Painted.

My studio got painted a couple of weeks ago. Since March I've been having to tell people that it's a work in progress and guess what? It still is, but I can at least show you the most major transformation. It's much like buying a new house, there will always be little projects that you want to accomplish but for the most part things are they way I want them.

Here is the space before I acquired it. It used to be an antique store:
Freshly painted! I still need to make my wooden oval sign to hang from the sign post but who has time for that?
Thanks to Nick Slavik for doing such a great job! He asked me to shoot some promo shots of him for his website and local advertisements. He has such a great eye for color and loves everything vintage. He mentioned using his old pick-up truck that I am in love with so I got to have so much fun with this shoot!

So close...

My painter, Nick Slavik, (who is fabulous by the way) put some swatches up on my studio for me.
If you look past the hideous navy blue and mauve, you'll see a little swatch of brown and cream which will be the two main colors. Then we decided to do a fun bright color for the door. We just put the new door in and it's much more classy and welcoming than the old 80's back porch door that was originally on there. This whole place has been a work in progress since March and I can't wait to see the finished result! I will post before/after pictures when it's all done.

This will be my new oval wooden sign which will hang from the sign post outside my building.
Other exciting news... my BFF Nichole is flying in to see me today! We've been friends since 4th grade and she was one of my first creative inspirations. I have fond memories of staying after school with her and working on the potter's wheel while watching MTV. She moved away to Ohio in 9th grade but we managed to keep in touch over all these years. We wrote countless letters back and forth (which I pulled out and am excited to read with her tonight!) and over the past few years we've grown closer than ever. We don't get to see each other very often but each visit is treasured dearly.

Nichole is very much into photography so while she's here I am going to give her a hands on crash course. I'm so excited to teach her which also inspired me to start offering private photo lessons. Yay for best friends!

My big announcement!

So, my facebook friends probably already know the news, but for those of you that don't I am getting a new studio! You're probably asking, "Um, didn't you just get a new studio?" My first space was too small so I moved onto bigger and better things. My current space I share and have always daydreamed about being able to once again have my own. A perfect opportunity presented itself and I had to act on it.

To make a long story short my lease was up in March. I can't believe it's already been almost a year but it has! I shared space with two other women, a store owner and a picture framer. We talked about who would be resigning and when the store owner decided she wasn't, the framer and I planned on taking over the space and splitting the rent. We all know that the economy isn't the best so the more we thought about taking on more responsibility, we didn't feel it was the right decision and didn't want to take the risk.

As luck would have it, in my quest to look for a new space, my husband discovered a listing in neighboring Lonsdale, MN, which is 10 miles southeast of New Prague. I ended up getting a killer deal on my own storefront so I HAD to snatch it up. Guess when the lease starts? March! It seriously was meant to be, you know how you just know those things somehow?

So to all of my wonderful clients and supporters- another chapter of my business has been opened! I am very excited to have my own storefront and awesome 1,200 square foot space. It used to be an antique store that sadly went out of business so it's really charming and has a ton of character inside. It also has two great windows so I can continue to shoot natural light and has plenty of room for a studio light set up as well as a couple of seating areas. I can't wait to paint and start decorating! It's also just 7 miles off of Interstate 35 South so it's more convenient for all of my clients who drive down from the cities.

Which leads me to my next dilemma... There will be a slight window where I will be between spaces as I transform my new space into my vision. I may not be scheduling much in March as I work hard to get everything ready. If you want to schedule a session in my current space before I move, please contact me asap! I will miss the exposed brick, cool upstairs, and beauty of the building but am also excited for something new. If you want to schedule in my new space, I am not yet sure when I will be ready to take appointments but I am hoping for the end of March. I hope to have a big grand opening so stay tuned for that!

Here is a preview of what's to come. It looks rough but I fully intend to pimp it out! Can you totally picture my colors and logo on the outside?
For those of you in New Prague... there will soon be a For Rent sign in our old space so I just wanted to let you know that I'm still around, just moving!

Studio map

I was looking at satellite imagery of New Prague and I found my studio! I gave the best detailed directions on my website and here is a satellite map and you can see how it can be hard to find. The building sits back in the parking lot. Satellite maps are so cool!

[click to view larger]

































This is what it used to look like inside:






























Looking through these old photos, I realized I first came across this space on March 23rd of last year. I can't believe it's almost been a year! It's worked out great but I am currently keeping my eye out for something new. I have big plans for myself!