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The New, New Curbly HQ – We’re Moving

by on Apr 26, 2016

This post is brought to you by Bill Murray and the movie ‘Groundhog Day’ because here we go again. One year ago, I was writing a post about the big move into our own studio space. It was a huge step for us, for in moving we made the decision to find a space that allowed us to create more work-life balance (less emailing/preparing dinner/managing homework, more intentional family time at home). 

Now, here we go again! Through a series of unforeseen – but maybe also fortuitous – events, the organization in charge of our space has decided to do major work on the building and cease rentals. 


 

Initially, I was pretty broken up about the news. I know this sounds like an awful lot of drama for a workspace. And, admittedly, it is. But, facing the loss of our space was difficult because of what having space has come to mean. It creates a beautiful and very necessary separation between our home life and our work life. This is especially important if your brain works like mine and has a hard time turning off the work side of things. Having a studio has also given us a dedicated place to be creative and independent.

Losing it felt like a huge step backward. I feared a return to the circus of trying to do all the work from home, children about, struggling to be productive.

While our studio space is not perfect (the light could be better, the space could be bigger, the building has a smell that’s some combination of mothball and lemonade). It is so perfect for us in a million ways. Let me count just a few of them…

 

  • It’s blocks away from our house. We can walk there, and run back home to collect the things we forget (that’s a daily occurrence).
  • It’s across the street from our daughter’s school and a stairway away from our son’s.
  • It has quirky charms that we have come to love – pipes that clink, the smell of roasted turkey every Wednesday, the senior’s exercise class that meets across the hall from us with a piano accompaniment.
  • We’ve done some of our favorite projects in this room. Painting, DIYing, vision boarding, daydreaming, and planning.
  • It’s special and just right for us. Every time I walk through the door I feel grateful for this space and what it represents. Leaving is hard.

 

We’ve spent the last 8 weeks visiting every rentable space in the Twin Cities. This is no exaggeration. Bruno has visited a very-many-dozen-hundred spaces in our quest for the right one. Lofts, garages, polished studios way out of our price range, and fixer-uppers way beyond our skill set. There have been many moments of believing that the right space didn’t exist. And so, we considered building a garage with a loft in our backyard, making a shipping container studio in our backyard, buying a new house and using it as a studio… we’ve really gone down all the roads. 

Columns hold up the ceiling in a large room with a shiny floor.

A room is ready to be fixed up.

An open moving storage

 

A yellow door with a window at the top opens into a paneled room with a table in it.

An empty room in an industrial building with  wa largei window is stripped down to the studs.

"studio hall with open doors."

 

 

 

Beams hold up the ceiling in an empty garage with concrete flooring.
Do you know what this space is? The almost end of our marriage. Because it is a garage with a sketchy heating system and a halfway house neighbor. And, Bruno was all in. And, I was the opposite of that.

 

And then, because Bruno is tenacious and one of the hardest working people I know, we found the right place. Props to my man, because with this space, the sky opened up and angels sang. For real.

Here’s the future of Curbly. Big windows, high ceilings, ample space, and many opportunities for us to knock some socks off style-wise. 

Here are a few pictures from my phone, that if nothing else, will prove to you that we have been given the gift of vision.

Ongoing construction unfinished living room.

An empty room is ready for furnishing.

Do you think we’re crazy? Can you take our hand and run through the field of visions with us? Do you believe in us? Big questions, I know. No matter your answer, we can still be friends.

We move in on June 1, and in the meantime, walls will be removed, everything will be painted, new floors laid, and new lighting will be installed. 

A new adventure begins. We’re excited, a little bit scared, and eager to move on up. Cue, The Jeffersons, here we go!

 

 

 

 

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3 Comments

  1. Looks like a lot of potential! Moving is a HUGE pain in the butt but to me is one of those things that later I’m always thinking “so glad that happened!” Hopefully this is that way for you! Good luck 😀

  2. As a person who hates moving, I feel your pain. I’m glad you didn’t end up in the garage (hahaha!). I love your design style and I’m sure you’ll make this place your own. Good luck!