A space for making

Studio 75 is a creative hub for Kendall Whittier

When commercial photographer Adam Murphy moved from Los Angeles to Tulsa, he thought his talent alone would be enough to land steady work. He figured downshifting into a smaller market would mean more opportunities arriving neatly packaged at his doorstep.

“It’s just not true,” Murphy said. “You have to get out and shake hands and kiss babies. Or else people just don’t know who you are. And they wanna hire somebody they know personally.”

It’s a classic dilemma for freelancers in creative fields. How do you make yourself known for work frequently done in
solitude?

To that end, Murphy is offering workspace at his Studio 75 in Kendall Whittier for local creators who are looking to get out in the community. It’s a place where videographers, graphic designers, web developers, photographers, and all manners of makers can rent the space they need to do their work and press the flesh.

“My goal with this space was to get creatives out of their house,” Murphy said.

Murphy originally officed out of the upstairs area at the old Clean Hands storefront on 6th Street, across from what is now Bramble Breakfast and Bar. He quickly outgrew the tight quarters and found himself moving into the current studio space at 2318 E. Admiral Blvd.

The interior today bears little resemblance to what once was. “It was just a bunch of desks, backed up and backed up. It kind of looked like a sweatshop,” Murphy said.

“We built the loft, and we built the shooting space—this large white stage,” he continued. “Then just over a year ago, I took over the space when the current person moved to New York. We totally remodeled the look and feel of the place. It was a little more broken up. It just had a little bit more hard edge to it. My wife is an interior designer, so I had her come in and look at the space and figure out a good game plan for it.”

The flexibility of the clean, customizable interior was designed with creators in mind. “You can pretty much move anything everywhere that you need,” Murphy said. “Everything’s pretty light and manageable. So the space can really become anything you need it to be.”

Now settled into its Kendall Whittier home, Murphy sees Studio 75’s marriage of creativity and community reflected in the neighborhood itself. “It’s been really cool to see it grow,” he said. “It’s a lot of small business owners, who are creative in their own right, who are really invested in the area … I know it’s part of Tulsa, but it also feels like our own little suburb. People are really feeding off each other, and really have a care for our block.”