My introduction to The Selby came courtesy of the Asian Cajuns a few years ago. With an ‘aha!’ born of discovering something fabulous, new, and unknown, I spent the majority of that afternoon meandering through the site’s archives. The Selby–sumptuous, off-the-wall, and inspiring–is best enjoyed at a leisurely pace, with eyes practically glued to the screen. There is so much to take in; none of it should be missed.
Scrolling through The Selby is like flipping through a fabulous coffee-table book or being given a detailed, intimate tour of a home by its owner, followed by a wacky Q & A session and some finger-painting. Todd Selby–yes, he has a first name–takes stunning photographs of the abodes of creative-types: musicians, artists, designers, writers, etc.. Naturally, most of these people live in enviable locales: New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Milan and Sydney. Yet, it is no travel diary: the focus is always on the subject-at-hand and the nooks and crannies and knickknacks of their most intimate surroundings.
I have always been fascinated by how other creative people live, or lived, from Colette to Amy Sedaris: our homes, to one extent or another, usually double as work-space, think tank, studio. Those lucky enough to be featured on The Selby are lucky for other reasons as well . They are always successful–or at least well-heeled–and dwell amidst above-average luxury. Yet, Todd Selby focuses his lens on the small details: books, ash-trays, framed art, shoes, figurines, plants. Because of this, it is not an endless, claustrophobic tour through a top-notch home magazine’s features section. These artists are eclectic, unusual and genuinely inspirational–even the most cursory glance at the photographs reveals people living out their various and deeply artistic natures.
The Selby is not just straight-up photography. He paints each subject in a quirky, backwards-style and puts them through a hand-written Q & A so bizarre that Dali would be amused. It is a winning combination of whimsy, entertainment, visual delight and unconscious decorating advice.
Although I would love to take a peek into the places and spaces of artisans like myself–those who conjure creative surroundings (and artistic goods) with much less money at-hand–The Selby remains an interesting look at Bohemians of another sort.

The Selby-go Here.
The Selby’s book-go Here.