Studio Tour with Featured Illustrator Nicole Ray

 

Winter 2026 banner by Nicole Ray

Me at a holiday studio open house in December 2024

Hello! I’m Nicole Ray and I run Sloe Gin Fizz, my illustration business, from a studio space in Pinckney, Michigan. I started Sloe Gin Fizz in 2008 and worked out of a room in our home for over ten years. A large part of that business is selling products featuring my artwork: Art prints, greeting cards,
stickers and more. 

My work table and studio space at home

The collection — and inventory — has grown significantly over time. This became all too clear during the pandemic when my husband started working at home, too. I would passed back and forth behind him during his living room Zoom meetings, packing orders, prepping products, making art all in different areas throughout the house. We quickly realized how much my work had taken over the whole house.

My first 99 square foot studio space outside the house

I passed a real estate office every day on my way to the post office with orders and one day went in to ask if I could rent the office that had clearly been empty for quite some time. They said yes and I took a leap and rented a small — 99 square foot — office within their larger office just down the road from home. I moved all of my inventory and production and shipping materials over there. It was such a treat! I jam packed it all in there. I still made art in my home studio but everything else was in that little space. 

My current studio all cleaned up and ready for my first open studio March 2024

After two years there, the opportunity
to move across the road came up and I moved into my current studio in January 2024. There are three other offices around me that remained empty for the entire first year I was in this space. I kind of loved it. I’ve used the large wood work table for production and shipping since the early days of Sloe Gin Fizz back in a small apartment in Ann Arbor. The wacky light setup over the work table is a carry over from doing craft shows that has proved really effective in the studio. 

My granddad’s drafting tools in an old cigar box he stored them in

The work table came from my grandad who was a mechanical engineer who moved to New Jersey to work with Thomas Edison back in the day. He had the most magical basement workshop and was constantly tinkering and making things with us. While I still kick myself for turning down his drafting table and chair, I do cherish his work table. I also have his old cigar box holding all his drafting tools. 

SO much shelving packed into this space

With just over 200 square feet, it’s still a tight fit for all of my STUFF. I’ve lined the walls with as many shelves as I can pack in, holding all of my inventory and packing materials. Around all of that I’ve been filling any other spaces available with my favorite art, knick knacks and collected bits and bobs. 

My ever-evolving wall of inspiration featuring artist friends and favorites

This inspiration wall is ever-evolving and includes everything from my first block-printed merch bag turned into a hanging to a screenprint I bought from an artist selling her work from a blanket on the ground in Union Square in NYC. 

The mess that is my current drawing table situation. I try to keep it analog with no computer or monitor but the full holiday chaos all around has landed my laptop there today.

After making art at home for over ten years, I’ve found it difficult to change my habits.  I still keep a home studio and often do my drawing there. But I’m slowly doing more and more drawing here. I moved my drawing desk this summer and installed shelving above. (The holiday rush keeps me from getting a prettier picture of this little space!)

Many years worth of sketchbooks

I’ve been moving my book collection and sketchbooks into the new shelving and it’s starting to feel more like a cozy little nook to work in. 

I’ve become the drawer of squirrels and as such, have a growing collection of them. But also: Two very special goldfish friends.

This little shelf of friends helps! I like to keep the pair of goldfish nearby. They represent a kind of turning point for me in finding my artistic voice. I went back to art school in the late 90s, taking classes at night and on the weekends. I was exploring and having fun but at the same time completely lacking confidence and very intimidated in class. I really loved my oil painting classes, but felt at a total loss for subject matter. After my foundation classes, I shuffled around several other painting classes floundering miserably. I finally stumbled into a class that was exactly what I needed: Still life
painting. 

Oil painting from art school of the two goldfish toys on a letterpress block

By removing the pressure of deciding what to paint, I could finally go back to focusing on learning how to paint. About midway through my second semester with this professor — after painting many kettles and vases and flowers — I decided the subject for my next still life would be these two little goldfish toys. It really was an a-ha moment. They
represented the fun and humor and lightness I wanted in my art! I ended up doing a series of paintings of toys. I still have the 4’x5’ goldfish painting. It’s too large for my studio, but hangs in our guest bedroom at home so I can invite our guests to sleep with the fishes.

 

My best pal John and I in a photo booth that malfunctioned and just kept taking pictures!

I recently hung this photo booth triptych over one of the windows. It’s my friend John and I in a photo booth that malfunctioned and just kept taking pictures. John passed away in 2022 from pancreatic cancer at just 54. He knew how to easily find the fun in everything and brought out the silliest side of me like no one else can. He had these blow ups hanging over the door in his bathroom for years and years. It’s my constant reminder of him and to find the fun every day. 

Ever-changing clouds over the lake

My studio looks out at Zukey Lake and has a paved walking and biking trail between the lake and the building. I love to watch the skies change and the clouds putting on a show. I can walk the trail to take orders to the lakeside post office or to just clear my head and work out ideas. Or I can just stare out the window and watch the trains run by. 

I feel like a kid every time the train goes by and am always hoping the conductor will blow the whistle.

Nicole Ray is an illustrator who creates a whimsical line of art prints and paper goods under the name Sloe Gin Fizz. From quirky animal and vegetable characters to cozy, nostalgia-filled interiors and calming views of nature, Nicole’s hand-drawn scenes are highly accessible, infused with a playful sense of humor and a strong narrative quality. Nicole and her mister live in a log house on a lake with a border collie and an ever-changing network of critter friends. Find more of her work at sloeginfizz.com.