Desha Peacock

My intention is to shine the light on how women are earning a living doing creative work they love so that others might be inspired to create their own beautiful spaces and careers.

I wrote Your Creative Work Space to not only highlight beautiful creative work spaces, but to also tell the story of creative female entrepreneurs today. It’s a magical time in history in which we have the power to create anything we want. My hope is that by sharing these stories, we can all be inspired by the vast possibilities.

My inspiration comes from my fascination with peeking into someone’s home studio and seeing what one can learn about that person from their space. Our physical space is a reflection of who we are, and I like getting a glimpse of that.

My favorite section of Your Creative Work Space is the section called “The Stylist’s Studio” which highlights designers, stylists, online shop owners, bloggers, authors and photographers. Many of these women have digital businesses, so they are location-independent. I love how they invented careers that align with their own personal sweet spot.

I remember before I wrote my first book, Create the Style You Crave, that the publisher pushed me to describe how my book was different. I really struggled with that. In fact, I remember one teary day confessing to a friend that I couldn’t write anything new; it had all been written.

But I challenged myself to really take a deeper look and ask myself what was missing from the home decor books that I had seen. Then one day while I was driving in the car it hit me–I knew what was missing. It was that I didn’t just want pretty pictures. I wanted stories. I wanted to know more about the women behind the pretty studios and offices. My advice to women who would love to write their own book would be to look at the books in your niche and ask, “What is missing?”

I’d love to highlight here three new studios I have profiled: Amy Rouse, owner of Green Body + Green Home, Anna Louis, vintage shopkeeper and owner of Experimental Vintage, and Jo Chattman, photographer and stylist. All three women have such beautiful style!

What I love about all three of these studios is that they are all curated with items that tell a story. You can tell that the actual space is part of the creative process. It’s integral to the creative work these women do. They all share an earthy, collected look that I really gravitate toward. You can be inspired by each of their spaces to create something similar in your own home studio.

Amy Rouse
Amy is a multi-passionate entrepreneur in Tampa, FL who combines her love of massage, skincare and interiors with all things green. What inspires me about Amy’s space is the balance of color to white space. I love the collected global textiles, fixtures and hutch that ground the space, while still leaving it feeling clean and organized.

Anna Louis
Anna Louis curates lifestyle vintage in Portland, Oregon. I first discovered Anna on Instagram and fell in love with her unique style, which is a delicate balance of earthy vintage goodness. She runs a sweet shop called Experimental Vintage, where you can find beautiful vintage textiles, rugs and other home decor items and apparel. I’m drawn to Anna’s studio because it feels relaxed and features the kind of decor that is really accessible. Anna spends time finding thrifted treasures, a testament to the fact that you don’t need a huge budget to create a beautiful space.

If I could change anything, I’d go back in time and tell myself to relax and that it will all get done—don’t be in such a rush!

Jo Chattman
Jo is a passionate, New England-based photographer and stylist who lives and works in Greenfield, Massachusetts. She studied photography at Parsons and worked as a studio manager for a commercial still life photographer for five years before trying her hand as a stylist. She eventually went on to become her own boss, combining her talent as both a stylist and photographer. She makes a point of mentoring and hiring female photographers as a way to encourage creative women to value themselves and make a living doing work they love.