Located in the heart of downtown Hammond, Kali Norton’s The Creative Studio is a haven for creatives who want to take their ideas to new heights.
The Creative Studio is a space where photographers, videographers and content creators can rent to create and produce their projects. The space allows these creatives to access a studio environment without ongoing business expenses.
After attending Southeastern for a couple of years as an English major, Norton wanted to switch paths to something that would allow her more creative freedom.
Extensive research in her junior year of college led Norton to decide she wanted to pursue photography.
“I got really down the rabbit hole in blogs and I started following two people in the creative industry, a photographer and a content creator. I just thought what they were doing was really cool and it changed my view of what a career could be,” Norton said.
She went on to hone her skills in wedding photography for 10 years. Right when she reached the point in her career she wanted to get to, she completely switched paths.
Norton still loved photography but longed for a different pace as she had just given birth to her daughter.
“I find it really fulfilling to do photography for companies, brands and small businesses. Seeing my clients go from frazzled and coming to me not knowing how they would even go about photographing and then to seeing the final project is really cool,” Norton explained.
Wanting to switch to studio photography was a tedious task with a learning curve as she had primarily done photography outdoors, but she had a vision of what she wanted to achieve.
“I had to learn a whole new skill set,” Norton stated. “I knew in my head what I wanted my brand to be, but I wasn’t quite sure how to get there.”
Norton is now working with Alyssa Schiaffino, a strategic communication graduate student at Southeastern.
“Working with Kali is so fulfilling. Both her personal photography business and The Creative Studio are important brands that provide significant value to the Hammond community,” Schiaffino remarked.
Together they are strategizing both of Norton’s brands, her photography and The Creative Studio.
“It’s always important to remember that if you want to get somewhere and be the best, no one is going to get you there but you. It takes a lot of grit and tenacity but you can do it,” Norton said.
The path to where she is now wasn’t an easy one by any means.
“Especially with my bigger clients, I’ve realized that a man gets a different response than a woman when it comes to certain conversations, especially financial decisions,” Norton said.
In addition to her photography and studio work, Norton is on the board of directors for the Hammond Downtown Development District. She’s passionate about Hammond’s growth and evolution and thinks her studio is a wonderful fit for downtown.
“My passions with my business and with the downtown development district are kind of merged and we are trying to do more with Southeastern and I would love to encourage any students that have not been downtown and have yet to explore all of the creative spaces to do so,” Norton said.
If you’re looking to rent the studio out, you can do so hourly or with a monthly subscription on the studio’s website.
