Acorn Studios sprouts creative collaboration in cooperative space

With the official launch party last week, Acorn Studios is open for business. Located on the East Fulton Street business corridor straddling the border of Midtown and East Hills is a live/work studio space owned by Laura Goble. Together with a three person team, including Goble's daughter and studio manager Claire Vredevoogd, Goble is elevating her space to new creative heights. 

Billed as a "blank canvas space," the site where Goble has been living and working for the past few years will accommodate a variety of craft and art mediums with a particular emphasis on the edible. 

"I love food. I love the underground supper club kind of thing and my vision for the place is to include that as well as whatever else someone has an idea about, whether it is printmaking class or cooking classes," says Goble. "I'm open to anything." 

Previous to this new endeavor Goble had been using the space for recipe testing and tabletop photography. 

"We want to have a blank canvas area where anyone can come in and present themselves in a way where they feel they are open and have creative license to do whatever they like," says Vredevoogd.  

"This space is ideal for anyone that wants to hold a buisness meeting off site and maybe do something where they do a small cooking class and they all sit down and eat lunch together and then have a two hour meeting," says Vredevoogd. "It's perfect for someone who wants to have an art show but doesn't have the space to showcase their art. It's perfect for someone who wants to have a photo shoot but doesn't have space for their photo shoot [or] someone who wants to have a dinner party but doesn't have the space- that's what we're trying to cater to. 

The two story minimalist modern structure features Goble's living quarters on the second level and a 1,500 square foot studio on the sub-ground floor with three main areas. The entryway is filled with south light that illumines the orange and Payne's gray color scheme. A red sofa sits behind a rustic wooden coffee table and a timber planked rendition of the Great Lakes hanging above. 

The largest indoor space with polished concrete floor runs north to the patio exit with the kitchen flanking the east end. The kitchen is fully equipped with an eight burner range and double oven, fridge and freezer, stainless steel kitchen sink, dishwasher, multiple counter spaces and all the necessary culinary utensils. Four glass block windows line the entirety of the east wall letting in soft diffused light that, when added with the hanging light fixtures, creates a warm and inviting ambience. 

The 2,000 square feet of asphalt patio wraps from the rear of the building around to the west side where it is fenced in and landscaped with foliage and decorative gravel.  

"We are here to help people grow and help the culinary community grow," ," says Vredevoogd. "Anything in the creative atmosphere in Grand Rapids, we're all about it."