The Making of Starr Studio
I had been thinking about opening a shop since I could first operate a clunky plastic cash register. I imagined selling flowers, plodding along through the soil-stained floors, picking at deadheads and snipping foliage. The crinkle of brown paper wrappings and the rip of tape. The sound of a bell chime as another willing customer makes their journey into the green.
And then all at once, I’m an adult entering the burnout phase of my corporate career. I never intended to end up there, but as it so often does happen, there I was.
It was March 2026, during my first wedding anniversary getaway when I looked over the pristine waters of the poolside and decided I couldn’t go on, the way I was living, in my current career. I always had in the back of my mind that I would start a creative business or something in health. In the end, I decided to do both.
Decorating
When coming up with the idea for Starr Studio, I wanted to ensure that every element of the space aligned with our brand. When we realised our paint company did not stock the colour we needed, after two weeks of colour testing, we walked for 45 minutes to the nearest Farrow & Ball showroom to find the right colour. In the end, we landed on Dimity 2008 (a warm, almost pink neutral) in just one coat over the white-primed walls, which left a soft, textured finish.
For flooring, we chose Mas Maya’s coating in the shade Natural. We thought about adding some pigment to make a Sand colour, but in the end we decided to keep it light and cloud-like.
For lighting we sourced four linen fabric floor lamps to decorate each corner of the mat space, and two orange-hue donut wall lamps to bring the room together. The reception features a pink Himalayan salt lamp from Yoga Matters.
The kitchen is decorated with Claybrook Tan-Tan tiles in the shade Brick, with an oak worktop. In the main space, we have used Plywood fixtures for the prop cabinet and reception desk.
Starr Studio is a space for community, movement and creativity.
Imagine your living room, get cosy in that image. Now add some people to that image, some of whom you might know and most of whom you are yet to connect with. Perhaps it’s a Yin moment, maybe transitioning through to a beverage of your choice before finding ourselves back on the ground in comfort for an evening of crafts. Your home away from home, a third space where you can come for pilates or yoga and stay for the good times. Not your average studio. This is Starr Studio.
Greenery is dotted around, with a swirl patterned rug and two olive green velvet chairs in reception. We wanted to keep the colours consistent with our branding and so we ensured green was dominant, followed by terracotta and orange, and finally met with pops of violet (such as the coat hooks and painting).
The result of this is a warm, welcoming and open space to inspire growth, creativity and rejuvenation.
Branding
Branding was a conversation much before the decorating of Starr Studio, however we recently made tweaks to the overall look and feel of Starr.
My friend and esteemed colleague Janine, from @smakaka, came up with the logo following an initial design consultation and multiple follow-up sessions. We wanted a unique lettering with a chunky feel, rounded rather than pointy, including the idea of ‘star’ and ‘flow’ being central themes in the logo and wordmark.
In the logo itself, you can see two S letters within the square and the star in the middle. Janine managed to perfectly represent the star, idea of flow, and the initials of the brand within this logo.
We also wanted to include some illustrations with a star mascot. Janine is an amazing artist, it was a pleasure to see her work come to life in the form of these illustrations. The result is playful, unpolished and true to the brand.
Now we are just 6 days away from launch, and we really cannot wait to open our doors to you all, starting with our free Vinyasa classes on Sunday 15th February 2026.
Hopefully see you there,
Chloe & the Starr Studio team x
