Studio news Jan-Jun 2026

Hello precious friends of Make Space,

It’s been a few months since we opened our doors to Füssen and beyond. We’ve experienced so much already and I couldn’t have dreamed up a better start to this humble enterprise.

January

Make Space began as an idea in my head in the dead of winter and I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing it gradually unfolding, day by day. At the start of 2026 I nurtured a little seed into a solid concept and built a website around it to make it ‘an actual thing’.

I searched for a brick and mortar premises in the Füssen old town where I could envisage setting up my creative Atelier - a place for me to explore my ideas, work (if you can call it that, it’s more akin to just ‘being’), sell my creations on my own terms and host workshops to build a community of curious, creative friends around me.

February

My husband accidently locked himself out of his office one day and found himself stranded in the back courtyard ‘Hinterhof’. By chance he heard voices coming from the shop next door which luckily also backs onto the courtyard. He knocked. Very symbolic - just knock at the door to discover what lies beyond, a whole new world might just open up to you.

He met Richard the tenant at that time and learned that he was toying with the idea of moving out, meaning the shop space would consequently become available. It wasn’t a sure thing, and weeks went by with no development. In that time I kept up my search and almost found another premises around the corner in the Brunnengasse. There was a bit of back and forth, but when there is uncertainty then sometimes you just need to let go of control and allow things to run their natural course. In the end I met the nicest landlords and signed the lease at Drehergasse 40 (and 1//2) in the last week of February.

This is what things looked like the week before I moved in as Richard was moving his things out. Picture taken through the front window. I really wasn’t sure I was doing the right thing. Could I make this place work? Was it big enough for what I had in mind? Would I even actually enjoy spending time in this dingy corridor? Lol.

One week later. Girl with new studio keys, a vision, a healthy amount of audacity, and a lot of work ahead!

March

I set about retrieving all my beloved work materials and equipment from a storage unit in Seeg (shout out to Daniel from Bergwind next door, who kindly housed my stuff in his ‘Keller’ for months, lent us his trailer and was exceptionally generous with his time, resources and muscles to help me schlepp my stuff here there and everywhere.)

I spent the month of March plastering, painting, realising I don’t like fancy ‘Muschelweiss White’ and repainting everything again in plain old regular white. I assembled every piece of furniture by hand and fixed every shelf myself. Grafting alone each morning, while my kids were at school and kindergarten, and not needing anybody else’s help, proved to be extremely grounding and empowering.

I made friends with a seriously heavy duty power drill and probably annoyed the crap out of my neighbours (sorry Bettina) and also everyone else in the building with my endless cardboard boxes clogging up the passageways so they had to squeeze their bikes past all the time. (Thanks for your patience, neighbours, and sorry about all the dusty footprints, buckets of clay slop and mops etc. which continue to populate the communal area to this day.)

I did boring business-y stuff - registering  a business, setting up an online tax portal, getting utilities and internet up and running, having an electrician sort out the lighting and beefy ‘Starkstrom’ electrical supply needed to power a kiln.

I enjoyed getting stuck into each part of the process (apart from the boring stuff, which reminds me, note to self: still need to tend to Elster tax online portal). My first-ever very-own pottery wheel was delivered and I dived straight back into the hobby I had put on hold for the previous year while we moved around the world (again).

Box after box of furniture or art supplies was delivered, unpacked, assembled, and repeat. It snowed, and snowed and snowed again. Doubt and fatigue crept in. But the first glimpses of Spring, warmth and light arrived, and on the sombre in-between days I took solace in being surrounded by my crafty belongings again and finally being able to carve out space for creative making, without which I only feel like part of myself living a half-life.

Things were still looking and feeling chaotic at this stage but beginning to take shape around the edges. When the sun peeked out intermittently and I drank coffee outside ‘my own studio’ out of ‘my own handmade mug’ and that felt good and I was proud of myself.

April

I fully relished in the fruits of my labour: I made space for myself in my new studio to get my paints out, get creative again and explore. I threw pots in all sorts of different shapes and sizes, I made art with various materials in diverse formats.

I didn’t like everything I made but I didn’t care because I’ve come to realise that life is an ongoing process and I accept myself where I am right now, with all my experience, mistakes and imperfections. I embrace each moment for what it is, or endeavour to, at the very least.

I welcomed my kids into my oasis and let them share in the delight of making stuff with their own cute little hands, but I also set boundaries for my sacred space, because motherhood can become all-consuming and to stay in a healthy place we need to make time and space for ‘Self’.

I got business cards printed, shared them around, telling the people I met in daily life what I was doing, as well as posted the steps of the journey on Instagram.

I devised a timetable of workshops which at times went unnoticed but I didn’t mind because I relished the time for myself in my own space.

Only towards the end of the month did I actually host my first official pottery workshop with 2 students: Bernardo and Aneta (thank you my lovelies). It was humble and wonderful, as most of the best things in life are. I learnt as much as they did, on how to teach the sometimes elusive technique of centering clay, and how to describe all the steps of throwing a pot in my English-German mish-mash, lol.

May

I busted out the old paints. Started exploring monochrome mark-making and chucking some bright acrylic paints around, very much enjoying exploring abstract studies in my sketchbook with taped borders for the satisfying tape-peel moment at the end. I discovered through trial and error the perfect tape for this purpose (Tesa Sensitive - the pink one, available at V-Markt Baumarkt, the hardware store. Boy did I do many trips to the hardware store this month: screws, rawl plugs, plants, hooks, brackets, light fixtures, storage boxes, sandpaper etc.

Pottery workshops on Tuesdays and Sundays started to pick up. One or two students began dropping past for open studio time. Every session was amazing, lots of fun and laughs, plenty of concentration and creative flow too. I relished being able to observe students focus and allow themselves space and time to realise their own creative potential.

Each and every person who comes through these doors has their own ideas right there at the surface, even the ones who feel shy or unsure. I merely provide the space and gentle encouragement for them to trust themselves and simply start. The rest comes from them and I am inspired by their emergence.

It gives me a warm fuzzy feeling to be part of something so genuine: we all try, fumble, dust ourselves off and try again. We make headway, we arrive at a new place and feel proud of our progress and journey. It’s so real, and so all of us, in all areas of  our lives: Try, fail, commit to trying again, do, falter, keep going, improve, feel enabled and empowered.

I appreciated the passers-by who curiously poked their heads through the door to show their interest or give me positive feedback and encouragement.

June

Wow, what a month! Things are progressing in leaps and bounds. The long-awaited kiln finally arrived. And along with it a steep learning curve: safety precautions, correct installation, programming various firing cycles with their individual ‘ramps’ and ‘soaks’, and learning more about the compatibility of different clay bodies with various glazes, which have their specific firing temperatures.

Pottery one-off and 4-week courses are running regularly and the shelves are teaming with student work. I am proud of the returning students who are progressing in their journey and seeing their dedication pay off. Friends and acquaintances swing by regularly and a community feeling is emerging. People are buying Make Space gift vouchers for their creative loved ones. More people are finding out about us and are vibing with the concept of Make Space, grateful to have discovered it, surprised that something like this exists here in a small town, booking into workshops the very same week.

My kids swing past regularly and make themselves at home here, painting inside and outside, practicing pottery at the wheel, painting ceramics, helping me with studio maintenance - cleaning pottery tools, mopping the floor. I love to see them enthusiastic and motivated to help, or absorbed in their own creative practice. It really is a dream come true. We do plein air painting together in the afternoons while we swim at the lakes too and it’s cute how all the other kids come flocking over to join in the colour-fun. Love these impromptu outdoor sessions!

Summer is well and truly here, the little cobblestone streets are teaming with visitors and travellers from far and wide. I hosted my first ever Paint Night which was such a great time! Such a fab group of ladies and one very star gentleman made the evening one to remember. The very next day I launched our first Airbnb experience which was so precious. Curious passers-by stop regularly for chats. Sudents are making use of open studio time and not a day goes past where I don’t have a meaningful interaction or learn something new. I’ve started selling my humble artworks, pottery and a very small curation of art supplies. Make Space is becoming everything I hoped it would be. Slowly, organically, grass-roots up. And I wouldn’t want it any other way!

Thanks to everyone for your support and for being part of this journey right from the very start.

See you in the studio soon,

Leanne  xx