The Studio

Today's post has been a long-promised one.  A few months ago when I officially introduced you to Arturo, I mentioned I'd be writing a post on our new studio space.  For those of you who haven't had a chance to drop by the studio yet, I'm so happy to finally be taking you on a photo tour!  We finally (mostly) have it set up, though I'm sure we'll always be making small changes and tweaks to it.

Our studio is located at 305 Knowlton Street in Bridgeport, Connecticut.  Arturo was born and raised in Bridgeport, so he's loving being back in one of the neighborhoods where he grew up.  305 Knowlton is an old industrial building with amazing character which was once home to the Armstrong Manufacturing Company in the 1800s.  Today it is home to about 25 artist studios and small businesses.  We absolutely love having a place to call our own (and fill with lots of pineapple décor!).  It serves as a spot to invite our clients to for a more personalized experience for consultations, and I also have a beautiful space that's flooded with beautiful natural light for boudoir photography sessions!  Being in a building surrounded by painters, sculptors, writers and many other talents has greatly increased our own creativity, which we couldn't appreciate more!

Earlier this year on Valentine's Day, I was working in our home office chatting with Arturo about goals we want to accomplish in 2017 and 2018.  He was sitting next to me when his phone rang and he excused himself from the room.  I didn't think much of it and went on to reply to some emails as I waited for him to come back so we could finish our discussion.  Arturo promptly came back into the office and asked, "Do we have any plans for tomorrow?"  "I don't think so," I replied as I was double checking our calendar.  A sneaky sort of smile came across his face (similar to the one he had when he proposed four years ago!) and he said, "Good, because we have an appointment to go see some studio spaces at 305 Knowlton."  I jumped into his arms and gave him about a thousand kisses as I was still trying to process my excitement!  Just two or three years earlier, Arturo and I had gone to visit one of his childhood friends who had a studio there at the time, and I absolutely fell in love with the vibe and atmosphere of the building.  Since then, I had dreamt of us having a studio there.  I wrote it down on my list of goals I wanted to achieve within the next five years, and thanks to Arturo, he made sure it happened much earlier for us than I could have imagined!

Without further ado, I'm so excited to be sharing our studio with you!

I'm always on the hunt for fun accessories that my boudoir clients can use during their session.  These pearls are definitely a favorite of mine!

A few years ago, Arturo surprised me by buying a collection of old cameras from one of his sister's friends, which we used to decorate our first home together.  Shortly after we moved into our studio, he surprised me again with another collection of vintage cameras!  We have them all over the studio, many of which decorate the window sills.

I love this fun camera print!  My sister sent it to me for Christmas a couple years back after she found it in a local shop where she lives in Portland, Oregon.

We always have one bottle of wine on hand for any and all celebrations, usually from the company of one of our favorite bands, Train!

This is one of our favorite photos from our wedding day, photographed by the fabulous HT Photo.  Being quite the cigar aficionado, there was no way Arturo was going to pass up a celebratory cigar with some of his buddies the evening of our wedding!

Whenever you have a chance to stop by, whether it be for a consultation, a boudoir session, or simply just to say hello, don't forget to check in on Facebook, or use the hashtag #shainaleestudio on Instagram!  We can't wait for you to see our new space!