At Home with Mimi Peeters

Paper Collective:
Hi Mimi and thank you for letting Paper Collective into your home. Can you tell me about your background in product photography. What is it about still life photography that you love?

Mimi Peeters:
I started photographing on the daily basis as a hobby 13 years ago. Two years ago, I started my home account on Instagram. It was at a time in which we had just moved into our new home filled with old Italian charm. I felt so inspired! I started to add photographs of how I have styled my new home, and after some time a company reached out to me and asked if I wanted to photograph their products within my home. I was happy to take this opportunity and my confidence was boosted when I spotted my photography on their website. From here, my portfolio grew and I have collaborated with more brands. I enjoy doing it very much. I love to create visual story of a product, to give a visual idea of product “life” within my own home.

PC: Do you see some connections between your illustration and photography practice? Do you take some aspects of one to utilize with the other?

Mimi:
I think in my case it’s all connected by my creative vision which was influenced by the environment I grew up in. I grew up in a family where my father did photography as a hobby and mother loved everything about interior design. One of my parents' friends was a painter and my first teacher. He would bring me special drawing practice books, where I could draw animals using geometric shapes. My father would take me with him to develop the film in our bathroom. My early childhood was between panting brushes and photographs.

As an artist I see painting as an additive process, as it creates something from nothing. However, photography can be considered subtractive, as photographers reduce three-dimensional reality to its simplified, flat, and powerful essence in a two-dimensional image. Being an artist has become very helpful in being a photographer. There is a lot of aspects of art that can be used in my photography practice, one of the most important being composition. The main goal of my compositions is to create a harmonious, attractive and effective image.

PC:
I can really see your style in your images, very rustic and down to earth. Are there any places in your local area where you find these vintage pieces? How do you like to mix old and new styles and pieces within your home?

Mimi:
I usually use Facebook marketplace when searching for vintage furniture. You can find a lot of treasures there for a bargain. This is how I found my Osvaldo Borsani wardrobe and many other very special pieces.

I love mixing old and new pieces, but I don't have particular explanation how I do it. It all comes naturally. I read some years back, I think it was the words of Belgian designer Gert Voorjans if I’m not mistaking. He said that you can’t create an entire room where everything is perfect, you also need the imperfect. This is the philosophy I am following in our home. I love to add imperfect pieces and mix them with perfect ones to create a layered look.

PC:
Can you tell me about your choice of artworks from Paper Collective? Did you think about the choices in relation to the other artworks to match, or more in relation to your entire interior etc?

Mimi:
I have several artworks from Paper Collective and when I put them together in one gallery wall - they will work perfectly together. If I put them on the different walls separately, they are perfect on their own. I think I unintentionally chose artworks that match with each other and compliment my interior.