Hey everyone!
We have a brand new makeover coming
at you - yes, an IRL makeover
start to finish - but I wanted to
let you know that this was filmed
way, way before quarantine was
even a thing on anyone's radar.
Before we get started, I wanted
to let you know that Make My Space
Work is brought to you by Shopify,
the complete commerce platform to
start, grow, and manage a business.
One of the advantages of starting
your own business is that you can
start it from anywhere, just like
sisters, Jesse and Dakota did.
You'll meet them very
soon in this episode.
They started a global jewelry
business from their hometown and
Shopify has tons of resources
to help you do the same.
Check the description box for
a step-by-step guide on how to
start your business on Shopify.
Hey guys, I'm Alexandra,
a decor expert.
Welcome to my series, Make
My Space Work, where I am
helping entrepreneurs make
over their diverse workspaces.
These are people who are
building their businesses
from the ground up.
The last thing on their to-do
list is to decorate their office.
Today, I'm helping twin
sisters, Dakota and Jesse,
who own Sapling & Flint.
They hand-make beautiful jewelry
inspired by their Mohawk heritage.
Make sure you guys hit that
subscribe button down below.
We have tons more makeovers
coming your way that
you don't want to miss.
My name is Dakota Brant and
along with my twin sister, we are
the owners of Sapling & Flint.
We are a First Nations-owned
jewelry brand that is both online
and we have a retail location
here in our home community of
Six Nations of the Grand River.
Jesse is a college-trained
goldsmith and jeweller and I'm
a master regalia maker in  the
art of Haudenosaunee beadwork.
When we initially wanted to
start our business it was a
bit of a challenge for us to
even begin that because retail
locations can be very rare.
A business can be here for
20 years before a retail
space becomes available.
But it was really important to us
that we started our business here.
Our family's here.
We want to raise our children here.
So the second that we saw this
location come up, we scooped it
up and really just got started
on our entrepreneurial journey.
So our business is a
production business.
It's very multifunctional from
creating the product to doing
the marketing and the shipping
of the product to the customer.
So if we can make our office
space work for us in a seamless
manner, that's going to be
really transformational for
the operation of our business.
Please help me make my space work!
When I met Dakota, I was so
inspired by all the plans
she has for the business.
As a small business owner, I too
am always thinking 10 steps ahead.
This space right now is
kind of divided into two.
On one side, it's covered
wall-to-wall with this
beautiful organized workspace,
but then on the other side:
tool storage, a workbench, a
shipping area, a photo studio.
And then there's this tiny
little desk in the corner
that Dakota really wishes was
an area for her to sew at.
And as I was planning this
makeover, I realized that it
might not be filled with as much
beautiful decor as you guys are
used to seeing but I do think
there's going to be some practical
tips for you guys at home to
organize those spaces that have
just gotten out of control.
Wish me luck and let's get started.
It is prep day.
So because this is such a small
space, like this is literally the
room, the first thing I'm going to
do is take everything out of it.
So Dakota is here with me today.
She's going to give away anything
she doesn't want to keep anymore.
This is such an important step if
you're making over a small space
because stuff accumulates over
time and I feel like once you
have everything out of a space,
you can reconfigure the layout.
Okay, so next I'm going to take
these shelves down, which might
seem weird because this room
really needs a lot of storage and
this is functioning storage, but
I do have a plan so bear with me.
Dakota and Jesse take photos all
the time for social media for their
website when new product comes in.
So I'm taking down these
shelves and adding in a
little mini photo studio.
A tip I have for you guys
is to really figure out what
your room needs to do for you.
Okay, guys, the room is empty.
So empty, so many possibilities.
Now it's time to fill the
holes from these shelves on
the wall in preparation to
paint this whole space white.
Since Dakota and Jesse use this
primarily as a photo studio,
I wanted to keep the walls
neutral, freshen them up a bit
and give them a very bright
background for all their photos.
So we're just going to give it
a fresh coat of white paint.
I say we but Xico is going
to be painting this room, but
I'm going to be building some
furniture and storage cabinets
that are going to go in here.
The dining table by the
window is really small.
It's very old.
It has absolutely zero storage.
It's just not working and I
need to find a better solution.
Okay.
I also want to give you guys,
like, a brief glance at the
behind-the-scenes chaos, just,
like, furniture everywhere.
It's getting dark outside.
The walls are all painted.
That was a very long day.
You guys only saw
bits and pieces of it.
But yeah, we're going to call it
a day and tomorrow is the reveal.
So it's day two.
The walls are dry, the furniture
is built, and now it's time
to bring everything in.
So the first thing I'm going
to bring in is this amazing
desk slash sewing table.
Because this is such a small space,
I really needed to find a work
table that did more than one thing.
This is a sewing table.
It has so much storage.
So your thread goes up here,
all of the fabrics go in those
drawers and there's even a spot for
your sewing machine to be tucked
away when you're not using it.
This desk is also on casters so
that means Dakota can move it
around if they're doing a photo
shoot and they need a surface.
So if you guys remember before
there wasn't a dedicated space
for them to have, like, a
clean surface to ship off of.
So I got these four cabinets,
stacked them on top of each
other, and this is going to
be where they ship everything.
Before, all of their shipping
supplies were being stored on
the open cabinets over here.
It just looked messy.
Even though it was organized, there
was just kind of stuff everywhere.
Closed storage in a small space
like this is absolutely necessary.
I'm not even going to
say it's an option.
It is necessary.
I want everything tucked
away and even if they don't
keep it organized inside
here, no one will know.
So Dakota and Jesse had tons
of corkboards and memo boards
floating around this office.
So I thought I just wanted to
get them a giant one so that
everything is all in one place.
This can be their vision
board, their reminder board.
I'm going to be painting it yellow.
Dakota had mentioned that she
loves that color and it's really
going to add some life back here.
If you're going to paint
cork you want to make sure
you're using a thin layer.
You don't want it to sit
on top of the cork, you
want it to be absorbed.
Or else whenever you hang something
on the cork paint's just going
to, like, fall everywhere.
A big part of Dakota and Jesse's
business is taking photographs
of their product for social
media and their online store.
So good!
And if you guys remember,
they were actually using a
blackout blind along this
wall to take their photos.
They also had a soft box
that they were placing along
the old table back there.
And because this space is so
small and because it was so
cluttered, there just wasn't
a designated spot for them to
really do anything efficiently.
I found this system online,
it was actually really
inexpensive and it's such a
great solution for anyone out
there who wants to take their
own professional photos at home.
And there's two slots left
so they can put the color of
paper of their choice up there.
I had to find a solution for all
of the camera gear that Dakota
and Jesse had stored on those
open shelves that I took down.
So what I've done is take a
floating shelf and reinforced
it with two rackets to make
sure it's super sturdy.
And I'm just storing all
of this camera gear up top.
Store things on the wall.
It's okay to hang your shelf
a little bit higher if it's
stuff you don't need to
get at every single day.
And that way you have
wall space for decor like
photos or this corkboard.
So I'm just folding all of
Dakota's fabrics and putting
them in each of these drawers.
And then I'm going to
have a separate area just
for her beading stuff.
Things that are loose like this
work great in storage boxes.
I'm labeling them as well so Dakota
knows exactly where everything is.
I'm hanging a couple of
these patterns that Dakota
had hanging up on the wall.
I thought that this would
make really cool art.
It's, like, very alternative.
It's different and
it's still functional.
Now it is time for
the finishing touches.
I'm taking this lamp that was
previously clamped to the dining
table, I'm hanging it up on
the wall to save desk space.
I'm adding a couple plants.
I'm putting that sewing
mannequin on display.
It looks really cool, but
it's also going to be useful.
I'm also hanging up
Dakota's beautiful beadwork.
I hope that these pieces inspire
her to keep going with her
sewing and her beading whenever
she walks into this room.
It's time to reveal
the space to Dakota.
Jesse is away right
now so it's just her.
I'm actually feeling really
nervous for this reveal.
When you need your space to do
six different things and work
really hard for you, it limits
the amount of decor, the amount
of, kind of like, wow factor.
I really hope that she likes
it but also notices the way
I brought in organization
and function to this space.
Let's bring her in.
Okay.
Close your eyes and then grab my
hand and I'm going to lead you in.
So before you open your eyes,
I want you to picture what
your space looked like before.
Kind of chaotic, no real kind
of space for all the things
you need to do back here.
A lot of moving
around all the time.
Yes.
One, two, three.
It's so clean, it's
so clean in here!
Yeah!
Look at that!
It's a mini photo studio!
So in here is all of your shipping
supplies, and then I thought you
could ship all of your packages
on the top of those cabinets.
And then.
This is incredible.
This is a brand new sewing table.
It has so much storage so
all your fabric is in there.
Your sewing machine can
actually fit in that drawer.
So it can...it doesn't
have to stay on the table.
Exactly.
The biggest difference is, to
me, there's just more square
footage on the floor here.
Just being able to maneuver
because there's two of
us in here all the time.
Pull it up.
There's a white one
in the back too.
And then over here, where
the mess used to be, there's
a new bulletin board here.
That's awesome.
The photo studio was a hit
and I really feel like it's
going to help their workflow
run that much more smoothly.
And let me know in the comments
down below, what would you need
in your workspace to be able
to work with a family member.
And if your office space is
in need of a refresh, our
contact details are down
below in the description box.
Thank you guys so much for watching
and I will see you next time.
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She's subscribed.
Are you guys subscribed?
Ok, one out of three.
Lottie, they're not  subscribed.
Are you guys subscribed?!
