An Invitation to Follow Along

When I first started thinking about a blog for The Studio Registry, I assumed it would live on the website. That seemed like the natural place for it.

But the more I thought about what I actually wanted to write, the more I realized I wanted it to be something beyond a business blog.

I wanted somewhere I could dive deeper into my own thoughts. Somewhere I could express myself, voice concerns, share opinions and interests, and maybe even use the writing as a way to decompress.

A few friends of mine use Substack, and reading their work, along with the writing of others I found here, made me think that maybe this was the right place for that part of The Studio Registry to live.

The website will continue to tell the story of the business, the artists, the artwork, and the experiences we are building. But I hope this publication can be the more personal side of it.

I want it to be more organic, more raw, and more open to vulnerability.

That is a little nerve-racking for me.

The Studio Registry is the biggest venture I have ever jumped into. Being open about what I am thinking and feeling means that it will not only be friends reading. It may be a potential client or collector. It may be one of the artists who has trusted me to represent them.

There is a part of me that wonders whether allowing people to see my uncertainty will make them question my credibility.

I don’t know.

What I do know is that any uncertainty I feel is not uncertainty about my commitment to this project. I believe in The Studio Registry, and I am committed to doing the work and building it with care. I just don’t know exactly where all of this will lead yet.

I think it will be fun to find out.

The Studio Registry is, in many ways, a roadmap. It is my way of inviting other people to experience and discover art in the way that I did.

I was given an opportunity to spend time with artists, enter their studios, see where their work was being made, and build real relationships with them. It was a way of experiencing art that I don’t think many people have had access to.

It completely changed the way I saw art. But more than that, it changed my life.

This community and the work surrounding it have filled a void in my life and given me a sense of meaning and direction that I had been searching for for a long time. Now that art has become such an important part of my life, I want to give other people the opportunity to discover what it might become in theirs.

Maybe someone will discover an artist they love. Maybe they will purchase their first piece of art and realize they are already becoming a collector. Maybe an artist will read something here and feel inspired to keep creating. Maybe a young person will encounter art earlier in life than they otherwise would have.

I don’t expect the experience to be the same for everyone. I just want to help open the door.

I also realize that when I write, I am often writing to different versions of myself.

I write to the past version of me and say, “This is real. You are going to do it.”

I write to myself right now and say, “Do the work. Keep going. Don’t give up.”

And I imagine writing to a future version of myself and saying, “Thank you for sticking with it. Now, what is next?”

Maybe, in writing to those different versions of myself, I will also reach someone who is in a similar place. Someone building something, looking for direction, or needing to feel like they are not alone.

Alongside those personal reflections, I will share the artists, artwork, studios, relationships, and experiences surrounding The Studio Registry. I hope my excitement about them comes through. I hope the writing encourages people to look at art differently, even if the particular work I am discussing is not the work that speaks to them.

I hope artists, collectors, and people who are simply curious about art find their way here. Maybe some readers will discover an artist they connect with, begin looking at art differently, or even realize that collecting is something they would like to explore.

My plan is to write here weekly, most likely toward the beginning of each week. I see it as a chance to gather my thoughts and consider what I want to work on, question, or move forward in the week ahead.

I am always looking for an outlet to express myself, so if anything, my challenge may be knowing when to stop.

I have never maintained a long-standing blog, though, so we shall see, right?

For now, the writing will be free to read. As this publication develops, I may eventually create deeper writing specifically for paid subscribers, but I want to let it grow naturally before deciding exactly what that should look like.

I don’t really know what this publication will become yet. That is part of why I am excited about it.

So, I invite you to follow this journey with me. Read along, share your thoughts, discover some artists, and maybe begin looking at art, or even yourself, a little differently.

Roman Guillen
Founder & Director
The Studio Registry