Designer Spotlight: Faune Yerby

Translation missing: en.sections.article.title: Designer Spotlight:
Faune Yerby

I love my camera, the darkroom, and messing with the image. The methods have changed (I do some digital now as well), but a beautiful final image is still my goal.

Like many, Faune’s story begins with family.

Her grandmother, Flora Yerby, was an avid world voyager and collector. Post World War II, in fact, she was one of the very first travel enthusiasts to partake in nascent “Around the World” cruises.

This love of exploration and adventure was passed down to Faune’s father… and to Faune, naturally… who spent a good chunk of her youth moving around the globe military family style. “Is it any wonder that I inherited Flora’s love of beautiful things, of travel, of collecting?", she says with a smile. 

Faune Yerby | Brooklyn NY USA

Early on, Faune started collecting photographs wherever she lived, one of few prized possessions she could take with her when duty called and the family moved to a new place.

It was the one thing that always said “home” to her… no matter where she was in the world.

"A friend, who once had the sweetest bakery in an old railroad car, made a delicious red velvet cake for my birthday and gave me a little bag of plastic animals to decorate it."

Faune's eyes light up as she continues. "I put them in my pocket and forget about them. A few weeks later, I found them again and realized those little critters had tons of personality. The rest, as they say, is history."

Compose, shoot & print.

While Faune has always appreciated the basic tenets of photography, it's never been enough. Which is why she started “torturing her negatives and prints" (as she likes to call it) by scratching them up, burying them in the earth, and dipping them in chemical baths to achieve what has become her signature look.

Ultimately, Faune's work has become a unique window into her vast menagerie of ephemera collected over the years.

Faune Yerby | Brooklyn NY USA

Whether it’s vintage plastic animals, old postcards of water towers, or images of NYC architecture from a bygone era… it all speaks to her love for capturing moments in time, however small… and turning them into everlasting keepsakes.

Far less nomadic now, Faune is a proud Brooklynite who takes special pleasure in her rooftop deck overlooking the East River. It's where she gardens, spins yarn, and constructs many of her unique pieces. "Having had such a nomadic childhood, now I really appreciate home and what makes it special. If I could, I’d keep a flock of miniature goats and sheep up here", she says with a smile.

Faune looks out across the expanse of water towards Manhattan.

"What a sight that would be for tourists walking across the Brooklyn Bridge!”

Faune Yerby | Brooklyn NY USA
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