Studio tour: Emilliner
Name: Emily Clark
Location: Indianapolis IN
Company: Emilliner
What do you do? I am a couture headpiece designer with classic millinery training. My brand Emilliner offers unique bridal accessories — fascinators, hats, veils and garters.
What is your aesthetic? Fresh, whimsical, elegant. I love texture, delicate details and fine materials. A lightness and ease are also important. I want my designs
to be accessible.
How does your studio style convey your professional aesthetic? Light and filled with lovely things, my studio has hints of vintage inspiration (check out my hat box collection) along with new creations.
Favorite part of your studio? My studio is part of my home. Its bright and cozy (yellow is my favorite color), sometimes messy and just the perfect environment to create. I have the shortest commute and my little dog Halle hangs with me all day. As a designer I love to remain intimately connected to my craft. My favorite part of the business is the creating. I hand make each Emilliner piece from my studio.
Where do you go for inspiration? I love vintage fashion photographs to put me in the creative mood. I really like going on Pinterest for some good visuals. The materials that I use are also so inspiring, especially natural ones like feathers. Each one has its own texture, movement and shape.
What tool do you use in your business that you can’t live without? My best tools are the simple ones — thimble, thread, needle and scissors. I have scores of them all over the studio. I am also partial to one of my vintage fedora hat blocks. Its well worn with cracks and tons of pin marks, clearly well loved by many generations of milliners.
Is there anything you’d upgrade to? I’m always dreaming of a better/sleeker organizational system, but I really do thrive on my chaotic mess. My room is often an explosion of color, bits and bobs, glitz and flowers.
Anything else we should know? I just had a lovely fall photo shoot with my new bridal collection! Coming soon! Also, my latest obsession is using Instagram (My husband Nathan helpedme take all these photos with my new iPhone- yay technology!)
Check out some sneak peeks from the new collection below!
[images from Emilliner]
Studio tour: Lael Cakes
Name: Emily Lael Aumiller
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Company: Lael Cakes
What do you do? I create custom vegan and gluten-free cakes!
What is your aesthetic? Lael Cakes style is very sophisticated while being inventive at the same time. Seeking poise through nature and antique-finds the work conveying elegance.
How does your studio style convey your professional aesthetic? I spend long hours in my studio, so it was really important that it not only had function but had a level of comfort to it. My knick-knacks and antiques fill the shelves. Plants always find a way of surrounding me, giving a sense of warmth. Origination is key!
Favorite part of your studio? I am in love with my wallpaper. I also really adore my chalkboard. It comes in handy for random ideas and sketches or to pin up all of my inspirational pieces.
Where do you go for inspiration? Flea markets are my go to spots for inspiration! I love vintage cake stands and serving utensils. Not to mention the abundance of colors and textures one will find. I also love to spend long afternoons at The Botanical Gardens. I get lost in all of the luscious plant life. If I am looking to be inspired for a particular motif I really enjoy flipping through selections of patterns at paper stores. A camera is key for any of these locations!
What tool do you use in your business that you can’t live without? My rolling pin and x-acto knife!
Is there anything you’d upgrade to? A larger studio! I’ve always dreamed of having a storefront one day.
Anything else we should know? Coffee and a radio are critical for a successful day in the studio!
[images from Lael Cakes]
Studio tour: Unusually Fine
Name: Margaret Singer & Max Freeman
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Company: Unusually Fine
What do you do? Make beautiful pictures.
What is your aesthetic? Modern sensibility and old-school quality.
How does your studio style convey your professional aesthetic? As artists, we aim to see and to express what is unusual and fine in every person we work with. Our studio is a delicious mixture of the elegant and the oddball.
Favorite part of your studio? We have to say it’s Heather, our golden shark. Otherwise she’ll eat us.
Where do you go for inspiration? Old Hollywood and new sh*t.
What tool do you use in your business that you can’t live without? Diet Coke.
Is there anything you’d upgrade to? A yacht, if Margaret were not aquaphobic.
Anything else we should know? Please drop on by the Shark Tank and say hello. It’s a place where danger is courted, coffee is brewed, and women become outlaws.
[images from Unusually Fine]
Studio tour: Paloma’s Nest new shop
Name: Caroline and Jose Vásquez
Location: Austin, Texas
Company: Paloma’s Nest
What do you do? Paloma’s Nest creates a line of handcrafted modern heirlooms. We focus on designs for weddings, baby, home, & holiday. Often our custom pieces commemorate a special time or event. We strive to produce items of the highest quality craftsmanship and materials that will be cherished and passed on to future generations.
What is your aesthetic? Our aesthetic is timeless. Most of our designs are simple, modern, and unexpectedly elegant. However, we do not design based on trends or styles. When we design, we look at a piece and say “Will this still be beautiful in 100 years?”
How does your studio style convey your professional aesthetic? In our product line, we stay true to the natural characteristics of the materials we use- wood, clay and porcelain, organic cotton, pure gold and silver leaf. We recently moved into this new studio space, which houses our offices, shipping area, ceramic studio, wood shop and boutique. Most everything in the space needed to be gutted before we moved in, so we were able to create an environment that reflects the brand that lives here. We used lots of reclaimed building supplies, and got an amazing deal on overstock of pale maplewood flooring. Simple white walls, desks and tables are matched with silver galvanized metal chairs and wooden storage pieces. Lots of natural sunlight makes the space a joy to work in.
Favorite part of your studio? The expansive 12 foot long chalkboard. It serves as a “home-base” for important notes, dates, numbers, and funny jokes.
Where do you go for inspiration? Most of our inspiration comes directly from the materials we use, and how far we can push those materials, combined with a real love of history and antiques. We love to re-consider items from the past, and update them to create a “new classic.”
What tool do you use in your business that you can’t live without? Our amazing team! We could not do what we do as entrepreneurs and parents if it wasn’t for the talented and loyal folks who work with us everyday.
Is there anything you’d upgrade to? As much as we love our little kilns (they are incredible workhorses!), we would LOVE a new giant kiln, because of the possibilities it could bring for new designs in the collection.
Anything else we should know? As you see in the photos here, we have this sweet little showroom/boutique now open in Austin! If you are in the area, come say “hi!”
We will be open for extended holiday hours starting in November, around the same time our beloved Holiday Collection debuts.
Shop hours and location can be found here: http://palomasnest.com/locations.html
If you’re not around Austin, of course our entire collection is available online at palomasnest.com
[images from Paloma's Nest]
Studio tour: Regas NY
Name: Meredith Kurosko
Location: New York City! Our location is quite unique, and we think it adds a fun little note to the world of Regas! We’re located on the sunny second floor of a Greek Orthodox Church in west Midtown. Our vintage letterpress machines and paper samples spent months begging for open space as our business grew – and we were lucky enough to find it in this quirky space.
Company: Regas New York
What do you do? We create stationery and invitations! At any given time you can find a Regas designer hard at work on our wedding collection, or on a custom piece for a special event. Our letterpress is in-house – so all printing happens inside our studio.
What is your aesthetic? Bold, bright, and colorful.
How does your studio style convey your professional aesthetic? We like to think of our studio as an equation: calm background plus amazing accents equaling a sense of the Regas brand! We chose a calm grey for our walls, but then painted our fireplace a shock of yellow. Other colorful bits and pieces are scattered throughout. The space feels timeless in its use of a neutral underlying shade but distinct in its ability to spark creativity and energy.
Favorite part of your studio? Hands down? The comradery and creative spirit shared by our team. There isn’t a day that goes by without a challenging design dilemma – and yet our natural approach is always laughter rather than dismay. And we’re very much a working studio – someone always has dirty hands from the printing!
I also feel incredibly fortunate to have the luxury of space to spread out when tackling a project. We all know that’s a rare thing in NYC, but our large footprint allows us to really play with any medium that strikes the team’s fancy. We’ve spray painted linens, screen printed table runners, redone furniture, and spackled walls, all from within our studio. The space really allows us to go in any direction.
Where do you go for inspiration? I don’t have one go-to place, but do find myself excited by a few things over and over again. Clients are inspiring to me. They have wonderful stories and are planning thoughtful events. Their energy is contagious!
I also find the wedding community a real source of inspiration. It’s so incredibly full of talented entrepreneurs. The friends I’ve made since starting Regas keep my mind going.
Finally, on a more tangible front – the walk home from the train to my apartment in Brooklyn affords endless eye-candy. I’m always caught anew by the architecture of the neighborhood and finding hidden patterns that I want to capture on paper.
What tool do you use in your business that you can’t live without? Four words, two items: pantone book and printing ruler. Need those colors and perfect measurements!
Is there anything you’d upgrade to? In case a little elf is reading this… a new paper cutter, central a/c in our studio, and a heidlberg letterpress
Anything else we should know? Our team is knit together like no other. Regas designers Allison and Caitlin and I work together five (sometimes seven!) days a week – and yet we often linger well past hours to just get in more quality time. Allison is my younger sister, and she lives with me, so we’re basically attached at the hip!
[images from Jamie Hankin and Regas NY]
