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.

Studio Tour with Trena Brannon

Trena's Illinois Studio

As a child growing up in Michigan, I have always loved drawing and coloring. As much joy as I found in art, when it was time for me to decide on a career direction, I did not even consider it. I did not know any artists, and I did not know what career types were possible. I took the technical route and ended up in Illinois after graduation. I continued to doodle and color on my meeting notes, the grocery list,  and with my children.  In 2004, my dear friend Marge introduced me to rubber stamping and card making, which was the beginning of my art (supplies) obsession. I started with a shoebox of stamping supplies and a spot at the kitchen table to do my art. Eventually, I moved to an area in our basement and bought one of those plastic drawer organizers to hold my supplies. From there, it was just a colorful explosion. I spent all my allowance on art supplies and storage for art supplies. Over time, I acquired a hodgepodge of containers, bins, baskets, cabinets, and shelves. Michaels, Joanne’s, and Hobby Lobby were my favorite places to go on the weekend. All I needed was a coupon.  As with many artists, my creativity evolved. Over time, I expanded my art supplies beyond rubber stamps, ink pads, pencils, and markers. I started drawing more and building my confidence. The Donnas’ - Dewberry and Downey, helped me get comfortable with acrylic paint. Carol DuVall found her way to my TV, and TiVo captured every episode. With encouragement from my family and friends, I started a business selling my greeting cards at art fairs and in local shops.

Trena's studio at her 2015 Michigan apartment

Fast forward to 2015, I moved back to Michigan to work.  We lived in an apartment for two years until we found a house.  I shared the small dining area with my husband. I had about 75% of the room, and he had 25%. It was working for me, but I needed a better storage solution. A trip to IKEA was necessary.  My creativity expanded to digital art - a new rabbit hole of exploration and fun!

Welcome to the studio

When we moved into our house, we continued sharing a common space - about twice the size of the area in our apartment. I maintained my 75%, but it wasn't enough, and my husband needed his own larger space, so he moved out. He found another spot in the house.  Soon after, we moved all of our belongings to Michigan. The art supplies I had in boxes, just waiting for me, were ready to be put in their own spot in our home. Over the years, my creativity has changed, and my style has evolved. I ended up giving away a lot of my supplies which at first was hard, but I found it freed me up to move in new directions. Organizing my creative space is a cycle. I embrace it. 

Trena's studio in her Michigan home

 

Trena Brannon advocates kindness, inclusion, and positivity.

She is an engineer by education, a project manager by experience, and an artist by joy.

Trena has various identities, including illustrator, surface designer, and freelance artist. She finds inspiration everywhere and develops her artwork using a variety of art supplies, found objects, and digital tools. Trena’s illustrations and designs show up in The Brannon Factory® greeting cards, children's books, via licensing, and in teaching. Trena has served on various art and craft design teams and has been published in art and craft magazines.

One of her favorite things to do is talk about possibilities! Trena lives in Southeast Michigan with her husband and art supplies.

Studio Tour with Jen Boehler

 

The studio in 1965 painted white is sits to the left. 
Do you see the little arborvitae planted next to it? 
Look how far it’s spread in the current exterior photo!

The summer of 2003 found me squarely planted in the estate sale circuit, collecting relics I had no space to store in our tiny condo. 
Luckily, on one of my treasure hunts I stumbled upon an adorable red brick farmhouse that had been vacant for the past ten years.  It was, along with its contents, for sale.  Inside waited a glorious challenge for this interior design student: Pepto-pink walls, a postage stamp-size kitchen and wall-to-wall carpeting straight from the sixties — Oh, the potential!  More favorably, it boasted plaster cove ceilings, built-in curios, and a kitschy telephone nook — Swoon.  My husband’s skepticism melted with my enthusiasm, along with the discovery of a little cedar-sided bunkhouse that sat adjacent to the house.  The previous owner had used it as his clubhouse, evidenced by the cigar smoke stains lining the walls.  Little did I know that in addition to being the perfect storage spot for my treasures, this gem would serve as an invaluable studio space someday, lending daily doses of inspiration and levity with its age-related quirks and storied past.

 

These photos were taken in 1984 and kindly given to me by the former owner’s daughter.  Oh, to be a fly on that knotty pine wall!

Following our exciting “First Home” purchase, I discovered the little house was originally a barracks at Camp Freeland for German prisoners of war during World War II, and was moved to our new property upon the war’s end.  The ARTICLES I’ve uncovered since reveal favorable conditions with the soldiers earning a living wage for work in nearby crop fields.  The evolution of the building’s purpose has always intrigued me, with the varied inhabitants having little-to-no commonality:  Prisoners of war, card-playing farmers, and illustrator/author.  This history also gives me pause each time I make a new improvement or design choice, as at times it feels I’m permanently tucking the past behind a coat of paint or treated two-by-four. 

The interior right after we bought the house as I was moving my “collection” in (notice Rusty’s easy chair sporting a tired teal brocade).

 

Shortly after we moved in and I graduated from college with an interior design degree, I used the space on rare occasion to meet with clients, but only seasonally: During the first few years I had to build a fire in the potbelly stove to stay warm in the winter (you can see it in the photos of the clubhouse days).  We relocated the wisteria once it grew too heavy for the aging overhang.

Me at the studio today (December, actually).

When delving into a studio conversion, I waffled over painting the knotty pine walls, but settled on brightening it up with an airy shade of white (followed immediately by plaguing shades of regret for forever erasing the possibility of leaning into its summer-camp vibe).  We removed the drop ceiling added in its card club heyday and covered it with wood extracted from a tumbledown barn out back, installed additional lighting, and replaced the rotted and peeling cedar siding with new.  Architectural details like the front porch and fireplace remain original, and will continue to be there as long as they are intact.  Though nonfunctioning, the fireplace serves purpose as a sanctuary for mother birds to raise their babies each spring, their hungry chirps always a sweet sign of the warm days to come.  The caveat?  On rare occasion, one of these birds will make their way down the chimney and into the studio, with the ensuing mayhem offering that previously mentioned dose of levity!

This tabletop was here when we bought the house,
so my husband used it to build a standing desk to hold my easel.

My daughter Violet with Rusty
after school in her fuzzy chair.

Vintage finds are still spread throughout, but they’ve each now found their purpose.  At the front of the space are my computer, files, and a fuzzy little chair found roadside and recovered for my daughter to pull up after school and chit-chat about the day’s events.  A standing-height skirted table built from a reclaimed top and salvaged fabric offers storage and surface for my easel.  At the center is a table inherited from my grandmother-in-law to paint and catalog textures for my cut-paper illustrations, surrounded by another collection of roadside chair finds for hosting craft nights with friends. 

My faithful studio-mate Rusty
in his easy chair.

A left-behind shelf, market storage bin and oversize crate house a handful of pieces from my Michigan apparel line, and fabric and crafting supplies have a home on salvaged tables and fruit crates.  Colored pencils are propped in a quartered barn beam, and patinated tins, vases and drawers house all other art supplies.  Perhaps most importantly, a reupholstered easy chair sits by the fireplace for Rusty, my faithful studio-mate.

This corner tickles me because it houses a little bit of every era and facet of my life, serving as a museum of sorts:  Painting night with my kids, hand-sewn apron, fine art, illustration, dried corn tassels from the garden, Michigan apparel, crafting supplies, SCBWI conference swag, and vintage finds aplenty.

The contempt I have for these shoes destroying my feet in the early 2000’s
is superseded by my captivation with their cuteness.

My husband enlisted a woodworking friend
to create this colored pencil holder out of a salvaged barn beam.

After designing a line of Michigan apparel ten years ago, I used the studio to store, ship and sell merchandise.  I still have a little corner saved for a handful of pieces.

My grandmother-in-law’s old table covered in supplies to paint and cut paper textures.

Though wonky floorboards sometimes evoke shades of the Mystery Spot and boxelder bugs find creature comfort inside the walls, this little bunkhouse is still my favorite part of the property I scored at an estate sale twenty-two years ago.  As time has passed, I focus less on the lives it lived before us and more on its evolution in the years since we’ve owned it, a reflection currently punctuated by a shift in our household.  By the time this article is published, my daughter will be moved into her college dorm, thus ushering in yet a new iteration of inhabitants and daily happenings.  So if anyone finds themselves in the Saginaw area with a hankering for creative chit-chat, let me know: I’ll have a fuzzy, reclaimed chair open for you.

 

Jen Boehler, Michigan Co-Illustrator Coordinator, is an illustrator, graphic designer and author working on a hobby farm in Saginaw, Michigan. Before pursuing children’s literature, Jen worked as a freelance editorial illustrator, graphic designer, interior/event designer and owned her own line of Michigan travel apparel. She has degrees in both art/graphic design and interior design.

Editor's Note: Thank you, Jen, for sharing your very cool studio with us! If anyone else is interested in sharing their studio with The Mitten, we'd love to see it! You can email me at Sarah.Prusoff.LoCsacio@gmail.com if you might be interested in doing a studio tour post.