Behind the Scenes

"Jeweled Isles"

Created July 2008 on Sanibel Island in Florida

For Børn Spring 2009, the rich, vibrant and luminescent tones of our "Jeweled Isles" collection came to life on Sanibel Island in Florida. It was our return to a familiar landscape, but reinterpreted into a fresh exploration of jeweled color, sun-washed textures and natural and organic ocean-side simplicity.

Sanibel Island itself is a quirky, fun-loving beachside place where taking your cruiser down the side streets of this island town may have you riding past an alligator or two, slyly meandering through one of the many tiny waterways which seem to surround every beach house neighborhood.

For "Jeweled Isles," we shot many of our photographs on the remote beaches and points surrounding Sanibel. The pure white sand and crystal-blue ocean waters became the perfect backdrop for the organic simplicity of the campaign. We got to many of these remote island locations by way of our good friend, Marc Fuchs. A seaplane pilot and boat captain, Marc has helped get us into some pretty spectacular locations over the years. We were so pleased to reconnect with Marc and his wife Cathy again for "Jeweled Isles." It seems they have touched us so many times now with their genuine zest for the Børn brand and their true camaraderie.

One of the highlights of the trip to Sanibel was making our way to Traders for an amazing island meal, great ambiance, and the authentic island sounds of Danny Morgan. Tom McClaskie, our President and Creative Director, first heard Danny's music back in the 80's, when he and his wife Sandra saw him perform in Captiva. His song Captiva Moon brings back many fond memories for Tom. You can imagine how thrilled we all were to see him perform this again at Traders.

Our favorite place to stay when we shoot in Florida is the Island Inn. We've set up there in the quirky beach cottages twice now, and have loved it each time. If you are ever in Sanibel, be sure to stop by and say hello to all of our Børn friends there.