Selby’s Origin Story

I grew up in Orange County, California, in the heart of suburbia. Here is my childhood home, and my family with my uncle’s iconic DeLorean (complete with flux capacitor)

Here’s my childhood bedroom, filled with patterned wallpaper, posters, participation trophies, and my dirty laundry scattered on the floor. This is where I came from, and not much has changed.

Traveling with my family became my education. I didn’t attend art school; instead, I learned by visiting museums.

My dad had a project where he’d take photos of our family in front of our favorite artworks, which I initially hated but now appreciate.

I was always an overly confident kid, loudly proclaiming in the Louvre that I could easily replicate the masterpieces.

My college bedroom complete with ab-roller and red tinsel decoration.

After college, I knew I wanted to do something creative. I taught myself Flash web design. This skill landed me a job with Hanson, creating a wacky website to highlight their reviews of candy from around the world.

After that, I lived in the East Village in a studio apartment, running a short-lived clothing line in Japan specializing in oversized T-shirts that couldn’t be washed.

I took a night class in studio photography at SVA, which was the extent of my formal education. I began shooting for indie mags like Spin and Dazed & Confused, focusing on portraits of actors and bands.

What I really loved were the assignments where I got to see people’s spaces such as this photo of Iris Apfel in her apartment for Vogue Paris.

On a trip to Prague with Mark “The Cobrasnake”, he suggested I start a blog focusing on the kind of real interior shoots I loved doing, and in June 2008, I launched “The Selby is in your Place” with my first shoot of William Eadon’s eclectic apartment.

The blog caught on because it showcased real, quirky, and grungy interiors, a stark contrast to the minimalist aesthetics prevalent at the time. I went from one visitor a day (me) to 30,000 unique visitors a day.

I got to model in Vogue with a gaggle of other bloggers.

I launched my first book at colette in Paris during Fashion Week, where I lived in the window for a week.

One highlight was photographing Karl Lagerfeld’s studio. I met him at colette, and he invited me to his place, where I nervously documented his collections, including hundreds of iPods. After the shoot was done I put down the camera, he took off his sunglasses and he told me jokes over Diet Cokes and cookies.

My next book Edible Selby pivoted me to the food world, featuring unique stories, like this hidden gem in Majorca. The only way to get there is hopping a fence, walking an hour on these cliffside paths and then you meet this gentleman and his daughter who make incredible paella right over a fire.

My third book, Fashionable Selby, focused on the fashion world, showcasing behind-the-scenes creativity. I loved highlighting the processes of designers like Olivier Rousteing of Balmain, who transformed canvas mock-ups into intricate garments inspired by furniture.

Now that my life has changed (married with two kids) my latest book, The Selby Comes Home, explores how creatives live interesting lives with their families.

As a kid, all I wanted to do was go to Disneyland and Hawaii. In 1987, half of my dreams came true; my parents said we could go to Hawaii. We get off the plane. And we're not in Hawaii. We're in Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea. We get on this boat and head up the Sepik River for three days. Then we go hiking, and we get to this little village, and everyone's dressed up, and they got face paint on. My brother and I chase butterflies and look for the fabled Bird-of-paradise but never see one.

From this bird watching experience sprung the pièce de résistance at my solo show at the Daelim Museum in Korea: a 30-foot-high jungle room installation filled with my painted fanciful creatures. Also there was a recreation/reimaging of my childhood bedroom and art studio complete with a doll version of me.

Now I direct TV commercials and content, all produced by Camilla Ferenczi and Selby Films. I also do a lot of photoshoots for all sorts of brands and clients. If you read this whole thing I just want to say a big thank you. I hope you found it entertaining. It’s all true I promise and I left about 90% of it out! If you have a second, DM me on Instagram @theselby to say hi!!