Earlier this week I shared the news that Derek and I are building a new house together. (Read more about The Great Housing Adventure of 2013 Part I and Part II, if you wish.) It’s an exciting, exhausting, and thrilling time in my life. As a dear of mine always says, “Life is an adventure!”

Since this blog is mostly about my efforts as a filmmaker, I now get the great pleasure of telling you how these things are directly related. I’ve got one word: STUDIO. I’m pretty thrilled, you guys.

Pretty soon I’ll have my very own creative studio!

Basic floor plan of the new studio

The plan is to turn the loft in our new home into a space I can call my very own. For the first time in my life, one big room will be home to all of my creative efforts: writing, editing, design, photography, and filmmaking. There will even be room for sewing, crafting, drawing, interior designing stuff, and even painting when the mood strikes. (Creativity comes in many shapes and sizes, ya know.)

For the life of me, I can’t tell you how thrilled I am about this studio. It’s tough to put into words. BECAUSE I REALLY WANNA USE ALL CAPS, ALL THE TIME. I’M THAT EXCITED.

This new studio will give me the physical space, mental clarity, and awe-inspiring environment to do my best work. Which means that, hopefully, I’ll find it slightly easier to make films. And I’m sincerely hoping that means I can make my indie films better — and finish them faster.

I want to be a very prolific filmmaker. It’s not about the quantity of films I make throughout my life, so don’t misread the word prolific. It’s more about tackling all of the things that swarm my brain and fight, fight, fight to get out. I want to produce a lot of really great work over the course of my life. I’ve got stories to tell, y’all.

For years now, I’ve been making films in cramped, messy spaces. Not a complaint, mind you, just the truth. You do the best you can with what you have as an indie (no-budget) filmmaker, ya know? It builds character, I’m told.

Anyway… Sometimes I’d escape those messes and make it to a coffee shop to work for a little while. Other times I was lucky enough to spend time at a beautiful co-working office surrounded by brilliant creative people. But for the most part, I work at home in a room that doesn’t quite meet my needs. So I’m pretty excited about the new studio.

The studio layout is still a work in progress. I tend to need a chance to live in a room, study the sunlight, and think for a while before finding the best layout. I also rearrange the room a lot before landing on an arrangement I like. Both of these things confirm that my love for interior design should remain a hobby. But I’ve been thinking about it non-stop, reading design blogs, and making lists of how I want the space to function.

It’s been difficult for me to write about all of these housing-related things on this blog. It’s not exactly filmmaking but it heavily impacts allllll of my filmmaking efforts. It’s time that I’ve spent thinking about housing instead of film, so it feels relevant.

The new studio is something I’ve been hinting at on this blog for a while: here, here, and here. My home office Pinterest board is also getting some heavy traffic because I’ve been gorging myself on design ideas. I’ve drawn a few conclusions. I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow.

Thanks for coming along for the ride! I can’t wait to share more.