In our new series of Pfeifer Clients Who Inspire Us, I am honored to have had the chance to interview talented photographer Kyle Zimmerman of kylezimmermanphotography.com. Gracious with a great sense of style, her journey is fascinating and filled with amazing experiences and never-ending stories.


Kyle Zimmerman

What have you purchased from Pfeifer Studio?

Our home is full of Pfeifer Studio goodies. I have jewelry, scarves, throws and small items. We have pillows, some leather, some furry. But my favorite things are our stools; we use them as small tables—one leather, two wood. They are beautiful and fit in the sweetest spaces!

What do you like about Pfeifer Studio, and do you have a Pfeifer favorite?

Pfeifer Studio is always on my ‘go to’ list for a present for my man or certain close friends. My Pfeifer favorite is AJ; I can always trust him to have gathered a unique array of treasures, whether I want something under $10 or a memorable gift.

Pfeifer had the pleasure of having you photograph the Woven Rope Bed. Can you tell us more about that and whether this was the first time you had heard of Pfeifer?

Shane, my honey, took me to Pfeifer Studio by the hand one year before Christmas. The store was closed that evening, and he stood me in front of the window and said, “Look. I want everything in this store. If you want to know what I want, go here.” Shane is very discerning. Within a couple days I went in, browsing, met AJ, and a discussion turned into the opportunity to work with him on that photo project. Big bed, small space, wide angle lens!


Pfeifer Studio's Woven Rope Bed

How would you define your personal sense of design style or design influences?

I spent 20 years in San Francisco and developed a taste and appreciation for world influences […], from rustic Japanese furniture, Ethiopian fabric, Indian woods, Vietnamese music and more. There were some creative’s there who, like AJ, created magical spaces, where you might find a fragment of historical window molding from France or a piece of jewelry a local artist created. I came to depend on the stores [and] these collectors to find and teach me about the world as it related to objects. My design style is referenced by this eclectic period in my life and then developed further during my years spent in Italy, Spain and Greece, doing fashion photography. I fell in love with ‘the old’ there.

When it comes to your surroundings, what can't you live without?

Comfort—soft edges. I have down pillows, comforters and throws in every possible stopping point of my life. Art—Paintings, drawings, sculpture, the products of artists’ expressing life. My cats Kittygirl, Skunky, and Zipper. Wine, coffee, good cooking and of course, Shane!

I'm wondering if you can tell me something about yourself that's NOT on your website.

I got serious about photography in San Francisco and started shooting models and bands, but within a year I knew that I really wanted to shoot fashion. My mentor at the time said “OK, you need to move to Milan and get your fashion photos published.” So…I sold every possession I had except my camera, and a few clothes, (which netted me about $2000!) and off I went. After a lot of hungry days and worried nights, I started building a portfolio that would move me along.

On your site you mention the Life is Art mentality, and I'm wondering if you can elaborate on that. Is this mentality what inspires you as a photographer?

Life is Art means a few things to me. First, I believe that we can walk through our lives, eat, sleep, work, repeat, or we can live each moment with intention. Each choice I make, whether what shoes to wear, what color to place under my dinner plate […], how to answer the phone, how to approach a client who might be nervous about being photographed…each decision is a choice to live my life as art. It also has to do with [the belief that] there is something of value to be taken from our experiences whether they are significant events or mundane, whether you’re happy or sad, and whether you’re rich or poor. Before the modern art movement of the 19th century only the rich could afford to have themselves memorialized with portraiture. Ordinary people were not considered worthy subjects. Kodak changed all that with the Brownie Instamatic but there are still remains a tendency for people to want to show their families as happy, smiling, well- dressed. Life is Art says that the other stuff matters too.


'Abstract Floral' by Kyle

You have such a collective of interesting experiences as a photographer. Do you have a favorite genre of photography and why?

I love that I don’t have to choose. My natural state is to relate to people, and so portraiture is a perfect fit for me, but really, I also find a lot of joy in doing commercial work. Each job has a unique set of challenges and requires me to bring forward everything I know about photography, business and psychology. I need alone time on a regular basis, and photographing my abstract images means spending quiet time with things like carpet fibers and flowers. Perfect!


Commercial Work by Kyle

When most of us pick up a camera, we shoot without really knowing what the outcome will be. When you are behind the lens, what's the first thing you see or look for?

Light. I look at the way the light impacts the frame, how the light makes something glimmer, the shiny moistness in someone’s eye, the way a certain quality of light changes the color temperature of an object…Light.

Do you get some kind of a gut feeling when you know you got the “one” great shot?

Yes. I have that feeling often. Gosh, that sounds pretentious, but it's true!

AJ mentioned you have some of your work in the Ritz Carlton in DC among other places. I'm wondering if you can tell me more about where you have your work displayed.

I have five large scale abstract images that were commissioned for the Ritz Carlton in Pentagon City, and also another collection of abstract images [that] are living at the Carmel Valley Ranch Resort in California. These were commissions by the architects and designers working on the properties. This is probably the most fun work I get to do. Pure pleasure!

I love backstage stories and am wondering if you can tell me about a favorite assignment and why it was your favorite. Or, whether you ever had an assignment that came with an unusual or interesting set of circumstances?

I once had the pleasure of shooting an amazing woman named Ivy Nicolson. I was in my 30’s and she was in her late 50’s at the time and had been living on the streets of San Francisco. She came to my mentor’s door, and stood there, all craggy, ratty long hair, missing teeth, a real mess. She said that she was a Vogue model, used to be married to Jack Nicolson and that she wanted to be photographed. OK.

The amazing thing was, she had a box of magazines in her possession in this portable life she was living and it was true… there was the proof, cover after cover of Vogue, with her, beautiful and young. Once you knew you could look right at her and see the bones, the structure of her face was right there. I did photograph her, she got all cleaned up and my mentor and friend Martin contacted Andy Warhol, who had been involved in her early career, and we were off creating her resurrection! I was there with her, on a rooftop at golden hour, model and photographer, and she taught me how to shoot her. She said “you wait ‘til I am ready.” Ivy would arrange her body into a pose (no help needed from me) and then angle her head just so, feeling the light hit her face, then lifting a small compact mirror up to see herself, without moving her head at all, she would make minor adjustments to optimize the light, lower the mirror, and say “OK.” She taught me so much.


Kyle's Biggest Influence: Carl Jung

Who are your favorite photographers and who inspires you the most?

Annie Leibovitz, Bruce Weber, Helmut Newton, Dominique Isserman, Sebastião Salgado, Paolo Roversi, Cindy Sherman, Jock Sturges, Nan Goldin, Mary Ellen Mark, Kieth Carter, so many storytellers. Carl Jung has inspired me the most. Dream on.

Posted by: Angela (loftshoppe@gmail.com)

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At Pfeifer Studio we can’t think of anything greater than the people we work with and the customers we encounter along the way. Inspired by so many of our oh-so-cool clients, we thought it was time to start a blog series called Clients Who Inspire Us. The first client I’m pleased to introduce is Jennifer Nehrbass, a well-traveled and accomplished artist with a great sense of style and competent design eye. A Pfeifer shopper who lives and works right here in Albuquerque, New Mexico, she was gracious enough to let me into her world, and lucky me, I get to reveal her latest painting “Erika as Elk” to you all.

Meet Jennifer…

What have you purchased from Pfeifer Studio?

Earrings, scarves, necklaces, and the Handmade Elephant Quilt.


Our Handmade Elephant Quilt

What do you like most about Pfeifer Studio, and do you have a Pfeifer favorite?

I love the colors and textures and the variety of cultures that the store pulls from. I also love the one- of-a-kind tables made from the cottonwood trees taken from the bosque of the Rio Grande.

A pile of cottonwood, ready to be turned into tables

How would you define your personal sense of design style and what are your design influences?

My influences come from travel and study. It sounds cliché, but things speak to you and if they linger in your mind you know you should buy. I don't impulse shop. I consider my home a stage set where the events of life play themselves out. No need for high drama, but it’s relaxing to look at a rug, painting, lamp or chair and wonder who was its creator and what went into crafting that object. I especially love antiques and the mystery to unravel in one’s mind is never-ending.

When it comes to your surroundings, what can’t you live without?

Art, good fabrics, real wood furniture, and handmade rugs

AJ (owner of Pfeifer Studio) mentioned you used to work for Ralph Lauren in NYC. What did you do and does this have an impact on your design style or art?

I was a design director in charge of fabric by the yard and wallpaper. Working there was a master's degree in design. I was immersed in varied points of interest from architecture, furniture design, store design to marketing. I learned the idea of a room telling a story.


Speaking of art… Tell me about your art.

Fashion photography is a potent and seductive form of representation. The images often communicate style as the only factor forming identity. They represent fantasy that can never be attained. I focus on style as a sublime element that has the power to create tension as well as beauty. To the fashion industry, beauty is a commodity but to the individual, style is a never ending problem. In my paintings, I present the conflict.

The unexpected relationships formed in my paintings, tell a mythological narrative that represents the complex relationships between iconic cultural symbols and personal philosophy. The relationship of women to themselves and their environment fuel the narratives within my paintings. They form binary oppositions between the images: nature/culture, stationary/movement and fetishism/ indifference.

I dismantle the roles and stereotypes of beauty and femininity. Specifically I focus on the anxiety created, when there is a divide between what women own and who they are. I examine the psychology that leads women to go to extremes to maintain beauty and style.

The culture of sentiment that exists between the viewer and the female figures stimulates the subject of my work. To heighten the eroticism, my women are surrounded by rich textures such as fur, pearls, velvet and satin. I use these textures to comment on a class structure based on style.

What inspires you most as an artist?

Music and film. I would like to think I mix Jane Austin with Stanley Kubrick.

Do I see a vintage or retro flair to your paintings?

There is a nod to all periods of fashion. I tend to pick out eras that heightened the sense of femininity.

Who is your favorite artist or what artists inspire you the most?

Art that transcends its generation and its medium inspires me the most. I look to Louise Bourgeois, Mathew Barney, [and] Cindy Sherman among others.

Do you have a favorite painting from your collection?

The most recent finished work is always my favorite at the moment.



Erika As Elk, 60 x 48", Oil on Canvas (2010)

Is there a particular reason you chose “Erika as Elk” to share with Pfeifer readers, and what do you want to tell us about it?

The work comes from a series inspired by the local women's rugby team. I convinced them to "play" in my backyard. I wanted to blur the lines between the stereotypical male/female, passive/aggressive, scarcity/abundance, teamwork/self preserving, erotic/athletic and animalistic/humanistic. Instead of the rugby stripes, I wrapped them in sports tape. The extreme physicality reminded me of our animalistic tendencies which lead me to think of these women acting out these tendencies. "Erika as Elk" was named as a thought of reverting back to our primal nature. She is a new one, so I thought a good time to expose her. She is 60" x 48" oil on canvas 2010.

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Jennifer received her MA from New York University and her MFA from the University of New Mexico. She has exhibited her work extensively in her home state of New Mexico, as well as frequently showing in New York and Los Angeles. She has also been included in group shows throughout Europe. For more information about Jennifer Nehrbass please visit: jennifernehrbass.com.

Posted By: Angela (loftshoppe@gmail.com)

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