Name: Lara Casey
Location: Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Company: Southern Weddings Magazine
What is your aesthetic? Clean, warm, and personal.
How does your studio style convey your professional aesthetic? We have a very open, warm, fun office dynamic, so the space reflects that feel. Each person’s desk space conveys their personality. We like everyone to feel like they can kick off their shoes and get comfortable. The couch gets a lot of use and we tend to all move around a lot during the day. Inevitably, one or two people end up working there. It’s important to that everyone is ultra-comfortable because we’ve found that it increases productivity and long-term happiness. Whether that means bringing in family photos, a favorite pillow, or posting inspirational quotes on our white board, there are no rules.
Favorite part of your studio?
Lara: My personal bulletin boards. They are a collection of things that make me happy and make me feel refreshed when works gets crazy.
Emily: Our office manager, Abby Kitty Pants, and the bow on Katharine’s bulletin board. It makes me happy.
Katharine: the couch.
Whitney: my bulletin board.
Apparently, we love our bulletin boards. They really reflect who we are and make us feel at home.
Where do you go for inspiration?
As a group, we tend to get inspiration from bouncing ideas off of each other during our morning huddles. We are also inspired by the creativity of the brides we feature, art, music, nature (living in Chapel Hill, the leaves are gorgeous right now!), relationships, popular culture, and exploring museums and non-wedding magazines like Architectural Digest, Wired and Veranda.
What tool do you use in your business that you can’t live without?
Our Mac’s and iPhones. We’re all all-Mac office now and things are moving at lightning speed compared to our archaic PC days.
Is there anything you’d upgrade to? Yes, we need more space! We’re taking on another full-time employee starting in January, and we’re out of room. I’ve been dreaming of getting Emily and Katharine huge white table-top desks from Pottery Barn. And Katharine wants a TV. Don’t ask— she says she works better while watching Lifetime movies, so we’re gonna make that happen.
[images from Nancy Ray Photography]