drew Freidin there. His own live/work studio is in an artists-only building and located just three blocks from MASS MoCA, a renowned contemporary art center. He enjoys being surrounded by creative energy.

Beyond his commissioned work, Freidin has begun a mentoring program for aspiring photographers and has taken part in several special projects including The Doggie Gaga Project, Finding Shelter and When Dogs Heal – The healing powers of dogs within the HIV Community.

Jesse Freidin – Fine Art Dog Photographer
North Adams, Massachusetts
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Top image: Jesse Freidin getting eye-level with his subject for his book Finding Shelter’s photo shoot. Photo by Amanda Brauning.

The post Focusing the Lens on Man’s Best Friend appeared first on Take Magazine.

Lisa Teague began her design career as a decorative house painter. In time, her keen eye for color and instinct for space evolved into a full-service interior design studio. Of utmost importance to Teague is creating an environment that is reflective of the homeowner as well as comfortable.

Teague blends her flair for the artistic with thoughtful design choices that lend character and integrity to the décor. Teague is especially good at identifying existing furnishings or decorative items that can be repurposed with a touch of creativity and color. “My designs are a bit eclectic. I like to throw in something unexpected,” she says. “There is usually something modern in an antique home or something antique in a modern space.”

Teague’s aesthetic leans coastal in color and style, a nod to her seacoast community of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Although she works beautifully with any desired look, her own surroundings tend to influence her work. “I feel respectful of the environment I’m in and most of my work is on the seacoast and northern New England now,” she says. “When you’re doing a home, your interior landscapes, looking from room to room, are important, but you’re also looking at the exterior and it’s important to me to reflect that.”

Our New England climate also comes into play when Teague conceptualizes a room. She likes to layer textures and color that make sense whether it’s 90 degrees outside or a day suited to “reading a book with a warm comforter around you, drinking tea and watching the ocean turn gray.”

No matter the scope of project, Teague believes in making smart and sustainable design choices. This ideology led to the development of her own line of VOC-free, solvent-free and pesticide free organic paints. She and her daughter Andrea produced Quiet Home Paints featuring the popular Quiet Nursery Collection. This came in response to Teague’s own health issues suffered as a result of long-term exposure to toxic paints.

Quiet Home Paints. Photo courtesy of Lisa Teague.

The idea for Quiet Home Paints originated during one of Teague’s regular trips to Africa to help families in need. At the time, Teague was beautifying libraries and rooms for children and her idea for non-toxic paints blossomed. “I wanted it to be a healthy product that people felt comfortable having in their home,” she says.

Teague’s visits to Kenya and The Rift Valley Children’s Village in Tanzania are very close to her heart. She’s is also on the board of directors of Education for All Children, a non-profit organization providing education to Kenyan youth.

Lisa Teague with two of the many children she has worked with at The Rift Valley Children’s Village in Campi Nairobi, Tanzania.

Next up for Teague? Ongoing work with design clients as well as a fundraising trip to climb Mount Kenya. “You get a lot more than you give,” she says. “What you put in in pennies, you get back in pounds.”

Lisa Teague–Interior Designer
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
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Top image: a dining room designed by Lisa Teague. All photos courtesy of Lisa Teague

The post Designs for Healthy, Beautiful Homes appeared first on Take Magazine.

The basic function and simplicity of a spoon takes on new meaning when Suzanne Isabelle handcrafts one of her specialty wooden spoons. Formerly a retail camera store manager, Isabelle carved her first spoon in 2014 when her wife Lisa Laughy, a professional wood carver and artist, offered her a piece of apple wood to try her hand at the craft. While Laughy creates intricate carving projects by design, Isabelle’s intrinsic approach was different. She lets the shape and form of the wood dictate the result.

From the start, Isabelle found the practice relaxing and mesmerizing. “I love the feel and the smell of it,” she says. “Once I get going, I just go with what the wood tells me it wants to do.”

Suzanne Isabelle, photo by Lisa Laughy

One of her first pieces was produced from lilac wood, now her favorite material. “When you work with lilac, it smells just like the flower,” says Isabelle. “Every time you cut into it or sand it, you get that floral scent.”

A New Hampshire native, Isabelle sources all of her wood material from her local surroundings. While many New Englanders curse the region’s inclement weather, Isabelle sees every storm as potential. She has trudged through rain, snow, and mud to harvest many types of wood including apple, black cherry, lilac, and even limbs of a pussy willow tree.

Isabelle considers her spoon-making a unique art form distinct from other wood artisans. She is not a green woodworker; rather Isabelle prefers dry wood for its stability and the ease with which she is able to see the wood’s characteristics.

Suzanne Isabelle’s box of tools

Why spoons? “Spoons are the first tool we ever use as children. It’s our beginning,” says Isabelle. “It’s simple and it’s homey.”

Isabelle takes time to consider each spoon before she begins carving. Her process for one spoon may take a full week. It begins with wood cut into 15 inch pieces that are then split in half. A piece is secured on her spoon mule (which she calls her pony) to begin shaping the spoon’s bowl. A drawknife, once belonging to her great-grandfather, is used to form the neck and handle, while a spokeshave, also her great-grandfather’s, smooths the handle. Files with varying degrees of abrasiveness finalize the shape at which point Isabelle enters a lengthy sanding stage. Four grades of sandpaper are used to achieve the luxurious finish her spoons are known for and just when you think she might be done, Isabelle wets the wood to raise the grain and sand it down yet again.

Isabelle takes pride in the distinctively smooth quality of her spoons. “I really enjoy the silky finish. I love the feel of it,” she says. “As soon as people touch them, it’s a game changer.”

Although Isabelle’s wooden spoons are meant for use, some have found themselves atop a mantel as decoration. “Some people who have my spoons don’t use them,” says Isabelle. “They think they are too pretty.”

Suzanne Isabelle–spoon carver
Arborvore, Handcrafted wooden ware for home and table
Concord, New Hampshire
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Photos courtesy of Suzanne Isabelle

The post Specializing in Spoons appeared first on Take Magazine.