Welcome to Storybrook: Where Every Object Has a Story

There are some places that seem to exist just beyond the edge of an old story.

A weathered book tucked onto a forgotten shelf; a stone path disappearing into the woods, tarnished key whose lock has long since been lost, a candle burning beside a stack of yellowed pages. Maybe an object that makes you wonder who owned it, where it came from, and what stories it could tell if only it could speak.

That is the feeling I want to create with Storybrook Home Creations.

How Storybrook Began

Storybrook began in 2015 with a simple desire to create beautiful things for the home. Like many creative endeavors however, the idea has changed and grown along the way.

I've always been drawn to things that feel as though they have a history, a story.

Old books. Antique furniture. Gothic architecture. Medieval manuscripts. Weathered wood. Moss-covered stones. Candlelight. Forgotten libraries and Victorian illustrations. Things that are elegant, slightly mysterious, and perhaps just a little bit strange.

Over time, I began to realize that these weren't simply things I liked looking at.

They were the things that made me want to make something.

And eventually, I realized something else:

I don't just want to make objects.

I want to make objects that feel as though they belong to a story.

Finding the Storybrook Aesthetic

The Storybrook aesthetic has been evolving for years, but lately it has begun to feel as though the pieces are finally falling into place.

It is part dark academia, part Gothic curiosity cabinet, part old-world apothecary, part Victorian publisher, and part medieval storybook.

There are beautiful things here, but they don't necessarily look brand new.

I like a little age. A little wear. A little mystery. I love the contrast between antique ivory and charcoal black, aged gold and walnut brown, forest green and deep moss. I love the look of old wood, tarnished metal, dried flowers, candlelight, parchment, stone, and books whose pages have softened with time.

But Storybrook isn't about recreating history perfectly.

It's about imagining what might have been.

Perhaps that's why I find myself much more interested in the feeling of an object than in whether it fits neatly into one historical period.

I want Storybrook pieces to feel like artifacts from somewhere just slightly beyond our own world.

When Sculpture Becomes Storytelling

This is where my background in theatre begins to show.

I've always loved the process of creating a world around a character.

In theatre, a costume isn't simply clothing. A set isn't simply a background. A prop isn't simply something an actor carries.

Together, they tell the audience something about the world.

I've discovered that I approach my sculptures in much the same way.

When I look at a finished piece, I don't only ask, Does this look good?

I start wondering:

Who is this character?

Where did they come from?

What happened before they arrived here?

What objects would they have carried?

What would their world look like?

And suddenly, making the sculpture is only part of the process.

The story begins to build around it.

Meet the Templar Rooster

Which brings me to one of my newest creations.

The Templar Rooster began as a sculpture, then he became a character.

And, as these things tend to do at Storybrook, things escalated.

He was printed in 3D, cleaned up, painted by hand, and dressed as a rather serious member of the Knights Templar.

Once he was finished, however, I couldn't simply put him on a white table and call it a day.

He needed a battlefield.

So I created one.

I designed a weathered medieval battle scene as a backdrop and paired it with a separate stone-covered ground scene. Then came the props: scattered stones, weathered skulls, and an ornate sword.

The sword, incidentally, is my wedding athame.

Apparently it has decided that after years of marriage-related duties, it would like to begin a second career as a medieval battlefield relic.

I support its ambitions.

And then there was the cigar.

Because apparently even a Templar Rooster needs a moment of questionable judgment.

The finished photographs became more than product photographs, they became a little glimpse into his world.

Building the Stage

One of the things I am beginning to understand about my own creative process is that I don't simply photograph my sculptures.

I stage them.

The backdrop establishes the world.

The stone floor gives them somewhere to stand. The props suggest what happened before the photograph began.

The lighting creates atmosphere.

And the sculpture becomes the character occupying that space.

This is the part of the process that I find especially exciting.

A flat photograph becomes a little theatrical set.

The physical object and the printed image begin to merge.

And suddenly, for just a moment, the rooster isn't sitting in my workshop.

He's standing on an ancient battlefield.

At least, that's what I hope you see.

What Storybrook Is Becoming

Storybrook is still growing.

There are sculptures waiting to be designed, characters waiting to be discovered, collections waiting to take shape, and more than a few ideas scribbled in notebooks that have yet to make their way into the real world.

There will be Gothic creatures and curious characters.

There will be home décor and objects inspired by old books, forgotten places, forests,

libraries, legends, and history.

There will eventually be stationery, because apparently I cannot be surrounded by beautiful old-world paper goods without wanting to make my own.

And there will be experiments.

Some will work beautifully.

Some will require sanding.

Some will require repainting.

Some will probably require a very strong cup of coffee.

That's part of the fun.

Storybrook isn't a perfectly polished world that appeared fully formed.

It's something I'm discovering as I make it.

A Place for the Curious

Ultimately, I hope Storybrook feels like a place you want to wander through.

A place where you might find something beautiful.

Or strange. Or useful. Or completely unnecessary but somehow irresistible.

Perhaps you'll discover a raven who belongs in a library, a tree growing from an imagined forest floor, a curious creature guarding a candle, or a very serious rooster who appears to have spent several centuries preparing for battle.

Perhaps you'll find something that reminds you of a story you've loved.

Or perhaps you'll find something that makes you wonder about a story you haven't heard yet.

That is what I want to create.

Not simply things for your home, but little pieces of another world.

Objects with character. Objects with atmosphere. Objects that invite you to stop for a moment and wonder.

This Is Only the Beginning

Storybrook has been growing since 2015, but in many ways, it feels as though I am only now discovering what it wants to become.

And perhaps that's the most exciting part.

I don't know exactly where every path will lead.

I only know that there are plenty of paths worth following.

So, welcome to Storybrook. Come wander a while.

There are stories waiting to be made.

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