Category — Studios + Workspace

Balancing life and work is a continuous challenge, as I’m sure most can agree, but I find creative moments to be the most therapeutic ones of each day. Can any of you relate? Often, it’s as simple as restyling a small vignette at the shop to help take my mind off of things, pause and regroup before moving onto more pressing matters. I cannot imagine not having a creative outlet at work each day. I’m always drawn to studios and other creative spaces so today I thought I’d feature a few, with some DIY’s mixed in for good measure…

Lisa Congdon‘s studio via The Limner

Home of Jessie Webster via Design*Sponge

Smitten Studio

Abigail Ryan wallpaper featured on Decor8

The Design Files. Home of David Bromley. Photo by Toby Scott.

Livet Hemma

What helps you get through the work day, or the everyday for that matter? Besides coffee…that’s a given! Speaking of, it’s time for me to refill my mug as I’ve got a busy day ahead. We’re making some changes to the shop layout this weekend and there’s lots to do before the dust gets stirred up. Then I’m off to the city this afternoon to pick up store product, do a shop tour at West Elm and then meet a friend for dinner…got to make the most of it :) Enjoy your Wednesday!

Now that I’ve got a spiffy new blog design, I thought I should think up some snazzy new names for regularly occurring blog features. Friday Favourites, hmm. Not exactly original, I know (and my use of the words “spiffy” and “snazzy” is somewhat worrisome too) but it is what it is for today! I’m a visual person and while link lists work well for some, time is short and I need to see inspiring pictures before clicking through so here are some of my top links of the week:

1. This family farmhouse over at Country Living is right up my alley…isn’t that vintage mail cabinet crazy? As in awesome?

Country Living

2. I seem to have a black thumb these days but this DIY Succulent Wreath is too pretty not to try…

DIY Succulent Wreath by Prudent Baby

3. Clare Elsaesser‘s art gives me goosbumps…in a good, pull-on-the-heartstrings kind of way…and Victoria over at SF Girl by Bay has a giveaway going on right now for one of her prints. I’d choose this one, “Married to the Sea”. Fingers crossed…

Tastes Orangey  (Great contest for a 16×20 print over at SF Girl by Bay!)

4. This peek inside Katie Stratton‘s art studio, featured on A Beautiful Mess is too good not to share…

Katie Stratton‘s Studio featured on A Beautiful Mess

5. Shelley introduced her shop, Dignify, to me this week and I’ve been revisiting it all week. Beautiful Kantha blankets (made from vintage saris!), jewelry and more, all handmade by women around the world. Love the products and LOVE the philosophy behind it all. Stay tuned for more about Dignify…

Loving these Kantha Throws from Dignify

Now, it was only 3 years ago that Rachel and I swore to each other that we’d never share music on Birch + Bird. Keep in mind that I also once swore that brass hardware would never ever see the light of day in my home (click here to see me eat my words). Never say never, right? My close friends know that I’m a huge fan of mix tapes (well, mixed CD’s actually) and I’m pretty prone to slipping them in purses at parties! I think the habit started when I was about 9 years old, secretly taping the Top 10 at 10 when I was supposed to be sleeping! Anyway, new music makes me happy and here are a few tunes from my current playlist,  just in time for the weekend :

1. Hannah Georgas: Somebody
2. Lord Huron: Time to Run
3. Ellie Goulding: Anything Could Happen
4. Rah Rah: Prairie Girl
5. Two Door Cinema Club: Sun
6. Chairlift: I Belong in Your Arms
7. The Lumineers: Submarines
8. Class Actress: Keep You
9. Philip Phillips: Gone Gone Gone
10. Hey Ocean: Give

My musical tastes are about as eclectic as my decor sensibilities but hopefully you like the mix tape! Have a wonderful weekend :)

Sorry for my absence on Wednesday! I’m having some updates done to the blog and there were some technical difficulties along the way. Crisis averted and stay tuned for a fresh new look for Birch + Bird!  I’m off to work at the shop today and we’ve got some space planning ideas in the works to make the most of our square footage. It’s so amazing to me (to all of us, actually!) how our dreams for the shop have evolved since the beginning. What’s even more interesting is how some of our most spontaneous decisions have turned out to be our best. Have you ever had that experience? There’s a lot to be said for “going with your gut” as opposed to over-thinking things…well at least some of the time!

A space that has obviously been well thought out from rafters to concrete is this stunning warehouse conversion, the new home of the post-production facility, Joint Editorial. Architecturally designed by Armin Quilici of Vallaster Corl Architects, the team at Jessica Helgerson Interior Design took over the finishing touches, creating a very warm and welcoming workspace. I don’t think it would be tough to head into the office each day, in fact I think it would be very hard to leave…

Joint Editorial. Jessica Helgerson Interior Design. Photos by Lincoln Barbour.

Joint Editorial. Jessica Helgerson Interior Design. Photos by Lincoln Barbour.

Joint Editorial. Jessica Helgerson Interior Design. Photos by Lincoln Barbour.

Chelsie Lee was the lead designer and project manager for JHID and I think she did an amazing job at unifying the private and public areas of this expansive space, bringing warmth and texture in with rugs, lush plants and spectacular lighting. You can read more about the Joint Editorial project and see more fabulous photos over at Jessica Helgerson Interior Design. Have a wonderful weekend!

Did your weekend fly by as quickly as mine did? A little bit of work and a little bit of play with a good dose of sunshine thrown in for good measure…no complaints here! This week is sure to be busy so I thought we should start it right with some colourful blooms and a bright studio tour. Laura Jones is a still life and portrait artist in Sydney and I couldn’t help but be drawn to her boldly brushed paintings when I came across them at The Design Files last night. I think you’ll agree that they are bursting with life and I just love the intense colours and heavy brush strokes…

Laura Jones Studio via The Design Files. Photo by Carine Thevenau.

Laura Jones Studio via The Design Files. Photo by Carine Thevenau.

Do you have a busy week ahead? We’ve got lots of new and vintage product arriving almost daily at the shop which will keep us occupied. I also really need to get more organized on the home front. My hall closet is constantly overflowing (so frustrating) and I should really work on some realistic meal plans, to name a few specific things. Looks like it’s time to start some new lists…if only there were a couple of extra hours in each day!  Have a great Monday :)

Co-owning a home decor has already been a dream come true. If I had to come up with another dream, it would have to be seeing said store featured in a national magazine and, guess what? Spruce Collective is the shop feature in the February issue of Canadian House & Home!!! Ironically enough, I seem to be the last subscriber in Canada to get their copy in the mail and I’ve been stalking my local grocery store for their stash (which should be on shelves today, by the way). My mom read me the article over the phone last night though and I’m pretty much freaking out over the whole thing, in a very good way! Janis Nicolay was amazing enough to coordinate the shoot and to take the stunning photos of our shop. She’s always been such a great cheerleader and supporter of this blog and all of our endeavours here at Birch + Bird and I can’t thank her enough! Without further adieu, here’s a look at Spruce through Janis’ lens…

All photos by Janis Nicolay. Spruce Collective in Canadian House & Home.

One funny note about this shoot, we had literally just decorated the entire store for Christmas the week before we heard word about the feature so we had to un-decorate (and then re-decorate again) overnight! Our storage room and even our washroom were packed to capacity with Christmas trees…using the facilities was just like being in the forest ;) But it was well worth the effort…my new partners and I couldn’t be more thankful for such an incredible opportunity, especially so soon after opening our doors in September!

My lovely friends Aprille and Nancy even popped by to practice their modelling skills and try out our line of CeCe Caldwell’s chalk & clay paint…nice work ladies!

All photos by Janis Nicolay. Spruce Collective in Canadian House & Home.

All photos by Janis Nicolay. Spruce Collective in Canadian House & Home.

Andrea, one of our fabulous customers, was kind enough to send me a picture of our spread to share with you all…

Photo by Andrea Westbrook…thanks Andie :)

Well, I’m headed back to the grocery store to clear their shelves of the new issue before going into work…hope you enjoyed a peek around the shop! I hope to see you there sometime soon but in the meantime, have a wonderful Wednesday :)