And a bit of news about what is next at Balance Design.
Hello Friend,
It’s all Hallow’s Eve! Tomorrow is Halloween, and we will also get an extra hour of sleep. (You’re welcome.) Melody (Balance Design interior designer and Director of Business Development) is also having her wedding reception on Halloween! This means that all of the guests will dress in black formal wear with whimsical masks-I cannot wait! I am so excited to be a part of this big life event with Melody.
And then just like that, we are in November and the holidays are here! Normally, around this time of year, you’d receive an invitation to our Client Appreciation Open House. For the past 10 years, we have held this open house at our Candler Park studio with food and drink, and we feature a local artist we love. It’s our biggest celebration of the year, and it usually extends out onto the street and late into the night. Each year, I am amazed and grateful to reconnect with current and past clients, friends, family, vendors, and celebrate the past year.
A picture of the Balance Design team without our newest team member, interior designer Dorian Blair. (We’ll take a new picture next week!)
This year, I would like you to be patient. Why? We are moving to a new, bigger, and even more beautiful space in Inman Park. Yes, we’ve signed the lease and are planning to move in January! We would love to celebrate with you during our Open House in February. This may be our biggest party yet! Over the last 25 years, we have grown from me to 3 people and now to 10 incredible teammates. I am so grateful for our talented team. Each person brings their own special sauce, unique style, and point of view. Each person is critical to our success, and we’re lucky to work together.
Today, I wanted to share pics of our new space in Inman Park and some art by the artist we will be featuring in February. We haven’t figured out the new studio’s interior design yet, but we have some experience with that. First, the artist: Amy Sabrin. Amy is a former client, and we fell in love with her and her art when we were working on her home in Decatur. To me, her new work, No Words, speaks to what is happening in the world today-in our government, our communities, even AI. That is my interpretation; here is her statement:
“The Power of the Powerless” by artist Amy Sabrin.
“Artist Amy Sabrin believes words have meaning. But she was running out of words to describe how our language is manipulated daily to convince us we are living in an alternate reality. In response, she created a series of works that invite us to look beyond their rich, vivid surfaces to discern the words and sometimes troubling truths hidden in plain sight. These paintings reflect a realm where things can be the opposite of what they seem; a sphere where all things—including the paintings themselves—can be turned upside down; a world where words have meaning. Or do they? ”
“Living is Easy with Eyes Closed” by artist Amy Sabrin.
As soon as we know more information about our Open House in February, you will know! I hope you can celebrate with us. Now on to the new space in Inman Park. If you have eaten at The Daily on Dekalb Ave, or Kitty Dare on Edgewood Ave, you were very close to our new space on Edgewood and Elizabeth Street. Our address is: 99 Elizabeth Ave. It is part of a small campus of buildings and green space. Our space is called The Studio (seems appropriate!). In addition to our new space, there is also a real estate office,Dossier in the big white house, a potter, Nathaniel Trost, who specializes in Japanese Porcelain, and an event designer who also creates furniture and props for restaurants: Branshouse. The entire complex is owned by commercial real estate agent Gene Kansas.
A glimpse into our new studio space during last year’s Inman Park festival. During the festival, the space featured a pop-up with City Issue mid-century furniture and plants by Open Air Design.
The studio has the industrial vibe of an old gymnasium. It was actually a plumbing supply building. Old red concrete floors, graffiti, great light from old windows, and lots of open space-as I unleash the creative possibilities in my brain, I honestly cannot wait to see what we do! I also need to acknowledge how much I will miss our Candler Park studio, especially the big windows that let us shout out what we are excited about in design and in the community.
An old picture of our Balance Design studio in Candler Park on McLendon Ave.
We’ll have a lot to do in January to move everything out of our current space. We’ll organize, sell items, and buy new furniture to make the best use of our additional space. We are actually doubling our square footage! I hope to host events in this new space and get to know the Inman Park community. Art openings, wellness retreats, design seminars, book club, furniture sample sales-the possibilities are endless! I will share more as we know more.
Our new space is a blank canvas! Oh, the possibilities!
Thank you for indulging me as I shared all this news about Balance Design. As we grow, I just need to say thank you; I am so grateful for your love and support over the years. I am looking forward to the next 10 years and seeing what happens next.
Enjoy your weekend,
Stephanie
