Studio 805- Phase 2

Well, after three weeks of no updates, I have so much to show you! Many of you are just now coming upon the blog so you're asking me why I built a giant stage in the middle of Studio 805. Did The Velvet Trunk suddenly decide to host giant puppet shows? Are we building a stage so the puppets will come? No, alas, we're not... Though if they do come we'll be sure to tell you.

The stage was designed and built for babies. During Spring and Summer, and even Fall, I LOVE to shoot on location and take advantage of the natural light and all the colors. But winter presents a challenge- it's cold, wet, drab, and did I say cold? Fun, if you like that, but I wanted color, and warmth! And what if it rains? How many times can you possibly reschedule a shoot because of the weather? So there's where the need for a studio came in...

The thought of a regular studio just bores me to tears, and the typical photography canvas backgrounds make me cringe. Why does a photography set have to look like one? And why couldn't I make my own backgrounds and sets and props without it looking like I made them?

So here you find me, three weeks later, much poorer than the last time we spoke. These crazy ideas of mine end up costing a lot of money, especially when they don't exactly work. But you never know unless you try right? So even though there's been a few hiccups along the way, I feel GREAT about the set. There is still SO much to be done, but it's on its way to being Nashville's premier studio built just for babies!! =)

So, here is The Velvet Trunk's new Baby Set in Phase 2 of its beginning "stages"...
(Make sure to turn your volume up!)




P.S. In case you wondered, the studio still looks like we've been robbed, but Monday I'm tackling it with a vengeance after I finish sewing one more backdrop. If I don't come out from underneath all that fabric tell my family I love them and give the stage to the Nashville Puppet Festival. Yes, it really does exist.



Jody and I after finally finishing the first coat of primer. I love that she loves to be silly...

All the paint I went through in the last three weeks...

Did you know that with latex paint you can wash the rollers out and re-use them?
Bless the precious soul who told me about that!

The 28 foot long, 9 foot high double-layered white background that I spent a good three days sewing.
How exactly do you try to iron something this big?

I ran into my girlfriend Gabrielle at the grocery store and when I told her what I was up to she volunteered to come help with her new sewing machine in tow. And then she came back again
to sew some more! What a precious friend! :)

Susan, standing on a ladder, helping me try to hang the massive background. I love you girl!

Once I got the background up I had to laugh. After three days of sewing and fighting a hundred plus yards of fabric, it was too short. It hadn't even been hemmed yet and it was already three inches off the ground as you can see from the pic below. AND it looked hideous.
Utterly hideous.

So, that LONG background has already been taken apart and I'm using it for another project I have in mind which I would have never thought of without this rather expensive mistake! ;-)

After the background incident I had a minor meltdown and called Kelly for help. She and her hubby Nate came right over the next morning and solved the problem with some white duck tape (long story) and a lot of laughter! I love you guys!!

Check out the carpet I bought for the stage from Carpet Den. They gave me a GREAT deal!

Once I picked it up I took it to Dennis at Carpet Creations who cut it and bound it into a rug that fit the stage like a glove. So when all was said and done I got a custom rug for a
fourth of the price of a regular one! Sweet!

Noelle from McCoy Studio came to hang out, talk business, and offer moral support. =)

The very first working background that I finished. It wasn't until it was completed that I'd realized what I'd done. I'd created my very own UT background. Now I'm paying for all those years of not watching football. But, regardless, I still like it- it's whimsical... =)

On the ground you can see the second background that was finished. An Asian inspired cornflower blue background with white vines and orange flowers. It's huge!

After my third shoot with only three backgrounds to choose from I wanted more choices. So here's my own twenty dollar giant mobile background. I suspended circles of blue and yellow and frosted white from the ceiling at all different heights.
It made for a fun (and cheap) alternative.

Here it is up close with my latest green background. Fun, huh?!
[Notice the painters tape holding the white muslin over the light's barn doors. =)]

Here's some other people not mentioned above that deserve a HUGE thanks- without all of you this wouldn't have been possible!


Kristen- for lugging your giant steamer all the way to Franklin on a very cold Sunday morning so I could try to salvage my first background...

The McKelvy's- for letting me borrow your table and insisting on bringing it to me. You never fail to amaze me with your selflessness. I love you all and I need to give you your table back! :)

Jeree Penzien- For giving me the best sewing lessons ever and assuring me that I wouldn't sew my fingers together. Somehow that really did help and so far so good! ;)

Kyle Cooper (awesome worship leader from New Song)- for coming out to a stranger's studio last minute and working so hard to build me that back section. Thank you a million times over!

Paul and Nicco- For truly making it all possible!

Rebecca- for coming out and helping me sift through mounds of fabric and buttonholes. You are a treasure to count as a friend!

Jay at The Factory- Thanks for braving the unsteady ladder and getting the lights in for me!

Constance- for jetting across Franklin in the middle of your workday b/c I needed your decorating genius! I love you and your friendship is something I truly thank the Lord for!

And last but not least, the entire crew at Jo-Ann's in Franklin, TN (especially Freda). You are a credit to your profession for so many reasons... For continuing to smile every time I stood in front of you and hemmed and hawed b/c I couldn't figure out what I wanted or how to get what I wanted to actually work. For humoring me by answering all my questions and listening to my hairbrained ideas. For putting up with all my returns, after I realized my hairbrained ideas wouldn't work. You are my heroes. =)