15 Creative People Share Their Dream Studios
Stephanie Goto’s workspace is a jewel box in the sky overlooking Union Square in New York City. Image: Adrian Gaut.
There are two words that get every creative person excited: “dream studio.” We all have a clear vision of where we’d really like to work. For some it’s located in the idyllic countryside. For others, it must be centered in a high energy city. And for Ben Bloom it’s on a sailboat.
Here, 15 creators — including Accenture Chief Creative Officer Jason Kreher, Meta Director of Product Creative Arianna Orland, and Shake Shack Creative Director Cathie Urushibata — share their dream studios. Feel free to use and build on their ideas for your own workspace. (We are.)
1. Matt McCue’s Jewel Box in the New York Sky
Stephanie Goto’s workspace is a jewel box in the sky overlooking Union Square in New York City. Image: Adrian Gaut.
Stephanie Goto’s studio. (See image above.) It’s built on top of a building on the edge of Union Square in New York City, and it’s perfect. Unfortunately for me she has a long-term lease.
–Matt McCue, Founder, Creative Factor
2. Jason Kreher’s WeWork Meets Spirit Halloween
I’m building it right now! I rented an abandoned DMV at the Lloyd Center Mall in Portland, and am turning it into a kinda creative studio/art experiment. It’s like a WeWork meets a Spirit Halloween. I think I like it so much because it feels as if the space itself is an invitation to change something. But there’s a loose concept too, so you gotta keep the larger idea in mind while you make. The plan is for this community to execute as many creative projects as humanly possible and then shut the whole thing down in a year.
–Jason Kreher, Chief Creative Officer, Accenture Song
3. Aaron Fay’s Glass Box in the Forest
Aron Fay’s AI-generated dream studio. Image courtesy of Fay via MidJourney.
A glass box in the middle of a quiet, remote, dense forest, with a spatial sound system and massive stacks of speakers (see the AI-generated image above). A space filled with walls of speakers — think Nasa’s Reverberant Acoustic Test Facility vibes. I have a lot of ideas. My best work comes from places of tension so hopefully one day I’ll be able to design my own space with that in mind. For now, my team and I are enjoying our space where we can design, play music (we have a full DJ setup along with a range of synths and drum machines) and make/prototype interactive work.
—Aaron Fay, Founder, FAY Studio
4. Cathie Urushibata’s Open Space with Airy Views
A big open white space with good light and windows with a view of the beach or city skyline. There would be a dedicated space for a mood board wall to hang up inspiration or WIP concepts, like I had in art school. Then there’s another section with a long shelf of design and art books with a comfortable sofa that’s surrounded by plants. And of course, a dedicated snack bar and drink station.
–Cathie Urushibata, Creative Director, Shake Shack
5. Jaime Lopez’s Great Little Backhouse
Jaime Lopez’s office is a great little backhouse. Image c/o Lopez.
Growing up, my house was tiny. I never really had my own space until my brother turned our ratty old garage into a teenage haven. We painted on the walls and I got a used, old drafting table for “my” corner. It turned into this zone of expression and exploration. My office is now a great little backhouse and it’s sort of an echo of that same thing. I have design books all around me, tools to make stuff, guitars, and it’s a little unfinished and surrounded by nature. It’s a space that has that same air of possibility. Feels free.
–Jaime Lopez, Chief Design and Marketing Officer, Flatiron Health
6. Dhiya Choudary’s Faroe Islands Fantasy
My big creative spurts are usually during times of intense boredom or under duress. So I’d need an environment where I can create both productively and safely. Enter, the Faroe Islands. I was lucky enough to visit a few years ago, and ever since I’ve had this fantasy of taking a sabbatical there. It’s literally perfect. You and your car might be blown off a cliff and dashed onto the rocks, but there’s sheep! More sheep than people, but it’s stunning! I will wear chunky sweaters, drink too much tea, and bring all (if we’re dreaming) my dream projects to reality. I know it.
–Dhiya Choudary, Creative Director, Magic Spoon
7. Gemma O’Brien’s Rainforest Retreat
My current studio is my dream studio for this moment in time. But in the future I would love to be in a location near a rainforest with a beach and adding on an entertaining area where I can host friends/family between brush strokes!
8. Chí-An Benjamin De Leo’s Renovated Villa
Chí-An Benjamin De Leo’s studio. Image courtesy of Chí-An.
I’d like to think that we’re on our way to building the dream studio. Surviving the Covid-19 days has made it quite clear that remote work just isn’t the same as having a bustling studio with impromptu discussions and direct communication. Other studios swear by efficient remote talent, but maybe the culture we’ve built here demands human interaction. Coming out of Covid-19, we renovated an old 60s villa in District 3; this is our 5th studio and in my opinion, the best one yet. We decided to invest in a space for our people since that is what it comes down to at the end of the day. Having a space where everyone can thrive is important. We have an open-plan space where we all sit together, a big meeting room, a yard at the front, a nice pantry, and a lobby space that doubles as a small gallery. We have hosted some talks, art shows, and private events and are looking forward to doing a lot more with our space.
–Chí-An Benjamin De Leo, Founder & CEO, Rice Studios
9. Jocelyn Florence’s Quiet Room
A house with no exit signs, fire doors, or fancy corporate furniture. I say this only jokingly, but I think the visual signals of “transactional public space” can stymie creativity. To be clear, I have zero data to back this up.
–Jocelyn Florence, Partner, Parallel
10. Mark Osborn’s Climbing Perch
Something…elevated and minimal. A writer’s perch of sorts. Climbing a ladder must be a requirement.
–Mark Osborn, Lead Sommelier, SommSelect
11. Drew Dzwonkowski’s Treehouse
What happens when an Art Director and the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse meet. Image c/o Drew Dzwonkowski.
I have fantasized about living and working in a gigantic treehouse, like the coziest possible environment, like a Swiss Family Robinson style sandbox grown a thousand feet high that allows for all sorts of wish-fulfillment-kid-fantasy-sports-scenarios and solarpunk architecture. I’ve been obsessed with this image as long as I can remember, and have made all sorts of art trying to capture it. At the magazine we’ve even extended the lore of SI Kids mascot Buzz Beamer by featuring three-page stories set in a giant treehouse where a fictional staff of kids “make” the magazine. It’s illustrated by Brett Parson, who draws Tank Girl and Goon, whose delicious linework can capture both actiony sport poses and cozy environments with ease. Brett’s a genius. I love thumbnailing these scripts with our head writer Sam Page (also a genius) and designing the Treehouse’s many huts and rope bridges with Brett. I’ve been able to live out a lot of my dream studio fantasies through these little three-page comic yarns.
–Drew Dzwonkowski, Sports Illustrated Kids, Art Director
12. Damian Brafield’s Gallery (with BBQ!)
I had my dream studio once upon a time. A few years back, we took a space in Amsterdam on the old gas factory site and built a beautiful studio space in the park. A cavernous open plan space with a gallery downstairs and amazing rolling desks that we custom-built upstairs. We showcased work from emerging artists every three months in the gallery and would hold events and talks in the space and have BBQs in the park. It was magic.
–Damian Bradfield, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer, WeTransfer
13. Arianna Orland’s Backyard Oasis
Orland’s dream studio in her San Francisco backyard and, wow, it does look dreamy. Image: Orland.
I have at least one dream studio in my backyard. My partner Steve built it during the pandemic and it’s a real oasis.
My other dream studio is a warehouse, flooded with light, space for friends, and tons of wall space to hang prints – with an artist-in-residence, preferably a cellist, who likes to play Talking Heads music, and takes requests.
–Arianna Orland, Director or Product Creative, Meta
14. Steve Gorski’s NYC Place Where Friends Drop By
One of the reasons I love living in New York City is the never-ending stimulation, which I see more as inspiration. So, rather than create a studio tucked away in a remote space, I’d opt for a place somewhere near my spot in Brooklyn. One with high ceilings, huge windows, and a view of the interesting people out and about. One big enough for my friends to come and work on their own projects too — so a place for painting, a set up for live music, and a place for communal meals.
—Steve Gorski, Head of Strategy, Forsman & Bodenfors NY
15. Ben Bloom’s Sailboat
Definitely a sailboat. Something small, old, and painted a weird color. I’d love to be able to send off a client photoshoot from somewhere at sea, then jump in the water for a quick surf. What a dream.
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