Sustainable Studio Refresh
How We Got Here: Why Not To Hoard Art Supplies
You know how in toxic relationships the thing that drew you to someone becomes the thing you can’t stand? My boundless creativity blinded me until it hit me: I’m in a toxic relationship with my studio. 😅
I've been cleaning my studio for like…3 years straight. I would tidy the space to a functional point, but the deeper layers were never touched. And boy oh boy did they need TOUCHED like a newly minted divorceé.
But I’m here to say I made it out alive.
A major part of my practice is reusing and repurposing-I can see potential in almost any material. I love this for the creative problem solving and waste reduction, but even sustainably sourced materials can feel chaotic and confronting without boundaries.
It got to the point where I felt like I was always cleaning my studio or avoiding it entirely.
Accepting Help: Working With A Professional Organizer
I finally gave myself permission to accept the help of a professional. And thank fuck for that.
I got 4 different quotes and chose to hire Bee Organized Tulsa (not an ad, but if they need a poster child I. Am. It). I knew Jerri and her team were right for me as soon as she acknowledged that confronting clutter can be really vulnerable and at times feels embarrassing. Idk that I’d ever said that out loud, but that was exactly why I kept avoiding it.
I made it clear that I was highly motivated to get this done ASAP, and Jerri rearranged her schedule to work me in sooner. She and Daniella had really creative solutions and knew exactly the right questions to push me when I needed it (I think my exact request was, “I need you to beat me up” but I digress). I genuinely felt like her goal was to help me how I needed to be helped, not just check things off her list.
My Dream Art Studio: Prioritizing Creative Flow
I wanted to prioritize calm and flow, so that my inspiration was coming from myself, not distractions in my line of sight. Appearance was also of concern, since I wanted this space to feel aspirational and inspiring with an airy tranquility to it. Jeri spotted visual clutter I had never even thought about and worked with my eco-anxiety when it came to not purchasing a bunch of brand new plastic containers just for aesthetic. She suggested making the mesh Elfa drawers opaque, not storing messy pallets in plain view, and not keeping things if you don’t know of a time in the next year you’ll use it.
This room sees my best work, my new ideas, my wins and my failures, and I’m so glad I have a system in place that’s customized to my patterns and habits, making it 10,000% easier to keep up with. A space can only be as beautiful as it is functional, otherwise the mind will be constantly distracted. This space was an absolute mountain for me to tackle, but Bee Organized Tulsa made it so approachable.
After they finished I got rid of EVEN MORE, made an entire wall into a cork board, and cleaned all the paint off the floor. (I know it won’t stay that way I just had to know how far I had fallen, ok???)
The cork wall is the most functional use of space for me, given that my process requires lots of pieces of loose, painted canvas be visible at all times. I also knew that cork is a sustainable material that would add warmth to the room and dampen some of the sound thrown around a big tiled room. Such a win win because I was able to design and install it myself.
Top Takeaways: Working With An Organizer
Start from scratch- Pulling everything out is honestly terrifying, but seeing the shelves bare made me suuuper intentional with what I was choosing to bring back in. I actually think I want to go even MORE minimal, but I’m not making any decisions until I live with this system for a while.
Out of sight out of mind- I hadn’t even thought about the Elfa drawers contributing to my visual overwhelm until Jerri proposed lining them to hide the contents. *Plus, labeling things eliminates the mental load of trying to remember where things go. Turns out, “visual overwhelm” is not just a woo-woo phrase, it’s real and it might be what’s gumming up your mental pipes.
Karma remembers- Jerri needs to become a permanent fixture in my life because every time I started to hesitate when getting rid of multiples she would remind me that just because I donate something doesn’t mean it’s gone forever. Holding on to things you “might use” is like dating someone’s potential and hoping they’ll change. Make room for more good in your life and watch Karma/The Universe/God/etc fill it with exactly what you never knew you needed.
Below you will find some before and after photos, but be sure to follow me on Instagram, because I have a whole mini-series coming called Dream House//Dream Life about how I design our home so that it naturally supports our family values.
