Q&A with Jill Sharp Brinson

Jill Sharp Brinson recently sat down for a Q&A with us and we're so happy to share her ideas and insights. I've included photos from her design portfolio and shots of her amazing home. These photos were taken by her talented husband, Rob Brinson. I've even come to learn that the family design credentials don't end there, their pug, Ricky Bobby even has an impressive website! Enjoy and thank you, Jill.

1. Name: Jill Sharp Brinson
2. Occupation: Stylist, Designer, Creative Director
3. Last purchase you made that is hanging on your wall: A fabulous pair of framed 40" carved linoleum block-plates. I don't know their provenance, but they are dreamy. They have a very Van Gogh line quality to them. They are truffle grey with slight bits of cream ink still visible from the last time they were used to print from. I have to confess, they are merely leaning, not hanging.
4. What is the item you've had the longest hanging on your wall: A photograph of a horse that my husband, photographer Rob Brinson took when we were commissioned to go to Argentina and shoot and buy antiques (can you believe we get paid for these jaunts?) Also 18 oil paintings by my great, great uncle, the American Impressionist, William S. Robinson.
5. Favorite place to buy art: I have found some of my biggest treasures on the street. We bought really lovely watercolors in Apt. Provence and in Soho, NYC. I have had amazing luck buying from street artists. I also "shop" all the time at our loft (in a converted plow factory!) here in Atlanta. My husband prints regularly and I am always running off with his dreamy photographs - some are 8 feet long! I pin them up and change them out when we are ready for a new image that he has just taken.
6. Do you collect anything: Hmmmmm - funny question for a stylist..let me just say it goes something like this: plumb bobs, match strikes, octagonal-shaped dishes, white tureens, humble European textiles woven of linen and hemp, ticking from all over the globe, vintage ethnic jewelry with a white theme, favorite examples of typography, round stones, shell jewelry, serving spoons made from horn, textiles galore (woven paisley's, shiburi, over-dyed monogrammed linen sheets, Japanese denim, Indian batiks and block printed fabrics), notebooks, Tahitian pearls strung on leather, things with a zebra motif, odd stools, no-color Oushak prayer rugs, industrial furniture, driftwood, hellebores (Lenten roses), fig plants and box woods. My husband likes to say that I try to do my part in supporting the economies of the world! I use these items regularly in my work and derive possibly guilty pleasure from them. I thoroughly blame my parents, they are collectors as well. We are working on a book that features many of these and other items.
7. Any advice for those exhibiting art in their homes: I am a big believer in leaning art, canvases, mirrors, whatever, just like the vibe that it creates, nothing too precious. It takes a special piece to make me want to put a hole in a plaster wall! I regularly hang huge collections of art for photo shoots and in client's homes and have done so, so many times that I can do it without measuring or without a straight edge. I also love using those silver bull dog clips or natural wooden clothes pins and string to hang paper art from. Art is such a highly personal expression - I always learn a lot when I see someone hang the unexpected and treat it as art. A cool collection of pewter plates mixed with tribal jewelry is a new idea I have.. a recent observation is that I am enjoying hanging art higher on a console than I did several years ago. It might be because it takes you by surprise and leaves room for collections on the surface of the console.

Jill's work can also be seen at Ballard Designs.