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For our first featured interview post, I'd like to introduce you all to Ginny Branch Stelling! She is a SCAD graduate, stylist, illustrator, fashion girl (she once worked at Marc Jacobs! hello dream job!) and blogger extraordinaire! Her style is not only unique but romantic and charming, and her blog is the dreamiest of them all. You can learn more about her by heading over to My Favorite Color is Shiny and also peruse her lovely posts at Design*Sponge. But first, let's get to know Ginny a bit more & hear about her time in Savannah!

First off, thank you so much for agreeing to answer these questions! I've been a huge fan of your blog and your work with Design*Sponge for a while! I understand that you graduated from the Savannah College of Art & Design in 2007. What are some of the things that loved about being in Savannah?

Thank you so much, that's such a lovely thing to say! I loved biking
around the city on my pink cruiser wearing vintage dresses! i loved
buying stacks of magazines at home run video and poring over them
while downing massive amounts of coffee at gallery espresso. i loved
biking through the park in the early spring(when it was still kind of
cold) and getting lime-ade's from the sentient bean. back in the day
bakery was one of my absolute favorite spots in the WORLD! i would
hang out with cheryl and eat copious amounts of vanilla/vanilla
cupcakes. i loved the architecture. the houses are so big and
beautiful and romantic. i lived in this one house on gordon st that
was a brick town house being swallowed in ivy. three floors, every
room had a fireplace mantle and every floor had at least one GIANT
walk-in closet. i could have lived in that house forever!!!

i also loved the people i met the most. i am getting teary-eyed just
thinking about all of them. some of the best people i have met in my
whole life.

Just by being around all of the beautiful architecture, mossy trees and quirky Savannah characters, it's hard to not feel motivated in this tiny city. What were your favorite spots to go to in the city during your downtime to inspire your creativity?

biking up and down jones st really made me feel happy and alive. i
also spent many hours falling in love with the store @ home (both
locations) and paris market (both locations). each store was chock
full of beautiful, sentimental objects that inspired many college
projects and truly shaped my aesthetic.

 Your blog really evokes this beautiful, feminine & romantic feeling that is truly enjoyable as a reader. What are some things in your life, past & present, that influence your current style?

thank you again! my style is influenced by so many things, i have a

lot of love for... 1920s workwear, 1920s flappery beaded things and

lingerie, victorian photographs, literature, undergarments,  and

interiors (and hairstyles), tomboyish style from the 60s, jeffrey

mcdaniel's poetry,  pablo neruda's poetry, little edie beale and grey

gardens, things that are dilapidated(beautiful decay), peeling paint,

chipped and broken pottery, clothing that is threadbare or shows signs

of mending/darning, the unusual(curiosities and oddities), maison

martin margiela, simone shubuck(artist), partners &

spade(designers/artists/retail owners)

i worship at the altar of

sibella court( my favorite stylist in the world), i also fancy mary

randolph carter and mark & sally bailey, RRL and ralph lauren's

vintage stock, southern hospitality, vintage scrapbooks and journals,

old ledgers, flower(fresh, dried, and pressed-all of the above),

mixing humble materials (burlap, muslin, canvas with like dirty,

grungy vintage sequins and beading), collections(any and all- i find

groupings of things fasinating, and the psychology behind it), maira

kalman(artist), cedric smith(painter), henry dragger(artist), collage

art. i'm also loving the trend(hate that word) of general

stores/mercantiles. in new york there are a lot of them, and i'm

obsessed with objects that are so authentic and purposeful and humble.

it balances my love for tacky, flashy things.

If you had to describe one constant thing about your style & overall outlook on design, what would it be?

as far as my styling or illustration work... i really like combining

nostalgia and the feeling of being in love OR i like juxtaposing

something seemingly sweet or childlike with something somewhat

sinister or uncomfortable(if i'm feeling bold-ha). i'm allowed to be

bolder when i blog or illustrate because it is more for my personal

enjoyment. if i'm working for a client, that is typically not the kind

of direction they want to go in (basically i try and keep it light and

lively for magazine work).

 Being from the New York area, I know how different it feels up north from how it feels down here in the south. What were some of the things that you loved about your time in New York City that differed from your time in Georgia?

honestly, i really, really miss the diversity. in every way new york is truly a melting pot of thoughts, religions, manners of dress, social statuses, neighborhoods, lifestyles... just about everything. i loved having so many different kinds of people living in one tiny island. i was constantly learning new things and trying new restaurants and discovering new places to shop and hang out. i miss the stimulation and creative energy of the people who lived there. georgia(especially atlanta, savannah, and athens) has a lot to offer creatively, it is just more spread out. new york was so accessible. you could be poor and still live a full life there(even though rent was just the pits).

If you weren't doing what you are doing right now, and had to go back to SCAD all over again for an entirely different degree, what would it be?

graphic design! i would go back today and get a MFA in it (if i had

the money). I'm naturally a very tactile, hand-crafted girl that I

would love to be trained in all things tech. Mixing the two

sensibilities is the jam! or i'd do something completely different like go to circus school.

seriously. i think that would be amazing and almost took some circus

classes at coney island!

 As a little girl, did you always have dreams of working in fashion or did the desire come later on?

since i was in the 6th grade i always, always wanted to be a fashion designer. now, less so, because i'm a pitiful seamstress and am lousy at the basics(pattern drafting and draping). also, my personality is not best suited to be a fashion designer. it's an extremely, extremely tough profession and is not for the faint of heart. i love styling because i think my skill set is better suited for the kind of job requirements. i love being able to create moods and stories (and shop for beautiful things). styling there is a narrative and i feel i get to enjoy the entire development process more. fashion design in new york is very fast-paced, demanding, and very, very business-y.

i need to be in a field where i can have more creative control and is less about meetings and numbers and sales. but that is just me, and i don't say that to sound cynical! a lot of my friends currently are at design houses in new york and are very successful at what they do!

 It's starting to get a little bit chilly here in Savannah. What are some of your favorite current trends right now for cold weather?

i love a 1960s camel coat( like ali macgraw's in love story), chunky

chunky fisherman sweaters, and if i was a little edgier i would

totally rock a leather pilot jacket with all the yummy shearling(

total amelia earhart style).

 Your personal style is so wonderful and eclectic, so I must ask..do you have any favorite Savannah thrifting spots or tips to scoring perfect second hand gems?

aww, that's awfully generous! i can't remember where i used to shop... one is this antique shop that is in an old gas station on bull st maybe? it's near jones st, i think. i also loved peddler jims, @ home, paris market, the goodwills and salvation armies, this vintage shop that used to be in starland gallery. and there was this other awesome vintage clothing store that closed (it was in a two floor townhouse that was by the sorrel weed house, i think). savannah has changed so much, i feel like i don't know any cool spots anymore!

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer these questions!  On behalf of Savannah Street Style, it's a pleasure to see your wonderful visions on your blog, representing SCAD so well & we look forward to seeing what you do next :]

thank  you so much! i'm sorry if i rambled... i talk a lot!