The Burrow Studio Productions

Before I start this announcement-filled entry, I just want to take a moment to celebrate the fact that this is my 100th entry! Yay! Happy Birthday, blog! And it only took me 2+ years. Ok, onto the news.

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I never thought I would be the kind of person who moves around a lot, but I can't seem to help it. Last week I listed my 10th address on Netflix. It's a little unsettling (unsettled? Pun intended) to repack the same boxes every June and spend the summer months traveling only to find myself homeless every August.

This summer, the only difference was one of scale: instead of moving across town, I moved half-way across the country. And now I'm a resident of Chicago, IL. So why did I move away from all my lovely friends in Philadelphia? Love, Life, Friends and Itchy Feet. And while it was sad to leave Philly and scary to land in Chicago I keep having to remind myself that every move I've ever made has been worth it. Change can be terrifying but with it comes new possibilities. And I want to be the kind of person who gambles big.

So at the end of my summer frivolities I loaded my truck and headed west!

Yeah, I packed it pretty tight.

A very angry Ripley was my road-buddy!

I share my new apartment with Lucy Knisely, the brilliant comic artist and author of the graphic novel French Milk (and other autobiographic comic collections!) It's a beautiful and sunny space on the third floor. We have windows that look out in all 4 directions and because we live on a tree lined steet it's a little like living in a tree-house. One of it's other perks is the ample studio space! (Swooon!)

One of the scariest things about moving to a new city is the prospect of finding a job. Although a few of the teaching jobs I had hoped for look like they will pull through, after a TON of deep contemplation I've made the decision to try to eke out a living by my craft. Eeeeeeeeek! Right? I mean, really scary: there's NO guarantee of income and the studio start-up costs alone are pretty unthinkable! But that's the plan: I'm going to produce a new line of products and sell them via Etsy and local craft stores.

I announced this terrifying prospect to my new studio-mate and, somewhat to my surprise, she immediate exclaimed: "That's great! Let's start a home studio!"

And so, I'm proud to introduce the new collaborative home studio of
Nora Renick Rinehart and Lucy Knisely:

THE BURROW!

The Mascot: Ripley and Linney locked in an eternal tussle.

Like I said: the space is amazing! I've never had so much space to organize my studio supplies (that wasn't also my bedroom. Actually, with a studio space for most of my stuff my bedroom is pretty sparse.)

Lucy working in her studio nook.

The room is built with two sizable nooks, each with windows and lights, with enough floor space for a work table and a large closet for supply storage.

Thread! Beautiful beautiful thread...

Swoooon.... I had a blast organizing all of my supplies!


Unpacking all my familiar desk stuff...


...decorating the studio with Lucy...

I'm a little addicted to collecting paint samples. I may have spread the addiction to Lucy.

...and integrating our two felines into the space!

This photo is IN NO WAY indicative of how they get along: there's usually quite a bit more hissing involved.

They certainly do look good in the space, though!

I'd call it more of a brownish gold.

And to top off all of this wonderfulness? The west-facing window by my desk has an amazing view of the sunset. So much swoon!

This week has been a lot of unpacking, cleaning and getting organized; but there's no time to dawdle! If I'm gonna make a living at this, I've gotta get to making stuff. The first wave of supplies is ordered so next week: print tables, prototypes and photography. Stick around!