American Beauty Inspired Banana Manor Moment

After chopping down a couple of banana trees at the Banana Manor, I realized that opportunity was knocking and I needed to answer.

I saw a stylish grouping of rug swatches the other day and thought to myself how good it would look for the Banana Manor brand to have some of our rug swatches laid across a backdrop of banana leaves.

So after creating a bed of banana leaves, with the clump of bananas & purple flower as key props, I grabbed my brilliant & incredibly creative 13 yr old daughter to do what she does exceptionally & inherently well. Direct a photo shoot.

I told her my vision of shooting the samples. But then told her my other vision. To use a scene from the classic dark comedy/drama American Beauty as the inspiration for a brand concept shot.

The movie has two images I still can't get out of my mind. Whenever I see an empty plastic bag blowing in the wind, my mind goes back to the sad, helpless tone of the movie-specifically Kevin Spacey's character.

The other image stuck in my mind, is the one that is the inspiration for this pic. The scene where Spacey fantasizes of Mina Suvari, laying on a bed of rose petals, with rose petals falling on her and covering her private parts. 

I thought with the backdrop of banana leaves, my raging ridiculousness and the creativity of my daughter and I, we should be able to come up with a Banana Manor version. With me as the male Mina Suvari.

My daughter Addie immediately went into action. She told me where to position myself on the bed of banana leaves and began shuttling and placing rug swatches and banana tree parts where her creative eye told her they should be placed. 

Longer limbs than hers were needed to photograph at the ideal angle, so like a typical 13 year old, once the scene was set and my long limbed girlfriend arrived, she was "off the clock" and back inside "on her phone". 

Look on the Banana Manor facebook page to see a "behind the scenes" pic of my 7 year old daughter who came outside to join the fun. Another wonderful, spontaneous night at The Banana Manor;)