{studio sunday} Shimelle in London

Good morning Sunday!  I just love looking at other people’s studios, because they can be so inspiring!  I appreciate that everyone has their own space that works best for them and they are all unique.  Some are small and some are big, some are organized and some are chaotic, but all are great.  That’s why I decided to start {studio sunday}.  I want to have a whole collection of different spaces to inspire others and perhaps give you ideas on making your studio space more exciting! If you would like to take some photos of your studio/workstation, please do and send them to us at info {at} chickiedee.com!

This week for {studio sunday} we’re taking a peek into Shimelle’s workspace.  Shimelle lives and works in London for ScrapBook Inspirations Magazine and she also designs for Banana Frog Stamps and Two Peas in a Bucket. Scroll down for a little Q&A with her.

1.  What got you into scrapbooking?
I discovered scrapbooking by complete accident in 1998 — a million years ago it seems!  I was performing in a play about a family of women who keep an album of news clippings and photos, even when the clippings were tragic things.  As a cast, we wanted to make a photo album about the play as a gift for our director, but none of us knew about scrapbooking at all.  We went to a discount store to find a cheap photo album we could dress up with Crayola pens and such and instead found one of those kits that has a binder, page protectors, a few pieces of paper and stickers and a template or two.  We made that album in our dressing rooms backstage and by the end of the play, I’d discovered the scrapbooking aisle at a nearby craft store and was totally in awe — and totally aware of how I had just broken every rule in making that first album!  I’ve been scrapbooking ever since.

2.  Where is your studio? (In your home or somewhere else?)
My studio is a room in our home – we live in a postwar flat in London and it has a room that works just perfectly for me.

3.  How many hours per week would you say that you spend in your studio?
This is my full-time job so I’m here a great deal.  My desk and computer are just out of sight in these pictures, and it varies week to week whether I spend more time at my crafting desk or my computer desk.  Between the two I am in this room at least fifty hours a week, so it has to be a space I love!

4.  What’s your favorite part of your studio?
This may be very cliched, but it’s the window.  We’ve lived here about three years and prior to that we had only very small windows in every room.  Everything was very beige-toned from the lack of sunlight.  Here the light is relatively light even on a grey London day, and that helps a great deal!  The view is very peaceful and quiet as it’s not open to any streets so if I need to pretend I live in the countryside rather than a big city, I can!  We built the work desk out of kitchen units to stand alone in the middle of the room so when I am working I am standing up and constantly looking through that window.  There is always something I wish I could change about this space but the window is just perfect.

Thanks so much Shimelle, we loved taking a peek inside your studio!  {Images via Shimelle}