Hey hey! Carly, Amos + Kita here to give you a photographic tour of our home, which is on the other side of our studio. We live in downtown Bismarck in the historical Anderson building, which was built in 1912. The space boasts large windows (natural light galore!), original hardwood floors, original brick, and original wood plank ceilings. After years of shooting and working here every day, we fell so in love with the space that we decided to make it our home as well.
Below the photos you’ll see the interview from Dainty Obsession’s piece on our space!
Our loft is on the third floor of an industrial warehouse built in 1912 in downtown Bismarck, North Dakota. Half the floor is our wedding photography studio, the other half our home. We stumbled upon the space almost by accident and were inspired by the potential we saw to create something you don’t typically see in the Midwest. The building was originally a tractor implement and still has all the original wood floors, brick walls and pillars. We knew it would be an incredible natural light photography studio, and an equally incredible living space. It has never been lived in, so we remodeled for months. Our approach was minimalist, so as to not take away from the original beauty of the space.
2. How do you split up your work and home?….For example, when you are off of the clock, how do you get yourself to relax and to stop working?
Easy – invite people over! We love to entertain. And being in our 8th year of wedding photography, we’ve worked hard on systems to keep all our work on track and manageable. The need for late-night editing stints is much less these days.
3. What is your favorite part about having your work and home together?
When a couple chooses us as their wedding photographers, they become part of our life, so we find it fitting that our business and home are connected. By meeting with our couples over food and drinks at our kitchen table, we’re inviting them into our lives, not just our business. We’re focused on creating one-of-a-kind images for our couples and, hopefully, being a resource to them in the journey of marriage!
4. Is there anything you don’t like about your loft?
We actually love not having a yard to tend, but the one downside is having to take our dog to the nearby park for potty breaks when it’s -30 in the winter!
5. What is your favorite part about your loft?
We’re strong believers in living in community. The lay of our space provides much opportunity for people to connect and create. We love the variety of things that have happened here: photo shoots, mixers, movie nights, community events, bean bag toss tournaments, fundraisers, dinner parties, weddings. When we’re photographing our couples here, we love the variety, yet simplicity, the studio side offers. We also LOVE when our brides take us up on the offer for she and her bridesmaids to get ready here on wedding days. It’s so fun having them, and we selfishly love all the natural light!
6. What is the space you use the most in your loft?
The kitchen is the heart of every home, and it’s no different here! Our 17-person table is well-loved and used.
7. What is your neighborhood like?
One of the most exciting things about our loft is the location – downtown Bismarck. There’s a constant bustle, and you can feel the city growing around you. New businesses are opening regularly and the vibe is so fun.
8. Do you find yourself cooking a lot in the loft?
We love to cook, especially now that Bismarck has a food co-op! It’s also fun to longboard or bike to our favorite downtown eateries.
9. Is it hard to keep up with cleaning at the loft? Or does it seem easier since your home and work are together?
Since we have almost no storage in our loft, we downsized our belongings by about 30% when we moved here. Such a great feeling! Our former house was much harder to clean than the loft.
10. Does it ever get overwhelming having people in your home consistently?
Right from the start, we realized the sheer amount of space was excessive for two people and a dog. We came in with the mindset to share our space with the Bismarck community, our friends, Young Life kids, and other creatives. It’s a joy when anyone is in our loft – we love it! We are “more the merrier” type.
11. Are majority of your photoshoots in your loft, or do you have other places you like to feature them?
We photograph weddings all over the country and world. When we’re shooting in Bismarck, we love to have a portion of each shoot here if our brides want to! The natural light is to die for. We never tire of shooting here!
12. Anything else you would like to add?
Huge shout-out to our incredible couples who have unique visions for their weddings and bring modern to the Midwest!