Studio Tour: Inklore

PHM Studio Spaces Questionnaire:

Artist Name: Samantha Hirst
Shop site: inklore.bigcartel.com
Website: inkloredesign.com
Blog: goodmeasureblog.com
City: San Jose, CA




Where in your home/apartment/city is your studio located?
My studio is in my home, in the extra bedroom that we are blessed to have right now.

What equipment/tools do you use?
I have a large sewing table, with a sewing machine. I have another sewing machine that is just set up to do button-holes, which saves me a lot of time. My desk and files are also in this room. I have a nice tall ironing board. I bought a wooden one at IKEA (discontinued) and it is the first one I've ever had that is tall enough for me. For my printmaking work, I cover my sewing table with an inexpensive outdoor table cloth and I have all sorts of printmaking tools and inks. I also keep a big container of toothpicks which I use much more often than you might imagine.



Do you have an inspiration board, and can you tell us what is inspiring you now?
I do have an inspiration board. I covered a large piece of homasote with linen and hung it directly above my work table. Right now I'm inspired by the texture of letterpress, the need for balance in my life, and interesting points of view.



How do you create best (e.g. do you listen to music while you create and if so what?)
It really depends on what I am doing. If I am carving new prints, I love to work in silence. This is the time when I allow my mind to wander, or to rest. If I am in the office working on the computer or sewing, I like to listen to quiet music, like cool jazz, or a podcast that doesn't take too much attention. On the days when I have a lot of more mundane tasks to do, like cutting out loads of products for printing, I need loud music to keep me going.

List (3) of your favorite artists
Ruth Asawa
Samantha French
Alex Couwenberg

If yours isn't, what would be your perfect studio?
I've dreamt of the perfect studio quite often; I think it is the thing I am working towards. The perfect studio is located in a thriving downtown or shopping distrtict. It's an old building with exposed brick on at least one wall. It would have room to be broken into three sections. There would be a small area in the front that could be used as a pop-up shop. I definitely don't want to have a brick and mortar store, but it would be nice to be able to open up when I release a new collection or for special occasions/holidays. The middle section would have large work tables in the middle of the room where I could do my own printmaking and cutting of fabric. I would also use this space to hold workshops. The back section would have a comfortable seating area, a space for coffee, tea and snacks. There would also be room here for my kids to hang out after school to do their homework or to work on their own creative projects. That's the dream!