New Studio Space!

My family documentary shoot was rescheduled this morning because of the slippery roads so I have a whole day to myself! And what better way to spend a bit of it than updating the blog Juli has created 3 times for me? (I keep forgetting where they were set up and what my password is.) I'm so sick of seeing "Start Blogging" on the top of all my to-do lists. Who even came up with the word "blog?" It's not a very nice sounding word.

So, today I'd like to announce officially on my blog that Recherché has found a new home. She woke up one morning in late November and said, "Regina, I can't live here anymore. I'm dying. All this renovation work on the house is stressing me out- I can't focus or relax." So I asked her what kind of a place she wanted to be in. Her reply was quick and clear: "I want to be on Main Street in Historic Downtown Louisville. I want to be in a little cottage with hard wood floors and big windows. I want big beautiful images on the walls, space to do maternity and baby portraits, space for an office so people can come and work, space for people to walk in and see my images and meet my owner. I want the world to see our love for the botanical images we've created. I don't want to move to San Francisco- I want to be a big part of this little town I love so much. I want to support other women-run small businesses. So many people are telling me that to be able to compete in the new digital age I need to lower my prices and offer less. But that makes me feel so sick and sad. I don't think the answer is to water down my product just because that is what so many people are doing to compete. I don't want to compete. I want to BE. I want to CREATE. I want to INSPIRE. I want to be in RELATIONSHIP with our clients, to be a family historian, to offer products that will be handed down for generations and will show our great grandchildren how they came into being. I don't want to have a studio the way other photographers have studios. I don't want to run a business the way other people are running businesses. I want to create something new."

I thought that sounded so lovely. The additional overhead seemed a bit daunting, but when someone you love is so clear about what they need to feel happy and inspired again, you do anything you can. My husband said "What about that little red house on Main Street that's been for rent for months?" So Obadiah and I went for a walk, and there she was. The little red cottage who was destined to become the new home for Recherche.

Here is a shot of Juli & Luci on our 4th walk-through in 2 days. They are only slightly less inspired than me.

I met with the landlord, Taree, just a few days later; bungled my way through the "negotiation" process by admitting straight out that I was crazy about the house, wanted to move in immediately and would do tons of the work myself. Luckily Taree appreciated my genuine enthusiasm and offered us a wonderful 3 year lease agreement. I painted the next 3 days straight, celebrated Thanksgiving, persuaded my father and husband to spend their holiday finishing a hardwood floor, shot an event on Saturday and moved Recherché on Sunday. I then spent every waking (and sleeping) moment preparing to open my new Studio-Gallery-Boutique before Christmas.

Jay is the champion of all husbands. He spent many late nights up with me listening to my plans, hanging frames, folding notecards, painting and whatever else I couldn't manage to do on my own. And Juli not only helped, but (barely) endured all of my passionate speeches and long-winded ramblings of everything that had yet to be done with great patience. Sometimes I wonder if either of them truly new what they were getting themselves into when they decided they wanted to be such a significant part of my life...

The best way to describe the delerious joy of this process was to compare it to child birth. (Keep in mind I have never actually had a baby, but this is what it seems like.) I feel like I got pregnant with the "idea" of this new space. It has been growing inside of me for so many years until all of the sudden I was consumed and knew its birth imminent. So I scurried around and worked as hard as I could to get everything prepared for the new life. I planned and worked and wrote, and when she arrived, she was prettier and softer than I had any idea she would be. I can't wait to see how she grows and what stages she goes through, but I know the world will never be the same.

Here are a few photos of Recherché's new space just a couple months later. Please come visit us! We're right next door to BOB's sandwhich shop (my favorite is his Hawaiian chicken salad sandwhich!) and a couple blocks down from The Huckleberry (their chai is uncomparable). If we're not here, our apologies. We are probably shooting on location or just running errands. But peak in the windows!