Ellen Crimi-Trent

Ellen Crimi-Trent Illustrator, product designer Abington, Massachusetts www.ellencrimitrent.com http:ellencrimitrent.typepad.com "My studio is the old garage under our colonial house which is about 500 square feet. We took off the garage doors and put in windows and french doors to bring in more natural light. I get a nice view from my desk of the outside which today is rainy. As you can see its quite the walkway. We go from our driveway through my office up to the kitchen, so I cannot have obstacles along the way and I would love to use this space! To the left is my desk and I have quite the guardian watching over me. He is a reindeer that Fred Meyer stores made out of one of my characters. The kids all think that he is like a horse and climb up on him which has not worked out well." "This view is looking straight onto my desk as you enter and turn right. I have soo much stuff on it but find it hard to get rid of things when I know I will need them. Below the desk is a round black coffee table that was a prop for one of my Surtex shows which now houses products I get and miscellaneous goods. I try to every now and then clean it off, but it always seems to be the dumping ground. The painting in the back I did when I lived in Brooklyn in '91 and I had a studio with some of my friends. This is one of the few times I painted in oils and loved it!" "These days I am working on some new xmas patterns for potential wrapping paper and stationery products, so you see them here on my desk. I generally paint in gouache and mix my colors and keep them in these little plastic cups with covers. I used to get them at Pearl Paint when I lived in New York but now I can pick them up almost anywhere. My brushes are not that special, I tend to get whatever is on sale since I got through them allot. I have one of those very large cutting mats protecting the top of my desk and it comes in handy if I need to cut anything right away. My desk is an antique my dad gave me that I had restored along with the flat files. This is where it all happens folks!!" "Here you can see a close up of one of my cabinets that house some of the many products that have been produced with my designs on them. Also there is a much more closer look at them up close. Some of these were for Fred Meyer, some for Boston Warehouse and some for JC Penney. I have soo many products that I cannot keep them all in my studio, mostly they are in boxes in my attic. I love to use them when the holidays are around like Halloween for instance. those pumpkin candles I put along with matching plates on my mantle in the family room. I love to see my designs turn into 3d products. The kids love to get the fun snowglobes and stuffed toys." "Here is that same cabinet with another next to it and you can see my treadmill and workout bench! Yes! I do try and workout, and it's not easy with the schedule I have,but I have to make sure I get at least 4 in a week. There is also a mini bookcase behind this pole that has many giftbags that I have designed. I keep them around for when I need to wrap a gift in a hurry! The chest of drawers to the left is an old civil war chest and I use it to house many of my prints/ designs. The drawers are a bit sticky but they work." "This is what I see when I am sitting at my desk. I love to watch certain shows when I am working, like Oprah just so I do not feel like I am alone all the time. The antique flat files were given to me by my dad and I had them refinished. These too also house many of my designs. Although I wish they were a bit bigger. To the left is a bookshelf that is in the process of being made over, and to the right is a cabinet that holds many of my supplies and fabrics. I know that this studio could use some work, and I am working on it. I would like to give it a major face lift as they say and get more organized and colorful, and add a couch as well. I guess for now I will just have to dream about it and just keep concentrating on work. I know some designers have these swanky work spaces ,which is my goal in the near future. I am hoping by the summer I can get it together to revamp the place but for now I will just be content to designing in the space I have!" - E.C.