Thursday, July 19, 2012

Studio Renovations,...Almost Out of the Woods!

Towards the end of June, Jon and I took on giving the studio a little makeover.  Since day one I have hated, hated, hated the carpet and base boards, but there just was never the time to stop and redo everything.  Heck, it took me 5 years to even take a vacation which came promptly on the heels on completing the biggest parts of the renovations (I can't say it's finished until I have window covers!) We literally we're putting final touches on the paint, new base boards, and new floors less than 24 hours before we left plus editing clients photos.  Burn the candle at both ends? Yes!  You mean there is another way!?!

We have stripped carpet, prepped slab and put in beautiful, eco-friendly, renewable source bamboo flooring in our own home before, so we knew what we were getting into,...mostly.  There were a few hiccups in the slab prep, but it worked out.  I'm gonna upload some photos of the progress, I'll warn ya, it ain't pretty haha! I have so many lovely props, wardrobe and textures it's overwhelming, but with this renovation, I want to get back to clean design and getting rid of some items. I love the Edward Hopper feeling of the first photo, that empty mid-century chair spotlighted, it new things were changing, lol.


The rest of these images were shot on my phone, I just didn't want to bust out the big guns when it was so darn dusty! Here's Jon getting started drawing a line in the carpet for cutting, while I removed the rest of the goods from the other side.








Yay! The rein of the horrible carpet is over! If only it could talk, the stories told in this room, oh my! Next was creating our "Dexter kill room" This was fun.


By the end of the project I was losing my mind, I can't stand the hoarders look! Even if it's nicely stacked and a beautiful mix of antiques, vintage and just plain fun dress up! It was EVERYWHERE! Here's just one shot of the guest bed and a huge <neatly> piled wardrobe mound. I cannot express the amount of frustration I was having passing by this daily.  You don't think you're obsessive compulsive,..until you just are, lol.







On to the slab prep, now if you notice there is a strip of white at the left side. THAT was the hiccup we were not planning on.  The old man and original home owner who lived in the adjoining house (our house) to the studio and built this room was notorious for is short cuts, you have no idea how many close calls and how many times we've cursed his name.  He's on the other side now I'm sure laughing his ass off at us trying to un-do his "handy work" (Thanks a lot, Ken! And we'd appreciate it if you'd stop messing with the lights and knocking on things too!) 


So, this little short cut for leveling the new and old slabs? WALL PLASTER! 20 year old hardened and mean wall plaster that no amount of sanding, scrapping or grinding would get rid of, and it just wasn't a large enough project to warrant renting equipment.  We are putting in a permanent half wall at the edge of the slab at a later point, removing a lot of trouble trying to make the two level.  Thank God that was the plan all along or I would have overwhelmed, I can't always handle big change in plans like this.  We went all old ancient Greek classic sculpture style and hand chiseled a 2x16 foot strip of hell off the slab.   We're gonna need a bigger chisel,...Are we done yet?






And it's gone at last!


I did my Cinderella routine of scrubbing the rest with a heavy bristle brush, mopped and it was ready for the next step!  That step was taking a break with Velzy in the yard (Biiiiiiiiiig Yaaaaaaaawn!)






And so it begins! The awesome thing with this bamboo and the slab is that it doesn't need sub-flooring, Just some awesomely industrial and messy glue made for the flooring.





Ok, maybe one more break before I get back to it ;) My mask matches the wall! Once I luxuriated, on to the next! I won't lie, I was burning out.  I had reached critical mass with all the labor on my ever enlarging "alien" bump on my wrist and the disaster of having "work" life <wardrobe, props etc> everywhere in my home.



It took 3 days to get in all the new floors, with cutting and gluing. This was the last day of installation of the floors. It took another day and a half to do the baseboards, but I don't have any photos of the base board, do ya really need it anyway? ;)

And now they are all done! I wish I would have gotten some nicer shots than my phone photos, but we had to finish putting everything away and head out on vacation within a day. It was,...the FINAL COUNTDOWN!!! Yes, that just happen, and if you pictured Gob Bluthe dancing with playing cards and a scarf on his face when you read that, I love you.





Look at those purdy floors and tall, noble base boards! I'm in heaven! Now to move the familiar hell of wardrobe and props in, haha, I'll miss seeing you floors and boards!  I actually still haven't put everything back in because I'm hellbent on getting rid of somethings, they absolutely MUST NOT ENTER the studio, or they might try and stay.  Maybe I should do a "Barter Kings" style adventure with some of my loot and document it!





Getting mighty full in there, but still looks so incredibly beautiful and different, I am so happy. When all was said and done, this undertaking was right at about $600, amazing isn't it? A HUGE change without breaking the bank. Now to find reasonable roman shades and we'll really be in business ;)

© Collette Lash 2012. All Rights Reserved. Do not use without permission.






Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Pre-Blog Jitters?

I think I'm suffering from blog-anxiety,...and I know better! So, I just need to get started!  I think this will be a great space to be in touch with everyone, and let y'all get to know me a little better.  The Ambitious Misfit Photo Facebook Page is great for short check ins, but no one really "writes" on facebook, am I wrong?

I am considering this blog the place I can let me hair down and kick my boots off. Be ready for ridiculous stories and more. A mix of business and pleasure and even a few guest bloggers perhaps. I'll try to keep my non-nonsensical banter to a minimum, although possibly failing at that right now. 

So here's where I am at right now.  I feel for the firs time in so many years I'm having a "summer".  It's been 5 years since my last vacation, summer is usually full-throttle busy, but  heck, all year is! Jon and I decided to put the brakes on while we had the chance and headed out for the classic America tradition of a Park hopping vacation.  I can't wait to share with you the photos. We headed to Bryce National Park and Zion National Park, as well as spending some time passing thru the always beautiful Valley of Fire and Lake Mead Recreational area. 

I hit the ground running once home working on this blog design and getting back to the flood of emails I attempted to reply to from mountain tops in remote parts of Utah.  I have been booking plenty of all types of sessions since I got back, and with the break I feel I'm at my best and ready to go!  Everything from weddings, portraits, families and the classic misfit pinups, it's gonna be busy the until the end of the year!

I am so excited about heading out to Nebraska next month! I had such a great time last year and can't wait to meet the new misfits, have some pie at Grandpa Snazzy's and watch the parade at the Cass County Fair. 

I've had a couple folks in Hawaii, St. Louis and Nashville been asking when I will be coming back,  just as soon as I can get a solid group of clients together. I love both places so much, and I love traveling.  If you are in those areas, tell your friends to round the wagons and we'll see how soon I can come out and join you!

Ok, I made it through! I promise I'll get better at this, haha. This entry might be a little slow for ya, but I'm finding my rhythm, you just wait ;)

© Collette Lash 2012. All Rights Reserved. Do not use without permission.

Monday, July 16, 2012

Return of the Misfit 'Blaugh'

Misfits! I have switched from the website blog and newsletter to this little spot.  This will enable me to update for frequently on the fly. The facebook page will of course remain as rockin' as usual, please go over and join in the fun if you haven't already : Ambitious Misfit Photo on Facebook.

I am going to try and locate and upload the previous website blog entries as well as the newsletter content for you so you don't miss a single detail.  

Go ahead and bookmark this page, you know you'll be back!
xCollette

© Collette Lash 2012. All Rights Reserved. Do not use without permission.