Building Studio Fort Worth

The idea for Studio Fort Worth started simply enough. Victoria and I wanted to do something together.

We had no idea finding a space that would support her floral studio and a photography studio would be so difficult. Over a year of searching, we finally found a place.

The space we ended up leasing was the perfect size, but it needed some vision and a lot of work. It had been used for medical device storage, and previous tenant was not big on convenience. The interior was raw: exposed, surface-mounted electrical conduit everywhere, a basic concrete slab floor, and zero amenities—no dedicated changing room or restroom.

Like crazy people, we signed the lease in March 2024. The complicating factor? Victoria was seven months pregnant with our second daughter. We had a self-imposed, hard deadline: get the entire studio built and operational before Emma arrived in May.

A very pregnant Victoria the first time we got access to Studio Fort Worth

The Construction Phase (March – May 2024)

Our landlord handled baseline improvements—new HVAC units and painting the main exterior walls—and handed us the keys in March. The clock was ticking.

We started immediately with the highest priority: infrastructure. My father-in-law, a retired handyman, was the key player here. I can’t emphasize enough how much I dislike hanging and finishing drywall. Electrical, plumbing, no problem. Drywall though, I despise with every fiber of my being. Tom, however, is a wizard.

The first order of business was constructing the dedicated bathroom and changing room. This was crucial for client convenience. We got a small break because a previous tenant had already demolished an old, unusable bathroom, which meant the main sewage and water lines for the toilet and sink drain were still present and capped. That detail alone saved us days of cutting concrete.

The bathroom after Tom worked his sheetrock magic

We spent late nights framing out those two rooms and getting the drywall hung. If you've ever managed a project like this, you know the supply runs are constant. We measured the complexity of the job by the number of trips we made to Lowe’s on Bryan Irvin. This studio build was easily a twenty-trip project by the time we were done with electrical, plumbing fixtures, lumber, and trim.

Tom and his helper setting the frame for the changing room

I took a lot of pride in building and hanging the barn doors. Carpenters have a saying that the best ones are good at covering up their mistakes. Wood putty was my friend for the diagonal pieces.

Building the barn doors in the floral studio

Once the walls were up, we moved to the finish work: installing the flooring over the slab, cutting and securing all the baseboards, and the final touch-up painting required after installation. The finish line was in sight.

Along the way, we had a lot of help from my Mother-In-Law. She is the unsung hero in all of this. Between watching our 18 month old, bringing food, and being an arbiter of ideas kept all of us moving in the same direction.

Launching the Operation

While I focused on the physical build, Victoria handled the business systems. She started posting the build progress on Instagram as soon as we had the lease locked down, generating immediate interest among local photographers.

She then designed the website and set up the automated booking and payment system. This back-end work was more involved than I initially appreciated. Ensuring a smooth, reliable booking experience is critical for a high-volume rental studio, and she nailed the execution.

We hit our goal. We wrapped the final cleaning and finish work right before Emma was born. The studio opened its doors, providing a bright, functional space for our first wave of clients, and then we shifted gears to focus on family.

Studio Fort Worth is operational, built from the ground up with sweat equity and a very clear deadline. It’s a dedicated, reliable space, and that’s exactly what we set out to create.

The last step was to throw a party for our photographer friends

We have had a lot of fun bringing this space to life for our friends. Through all of the work, we have grown stronger together and built something that we are proud to call our own.

Thanks to you, Studio Fort Worth is a dream come true for both of us. Stop by any time.