Feature Friday: Studio Lola

Several months ago I met Jenn Tucker the founder of Studio Lola in Pioneer Square at the Urban Air Market. I immediately fell in love with the Studio Lola fox paper, and since purchasing have gotten to know Jenn a bit more. Her passion for bespoke, and hand-made items that are created sustainably has had a definite impact on me. I thought that you all might be interested in learning a bit more about what she is doing. So in honor of the upcoming small business Saturday, here is a business you should consider supporting :)

The following is Jenn sharing a bit of the inspiration, history and process that makes Studio Lola the unique small business that it is.

Studio Lola aims to provide home decor that gives you a sense of instant nostalgia for your own place and experiences, with a feeling of comfort, and an added dash of joy.

Originally inspired by the adventuresome spirit of my grandmother Lola (who also had a fantastic sense of humor and loved a good puzzle), Studio Lola has always been the outlet for my need to practice tactile design. After 15 years focusing my creativity in the graphic design industry, I found I missed my retail and three-dimensional design roots, and Lola called me back. 

Like the studio’s namesake, I enjoy solving a puzzle with an end result. The process of developing a product with a new take on an old classic brings me great satisfaction. For me, the research and testing is a part of the puzzle, which ultimately leads to a tactile creation from the very heart of my design aesthetic and personality. Making products for the home melds everything I have learned, loved (and learned to love) together: sewing and designing patterns; graphic design; re-creating a story; photography; home comforts; and sustainability. 

 

The way I see it, we could all use a bit of levity in our lives. I like to use my creativity and sense of humor to bring a momentary giggle, a smile of a memory, or a breath of beauty to the day—to—day of others. Studio Lola is my way of sharing the spirit of life, by curating and creating items that bring joy and comfort into your life and home.

One of the privileges of entrepreneurship is the ability to make responsible, meaningful, and sustainable business decisions in matters that can make an impact, no matter the size. Studio Lola values the opportunity to practice a livelihood that you love, supports other entrepreneurs and believes in always finding ways to lessen the human impact on the environment. That’s why Studio Lola donates a percentage of sales to non-profits with similar values for the environment and community. And whenever possible, Studio Lola sources locally made, 100% organic supplies from other small businesses.

I hope that what you find here speaks to your soul in a way that makes it feel like that pillow, or that character has always been yours, and has now found its way back to you, much like placing that perfect piece in the puzzle.

A bit more information about Studio Lola’s process, and materials:

Studio Lola uses Texas-grown organic cotton that is processed and milled in the USA. Studio Lola dye is from a small company in L.A. that is producing small batch, environmentally responsible UV process dye. It is important to Studio Lola that all aspects of the textile dyeing process are approached as sustainably as possible. 

Photos By: Angela and Evan Photography

Shop Studio Lola on Etsy

2016 Upcoming Events For Studio Lola

• November 29: Rainier Club Holiday Bazaar
• December 3-4: Urban Air Market, Portland
• December 19: Fremont Foundry Holiday Market

Make sure to check out @studiololacollection on Instagram as they are running a giveaway for this gorgeous pouch!

Consistency Is King In Social Media

Today, I'm excited to introduce Lauren Caron of Union Adorn to give her top social media tip. Lauren and I met via Instagram (the power of social media). Lauren recently moved to Seattle from New York, when we finally got to meet in person, it felt like we definitely were kindred creative spirits. Lauren's background is in Visual Presentation Design, Interior Design and Business Management. She has worked with some pretty amazing clients including: Bergdorf Goodman, Hasbrouck House Hotel, Homepolish Inc and Tiffany & Co. She is absolutely amazing and I am looking forward to collaborating with her more soon.

Social Media Tip #2: BE CONSISTENT

The best way to ensure you’re going to have a strong Instagram feed is to be Consistent. Think about when you scan other accounts, especially the ones that you consider to be good, there is a consistent formula and system that they’re using which makes their feed be consistently good and on brand. You can look at their feed and know immediately if you want to follow a person/brand or not. Most of the time I don’t even go past the initial feed to individual photos make the decision about if I am going to follow that person or not. 

Creating that consistency is the first step and it’s not going to happen overnight. You need to experiment with different filters, or types of images or perhaps kinds of compositions (that are all reflective of your brand), or even a consistent tone of voice, and see how your followers respond to them. After a while trends will start to reveal themselves and you’ll gain an understanding of what your audience wants to see and hear from you. That’s when you start to edit your content to post more within that formula. Sometimes I purposely break the formula and yes, I gain less likes but also, it is a personal account and I want to be authentic so I say “what the heck, I want to post this so I will.” Usually I receive less likes and sometimes I even lose followers. 

For example, in my personal feed (@laurenlcaron) my audience is most drawn to 4 major images: 1. pictures of my own interiors or interiors that I have created. 2. and 3. are a close and nearly a tie, but my audience loves to see images of building facades in the neighborhoods I’m living, or interiors of restaurants and shops that I’m shopping in. And 4. My dogs tend to get a lot of likes, as long as they’re sprinkled into the feed, not over used. Once in a while I’ll add an image with inspirational text that is relative to me, my followers and the spirit of being a creative entrepreneur. Some of those images have received the most likes of all while others don’t get much. So I only truly post them when the words have a significant meaning to me. For my feed though, I tend to post them in the same font on the same white background.

This completely makes sense as to why my audience prefers these kinds of images, because I am an interior designer and my feed is my personal brand. What audiences want to see, ties directly back to the foundation of the brand - me and my work. 

From a visual standpoint, when canvassing my feed, I consistently utilize the same 2 filters from VSCO. I prefer a tone that is clean, clear and crisp, with true blacks, true whites and deep greens. You’ll notice my images are never too warm or toned to pink, hazy, too moody or too overexposed. Also, I tend to shoot directly onto my buildings and rooms, creating straight up and down lines, without any strong perspective lines or angles. 

Apps that I utilize to keep my feed consistent are: 

• VSCO - because I always prefer those filters over the IG ones
• Snug - to preview how a new image will fit within my feed. 
• ColorStory - Once in a while I’ll use this to edit the photos, but I haven’t found a favorite set of filters on this app yet, although they do the same thing that VSCO does. 
• Phonto - to create my text images.

Consistency doesn’t mean that you have to have the same exact images or necessary that every image has to look the same but they should fit into some sort of broad formula that we stick to. Also, this is just relative to IG, for my other platforms I create based on the needs of that space, as well as what my audience wants to see within that platform. In the end, I just try to ask of whatever I put out there, “is this consistent with my brand?”

Lauren Caron

Union Adorn | United in Beauty

www.unionadorn.com