Why are we going to all this effort for a video series?

It's about creativity! At Stamp-n-Storage, we're serious about organizing your craft so you can unleash your creativity. We've had the opportunity to meet the owners of some really great studios, and in our conversations with them we realized there was so much we could share to help you make your own studio more functional.

Crafted Spaces is a project that began almost a year ago — but at the time, we had no idea it would become this big of a deal! In the late spring of 2014, we received a substantial order from a customer outside Atlanta, Georgia. As we worked through the details of her studio, it quickly became obvious that not only was this studio going to be stunning, but that this homeowner had spent a lot of time working through every detail of her craft space.

Enter Keisha

The studio's owner is Keisha Charles, who in her spare time runs ThePaperMint.com. At first, we asked if she'd be willing to have a photographer stop by and take a few pictures when it was done — we thought they'd look great on our website. As the project came together, she started sending us photos of the progress. We couldn't believe how beautiful it was, and we realized that just getting the pictures wouldn't be enough. That idea didn't last long! We were going to need video to really capture it all. At that point, we figured we'd take a quick tour, interview Keisha on camera, and put together a 5–10 minute video about her studio. That idea didn't last long, either.

We knew Keisha had worked with an architect and a closet-organization company, so we decided it would be great to talk with them while we were there, too. We spent some time on the phone with everyone involved and quickly realized there was a LOT of great information and advice these ladies had to offer.

What started as a simple photo shoot had now evolved into a full video tour and interviews with four people! We visited Keisha in early November and spent nine hours in her studio. She was an amazing host, and you'll see in the videos just how nicely she had her whole studio set up for us. (What you won't see were the amazing fajitas she made for lunch — yum!)

At that point, we had all the footage we needed… right? A couple of videos would be quickly produced and released as part of our Black Friday / Cyber Monday specials. But as I considered all of the great advice these women offered, I knew we couldn't cut that much out — and there wouldn't be time to pull it all together before Thanksgiving. Then the holiday rush hit, and we were buried with orders from Thanksgiving until mid-January (thanks for that!). During that time, circumstances developed that allowed us to tour not one, but two more studios!

There's something about Mary…

My parents spent the winter outside Phoenix, Arizona, and we decided to visit them over Christmas. While planning the trip, I remembered that Mary Fish lives in Tucson — just an hour from where we'd be staying. Mary is an affiliate of Stamp-n-Storage and a great supporter of ours. She's a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, and her blog Stampin' Pretty has a large following. Mary moved into her current studio in 2014 and had talked with me about having a full studio video tour done. She was having a hard time finding the time for it, and I realized we could kill two birds with one stone. Why not visit Mary, tour her studio, and interview her for the series?

I floated the idea, and she graciously agreed! We responded by invading her home with all the lights, cameras, and equipment an event like this requires. The day flew by as we talked about studio design with her and her cabinet designer, Carol Bradley. (We also enjoyed some really good, freshly squeezed grapefruit juice!)

Meet Mackenzie!

Shortly after returning from that trip, we received an order for quite a few items — and it caught my attention that the order was from Minnesota. Not only from Minnesota, but from a customer who lived less than an hour from our Stamp-n-Storage shop! Since she was so close, it made sense to deliver her order personally.

That's how we met Mackenzie Fuchs — a mom and a student. When we delivered her product, we got to talking about her old studio and how excited she was to move into her new space. When she offered to give me a tour, I quickly accepted. What I found was another beautiful space — and this time it was right in our own backyard! After a little discussion, she agreed not only to let us interview her and tour her new studio, but also to photograph and record her current studio. (That takes some courage!)

Now for the heavy lifting…

With all the footage collected, the hard work began. Reviewing it and deciding how to stitch everything into a series with a logical, helpful flow of ideas was quite the project! I'm nothing like a professional video producer, so I did it the hard way: every interview was transcribed with names and video time codes and organized in a spreadsheet. Then every quote was reviewed and grouped into topic categories, and within each topic the excerpts were ordered to flow naturally. After that, we wrote the script for my wife, Mary, to narrate the introductions, transitions, and endings for each episode.

Next, we picked out music, selected the animated transitions, spent a lot of time landing on the name of the series, hired a graphic artist for the logo and graphics, and filmed all the shots with my wife Mary in her studio at our home. We put all of it into the capable hands of Tony Smith of FRF Productions, who turned it into a first-rate video series. (He's amazing, by the way!)

We hope you enjoy these episodes and feel inspired along the way! Yes, these are gorgeous rooms that are out of reach for most crafters — but there's something here for everyone who wants to make the space they work in a little more efficient and a lot more satisfying.