New studio renovation and grand opening party

What a whirlwind the past few months have been! Owning my own studio space has been a huge goal of mine.  I have thought about it and prayed about it for years.  And this summer I found the perfect space!  I actually have my dad to thank for suggesting I look at the building, and I definitely have him to thank for making my vision a reality!  The building was originally home to PT Masonry, and it had a showroom, office, bathroom, and a garage that I knew would have the potential to be an amazing studio space.  I knew it would be a lot of work to make it what I wanted, but luckily I have a very handy dad and amazingly supportive family and friends who were willing to help out all summer.  (I will do another post with the construction and progress photos!)  It took lots and lots of hard work, sweat, and paint, but I am so happy with the transformation.  Here are a few before and after photos of the showroom…

The biggest transformation was the garage which we turned into the shooting space. We removed the 16 foot garage door and replaced it with french doors and windows so now I have tons of natural light!  We also added a wall to create a huge prop closet and dressing room.  The whole studio is white, except for the wall that I shoot against, which is a beige color because I love using that in my sessions.  It’s so nice to be able to shoot against an entire wall and floor and not just a small backdrop.

The office before and after!  I liked the concept of the paneling, but I definitely wanted a light and airy workspace, so all of the dark wood had to go!  I love the shelving that my dad built to house all of my packaging, and now I have a whole work space for sorting orders.  In the second before picture below you can see a little tan metal cabinet under the window.  That was left behind by the previous owners and with a little pink paint it is the perfect to hold the printer! I love repurposing things!  Both of the desks in the office were old desks that we painted white as well.

And the bathroom!  Not the easiest space to photograph, but we replaced the sink and toilet and moved the location of the sink to make a bigger space.  We also relocated the hot water heater and my dad did an awesome job creating a built in for the blue tank that had to stay put.  The walls are the same light mint color as my office, and very calming.

And now some photos of the finished product and the grand opening party!  The shooting space, prop closet and dressing room…

The showroom…

It’s no secret that I love glitter! So of course I love all of the gold glitter accents in the office.  The glitter canvas with the quote “She believed she could so she did” was the first thing that I bought for the new space.  I definitely believe that just believing that you can do something is half of the battle, and then of course the other half is working your butt off to make it happen!  I also love the gold foil print from the very talented Laura Kathryn Creative that says “Every good and perfect gift comes from above.”  Along with the print, Laura sent a little card that states “Start each day with a grateful heart.”  It’s adorable, and I put it in a gold frame that sits on a shelf right beside my desk.  What a great reminder each day!  I spend so much time in my office, that it was important to me to fill it with things that uplift and inspire me.  And my dog Riley loves coming to work with me, so he has a bed right behind my desk.

All of my clients know how much I love my Organic Bloom frames!  I thought it would be cool to do a “tree of life” and put an ornament frame on a tree branch in the studio for every newborn that I photographed this year.  I had been searching online for a metal tree branch, thinking it was unlikely that I would find a real tree branch that would work.  Then one day I showed up to work and discovered that two large branches had fallen off of the tree outside.  I just had to trim them down a bit and they worked out perfectly!

I love how the bathroom turned out, and I think my favorite thing about it is the beautiful flower print from Lisa Ridgely Photography. It is the perfect touch of pink in the room!

We still have a few things to do to the outside, but I love the custom built shutters and window box!  Len Dick Signs did an awesome job with my sign, and had a super quick turn around so that it would be up for the grand opening.

Some of my biggest supporters!  Words can’t even begin to explain how thankful I am for all that they have done for me.  I especially want to recognize my dad, for all of his hard work, time, and talent.  I am so proud of the finished product!

Party details! I made lots of yummy cupcakes with pink pearls and gold glitter!

And I didn’t get everyone that stopped by, but we did have a little photo booth fun!  Thank you so much to everyone that took the time to stop by the grand opening and show your support.  It means so much to me!  And quite a few of the people below played a big part in the renovation process!  Dustin, Shawn, Jaime, Lindsay, Jake, Cameron, Nathan, and Melany,  thank you thank you thank you!

And finally, I would like to formally introduce my amazing assistant who also happens to be my sister-in-law!  You will find Miss Jaime Smith at the studio in the evenings hard at work in the office!  I am so excited for this new chapter in my business, and again, just want to thank everyone for all of your love and support!