Usually, when a couple starts thinking about going into business together, they’re given a piece of unsolicited advice: don’t. But for the four romantic and professional duos in Melbourne’s Nicholson Street Studios – who make up eight of the 10 occupants – things just seem to work. Perhaps it has something to do with the space. Set up by Hilary Walker and her husband Benjamin Baldwin, the large, open-plan office somehow channels the right mix of calm and creativity. The best evidence that it all works? The single tenants don’t even seem to mind being outnumbered.
HILARY WALKER // PHOTOGRAPHER & STUDIO OWNER
Ben and I were looking for a space we could live in, where he could also set up a workshop for his woodwork. I had to be talked into it, but when I saw how awesome this place would be for my photography work, it made sense to do it.
I kind of freaked out when we moved in. The place was just a big brick shell with a pitched roof; a real warehouse, very bare bones. But it’s a playful space, too. I used
