Title: building a new nest Category: studio space

I can finally start to talk about some of the exciting things going on in the King household! As you may have noticed by the new cartoon in my blogsite header, we are building a new nest around here and will be opening a joint studio space in Fort Wayne for Betsy King Photography and my husband’s business, Metta Audio.

So here’s a peek at the “nest” we are in the midst of having built for our two businesses. It looks like there is a long way to go, but the builders are working quickly to restore this historic building and we should be in there in about a month! Our space is the one in the foreground with the two windows in the brick wall. The ceilings are going to stay exposed to keep things feeling lofty and authentic. The space with the windows on the back wall is another creative Fort Wayne business. We are so excited!!

I’m sure many of you are wondering where all of this came from? For the last few years, John has been working out of his home office and it’s been going pretty well. The arrangement has had many perks enjoyed by myself, Miles and the pugs. (Of course John too.) He has had breakfast with us, lunch with us and most everyday, the pugs would get a lunchtime walk by John. Dinner could start right at 5 PM with no commute. (Did I mention the savings on gas?) John has been able to go to Kindermusik, pre-school parent mornings and any doctor appointment for Miles that pops up. We have felt very blessed to have our own little world of freedom.

Of course, with such freedom, comes the responsibility of actually finding time to get work done. Being free to do the fun family things during the day, means working all evening long. The boundaries get blurred and it starts to feel like one long work day, with a short nap on Sunday afternoon before starting all over to do it again.

So, we are giving up many of the freedoms of having a home office, in the hopes of regaining a bit of normalcy. John’s studio equipment will go to the studio, but I’ll keep my work station here at home. Though I’ll have a place to meet clients and now I can add studio photography to my repertoire!

This past year I learned how to do some really beautiful type of studio photography and here is a small sample of what it looks like. (If you are an avid blog reader, you may have seen some of these before.)

I’m so excited to start bringing this to my clients this winter! I’m not going to do typical studio stuff though. I really want to keep it fresh and relaxed, like my outdoor work is. So even though I’m adding something new, it will still reflect my unique style.

Also, with freezing cold Indiana winters and unpredictable weather the other three seasons, I’m excited to be able to book clients time in the studio and have no questions whether it will actually happen or not. Also, as a mom, the best light of the day comes during dinner and bedtime for Miles. I love photographing people, but it’s a big sacrifice to give up that time of the day usually committed to family time. So I’m excited to be able to book sessions whenever I want since I’ll get to control the light! Of course, I’ll still have outdoor sessions available too. All of that info will be coming in January.

With all of these changes, of course, comes the fact that I will have to somehow become a REAL stay at home, working mom. I will no longer get to run to the grocery store in the afternoon while Miles naps or schedule hair cuts during nap times either as John won’t be home anymore during the day. (Though he will still make his own hours, so he’ll still be at Kindermusik!) If Miles is acting up, or something on the stove has started to boil over, I can’t yell for back-up from John anymore. (Starting to get an idea why my husband wanted to escape to an office space?) So I will have some MAJOR stepping up to do this year. It’s going to be a big adjustment, but this is an opportunity for John to grow and of course, a HUGE opportunity I’ve been waiting for for a long time to grow as a photographer myself. So bring it on 2010!

Stay tuned to the blog for even **more **exciting news coming very soon to the blog. Our life has been full of really fun and exciting changes and opportunities lately. Oh, and it’s Christmas time too. Our heads are kind of swimming these days.