It’s with great pleasure and honour that today I feature and review the much anticipated Bright Bazzar’s first book as part of my library series. It’s been rather interesting to have followed an author’s dream and witnessed it become reality.
Meet Will Taylor, aka Mr. Bright Bazaar
Photo courtesy of Kiana Underwood © taken from here
I first read Bright.Bazaar about 2 years ago because as a designer who lives for colour (it’s in my DNA) you cannot but admire Will’s enthusiasm and passion for it. He’s truly a very talented ‘gentleman unashamedly hooked on hue’. His blog is full of colourful interior inspiration, weekend baking sessions and numerous traveling adventures. I love when Will shows off his photography skills, those being my favourite posts.
There are 2 things I admire most about Will. Firstly, that being a successful blogger he is very approachable and down to earth, a true gentleman. Hugely popular on Social Media, his Twitter etiquette should be cloned. I’ve never understood why some other famous bloggers think it’s beyond them to answer Tweets or other Social Media enquiries. Being humble and remembering one’s roots, in my humble opinion, is key to being a true success in life. I hope Will will maintain those standards even after many more books and success stories no doubt coming his way.
Secondly, Will understands the notion of being a brand. Fiercely focused, passionate and hard working Will has systematically grown into the brand he is today. From humble beginnings on the blog he understood that a new tailor-made blog design will enhance his profile. I happened to be at the unveiling of the new blog design and remember thinking that he will go far. He had moved from having a pretty site to a sophisticated and intelligent site, where he could express who he was in a far more potent way.
Move forward a couple of months and we witnessed the exciting announcement of the first Bright.Bazaar interiors book. Again, a brilliant move shooting this great little video. Another sign for me that this book wasn’t simply going to be another content poor but beautiful coffee table book.
The rest is history and the finished product has now finally arrived on UK shores. I was fortunate to get a quick glimpse of the book a few weeks ago. Deeply moved and relieved that all my high expectations were met, if not even surpassed, I immediately LOVED it!
Bright Bazaar: Embracing Colour For Make-You Smile Style – Will Taylor
Photography Andrew Boyd with Travel Photography by Will Taylor. Published by Jacqui Small.
Ok, what’s so great about this book? To begin with, I love the format. It’s generous in it’s A4ish measurements and gives that sense of pure abundance.
Will loves details and as a trained graphic designer I so appreciate that. Every page and detail was considered and designed with great care. Let me show you what I mean. Not a great fan of dust covers (mine is already creased), I love that the hardcover and the subsequent paper-over-board has been designed in the Bright.Bazaar branding with Will’s signature stripes adorning the outside hardboard and the Bright.Bazaar icons on the inside.
Hardcover | paper-over-board
The gorgeous details continue. You’ll find them everywhere in the book. Here are some examples.
Left: Page numbering | middle section – top right: coloured page edges in yellow | middle section – bottom right: Will’s room analysis | right: colour cocktail detail
Another colour cocktail detail | The Flirty Fiesta
Will, in the book, has managed to continue with the same friendly and encouraging tone of voice everyone has come to love who reads his blog. A real people’s champion for colour, he effortlessly shows us how everyone, not just designers and experts, can create beautiful homes full of colour that reflects their personalities.
You’re guided to go and discover what colours make your heart skip, to learn to trust your colour instincts, right through to Will sharing his own colour inspirations and translating those into real-life colour interior decorating schemes. No stone is left unturned. You’ll find colour inspirations for every room in your home, supported by Will’s expert advice, suggestions and examples galore. A fun and rather effective ten colour cocktails cover everything from pastel hues to the bolder and brighter ones. There’s literally something for everyone and with Will virtually holding our hand he hopes to instil confidence so that everyone can dip their toes into ‘colourful home living’.
Detail of ‘Colour is your friend’ introduction page | Detail of right hand photo
Detail of double spread ‘Bring Colour Home’ introduction page
Go beyond beige in three quick steps.
Part of ‘The Candy Crush’ section.
Part of ‘Entrances & Hallways’ section.
Part of ‘Living Rooms’ section
Part of Will’s ‘I’m just a gentleman hooked on hue’ introduction.
A true labour of love, you can see that Will has poured everything into it. Aren’t those the best books? I cannot recommend it high enough to anyone who loves colour, wants to learn more about decorating with colour or simply wants to see some gorgeous photography of inspiring interiors and travel adventures.
You can order the UK version here and pre-order the US version here.
I’m excited about the UK Book Launch at Westelm on Wednesday and here’s the information for the US Book Tour in May.
It remains for me to wish Will all the success with his book that he deserves. Go and spread the colour virus! x
Added on 17th April 2014: Right, Book Launch has taken place. We all celebrated, partied and had a fab time all round. Westelm were the perfect host. In view of this and my love for the book this post will stay up till Monday.
Here are a couple of pics for you…. please forgive the quality. They were taken with my iPhone!
A happy Mr Bright.Bazaar with his fiancé Toby
Bed Antics………Photo bombing!
A dinner at the fantastic Gail’s Kitchen, expertly organised by Geraldine. I cannot recommend the food and service high enough. Thank you!
Happy Easter weekend. I’ll see you back here on Easter Monday!