It was all a dream.
For years I’ve dreamt of having my own design studio.
18 months ago I started writing it down every single day in my Start Today Journal.
I prayed about it over and over and over.
I screamed it out loud at my Tony Robbins trainings.
I pinned and pinned my heart away as I visualized the space.
And today I put the deposit down for the renovation.
And I’m crying typing this.
Because God continues to do miracles in my life that I don’t deserve but he still graciously gives them to me.
And I’m shaking my head in awe. A dream turned to reality is arguably one of the most beautiful things we get on this earth and the fact that I’m living out this dream shows the goodness of the God I serve.
Ladies and gentleman, welcome to Studio 790, the creative space of the Ann Ueno brand, opening in early 2022. (Here's a sneak peek of our work in progress render!).
A former dark garage, suffocating and representative of a season I am thankful has come to a close. This space is a sacred studio, a place for gathering and creating and serving. I’m believing lives will be transformed here, freedom will come and homes won’t ever be the same based on the work we do here. It’s an extension of my home, of my heart, literally. It’s not just an interior design studio. It’s a lifestyle studio where all are welcome.
A studio for the senses. Access to nature. Indoor, outdoor, steps to my garden, the harvest, to a full outdoor entertaining area. The sunshine in the morning, the moon and stars at night. For sound. I hear music, I hear conversations, I hear women sharing, I hear trembling voices, I hear celebratory laughter and excitement. For connection. I see couples connecting, staying close to each other, laughing. I see my team raising a glass to the lives we’ve impacted. I see me. It’s me, but it’s a space. This is what design should be. Personal, deep, emotional, meaningful, functional, real.
The studio of my dreams.
Dreams. They are easy to talk about, harder to believe in. And often it feels impossible to execute them.
But when we look around, aren’t we just living in a dream? What if dreams are one of Gods ways of bringing heaven to earth? That restaurant concept? It was someone’s dream. That pair of sunglasses that you bought that gives back to the world? That was someone’s dream. The teacher - she dreamt of being a teacher since she was a little girl. The marathon runner dreamt it and trained for it and completed it. A dream. That baby that was born was a dream by two humans that desired a family. That phone you are typing on? A dream. We are living a dream.
And sometimes dreams come to fruition from a place of our darkest pain. Sometimes dreams take a long time. Sometimes dreams get shut down, get put on the back burner, feel far away, feel unrealistic. Sometimes dreams feel too big, too risky, too scary - and those are the ones we should be often. Unrealistic, risky scary dreams. This is my kind of dream.
My dream. And your dream. The dream is ours, it’s yours. It’s yours to keep and yours alone. It’s one of the most intimate and sacred things, actually. Nobody gets to judge it or tell you it’s too big or too small because it’s yours. You own it. So, grab it by the horns and do the dream. Get behind it with rigor and passion and massive action. Be patient with it. Be gentle with it. Believe in it more than you believe in anything else.
Make a choice today to define the dream, to write it down for as long as it takes for you to get your brain to believe them and then commit to so much massive action to execute them.
If I can do this - a girl from a farm town of twenty thousand people without a design degree and without an MBA and without investors - you can. Because it’s not what we don’t have, it’s what we do have and what we are willing to do. God has shown me how to use all of me, all of my past, all of my gifts, all of my failures, to live out my calling for his glory. You can, too. Let’s do it together. Because, dreams are better done together.
And with that, I’ve asked two special, creative, beautiful women to lead this project with me - Meghan Grimbert and Bianca True.
They said yes to my dream. It’s honestly unimaginable to me that people say yes to my dreams. But they did. Meghan was my first designer friend in Miami turned one of my closest friends and it’s much because of her that my business exists today. I just recently met Bianca - she just completed my 6 week business coaching program and watch out world, we have an emerging designer on our hands! Meghan is bringing my vision to life and Bianca is showing us what it possible.
And I’m believing Domino Magazine will call me to feature this project. I’ve also been writing that dream down for over 18 months in my Start Today Planner and that has been a dream for over a decade. But that dream changed. I used to want just ME to be featured but now I want WE to be featured. I have learned that dreaming and doing alone is a waste. Dreaming and doing together amplifies, flourishes, grows.
This isn't about a studio. This is about a dream. It was all a dream, until it was reality. The process, the people who are a part of it, what will happen in it and as a result of it.
Dream on, friends.
I love you so much.
xx