Years ago, I entertained a silly idea. Something too far out of reach. Something that would be possible in the realm of a wild reality that didn’t exist for me. But little things kept happening that pushed me to reconsider the possibility. Seeds were planted, and roots dug in that wouldn’t let go. I thought a lot about what it means to take risks that can push those silly ideas into that wild reality.
What emerged from those roots was the realization that there are always more reasons to say no, but better reasons to say yes. To chance it. To see how far you can go. To lay doubt and fear aside and just do the thing. And here we are after years of dreaming and planning, just weeks away from making it a solid, tangible reality. With the help of dozens of people, several circumstances that just happened to fall in my favor, and some kind of perfect timing, I’m about to open my own studio space in downtown Blue Springs.
In the spring of 2019, after a couple of years of searching – finding obstacles and road blocks in the three or four attempts we made to move forward – my husband Kyle and I found the perfect place. A building I’ve driven by several times. A building I’ve always thought of as the ugliest building in downtown Blue Springs.
In July, the ugliest building was ours. And we’ve spent the last six months pouring ourselves into it, making it a little less ugly every day. Even though we’ve handed the major stuff over to the professionals, it has been a LOT of work. That whole “blood, sweat, and tears” thing is completely accurate. But it’s been a 1:849:2 ratio of blood to sweat to tears (and half of the tears have been happy tears), so I’m quite satisfied with that.
It’s still several weeks from completion, but I’m seeing the transformation slowly take shape inside and out. What began as a boring and kinda sad little office building is slowly becoming the studio of my dreams.
BEFORE:
DEMO DAYS!
This process has required an enormous amount of support (in time, skills, sacrifices, faith, finances, and encouragement) from several people in my life, primarily my indescribably amazing husband, Kyle. He believes in nearly all the silly things I strive to do. And then he takes them into his hands and molds them into something better by his careful planning, his voice of reason, and his choice to allow my risk-taking to become his sacrifice. I know I would do the same for him. But I haven’t. Chasing my big dream means his big dreams are on hold. It’s a daily reminder of how full and immense his love is. I am the luckiest.
Stay tuned in the next few weeks (fingers crossed) to see the complete transformation. And, hey, if you need a super rad space for your next creative project or small workshop, I have the perfect place for you!
Anthem Photography 