I bought this book a while ago because I loved the idea of peeking into the studios of other creative souls.  While perusing through it, I kept thinking “When I have my own studio, it’s going to have this idea, somewhat this look and feel…”  Lo and behold, we have moved into our own studio facilities and I have my own little corner of the world staked out.  While it’s not personalized completely just yet, I created my first client samples there this past Saturday and it was a large slice of heaven.  All the products were organized, I could see colors clearly, I could walk around and just Be.  So, in the spirit of having a small place to call your own creative haven - I chose Where Women Create by Jo Packham as our Book of the Month.

The book is broken down by the artists profiled — 26 in all, including April Cornell, Kitty Bartholomew and the author herself.  The artists are all successful in their own right and each talks about her work, background and their personal view of the world through their own space.  It amazes me the varied surroundings they chose:  Some are boutique-y, some are impeccably clean (wha….? how?!?), some use every nook and cranny, most are extremely colorful but all thoroughly enjoyable.

Here are some faves:

Cool ideas: binders organized by pattern (left) and a creative use for a diswasher (right)

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This is the space of Sandra Evertson. I love the “Paris loft” look it has and her fanciful designs.

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This room belongs to Dena Fishbein, a product designer.  Love the organization of all the pretty things.

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Ahh, one of my all-time faves: MacKenzie-Childs.  Here is Victoria MacKenzie-Childs working on a chair — I enjoy how erratic the scene is since it reminds me of our work within mountains of paint.  Plus, I love, love, love her hair — hmmmm…

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Jill Schwartz at work in one of the rooms in her 6,000 square foot artwear and home accessories studio.  I like how it sorta gives the appearance of messy but if you look closely you’ll see it’s quite nicely organized.  I’m totally digging her large desk on casters.

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Where Women Create is a book that is soooo worth the purchase price since you can truly find great ideas on how to organize and personalize your own space.  It is chock-full ofbeautiful pictures (you can’t flip a page without seeing something visually pleasing) and you can tell the author truly enjoyed herself in creating this book.  Also (at least for me), reading about the lives of 26 very different women who chose art as a career proved to be very insightful and inspiring.  I hope you yourself are inspired to purchase it — you will not be disappointed!