the studio

I must admit, it is a little weird to show my face around here. I am used to having my work out there, and maybe a shot with my wrist or elbow holding flowers, but now it feels so much more personal. Here I am, internet!

This is my studio space. David and I slaved away every night in this space for two and a half months. It was once a plumbing supply store with moldy carpet, stained ceiling tiles, florescent lights, and a machine that made noises to scare the rats away. We gutted the space, drywalled the walls and the ceiling, put in reclaimed wood floor, resurfaced the counter, made the lights, build a platform for my cooler, etc. etc. It was a long few months with much patience from my clients as I made them sit on whatever I had lying around, and met them with paint in my hair and my toes drywall plastered together.

The 9th & 9th area where I am located is one that has a lot of foot traffic. Passersby at all hours of the evening, night and early morning got to see us slaving away, dancing, yelling, or being pinned on our backs between sheets of drywall and the new concrete counter. It wasn't always pretty.

I kept the design really bright and fairly utilitarian because doing flowers is a messy job. I think the lights are my favorite part. I made them out of old exhaust fans that I found at the junk yard. The wall shelving is from the brick house tutorial, and a friend and I painted the mural on the wall to look like some fabric that I love. It is nice to have a space that is mine, a place that is just for me to work in. I love the neighborhood, the dogs that constantly walk past to go to vet next door, the soft light from my north facing windows, and that the building i'm next to can smell the flowers when I am working on a wedding.

All photos by one of my very favorites, Diana Palmer of Yan photography. We shot the studio for my feature in kinfolk magazine, here are the photos we did not use.

I put a bell on the front door, you know, a "ding-a-ling-a-ling" kind. Except turns out it is REALLY loud. Can't decide if I should take it off though, sometimes it is so loud that we all laugh and it serves as a great ice-breaker.