Thread: Setting Up Your Own Studio

I'm becoming increasingly frustrated with the current people I rent studio space from and right now a lot of dance studios either have a belly dance teacher or have no interest in renting out space to one due to low enrollments (this goes for any type of dance).

I can't believe I didn't think of this before but I have ample space in our garage/office that no one here is using. There's already wooden floors so I don't need to worry about that. But I want to know if anyone has installed their own mirrors or hired someone to do that. Besides that, any other recommendations? Advice? Guidelines?

insurance!!!! if you teach at home check out your homeowners/renters policy and see what additional you may need. business license, etc. all students should sign a liability waiver, regardless of your insurance situation.

I bought large mirrors from Home Depot and installed them with clips instead of cluing them to the wall. That way they can be taken down easily when I sell my home. There's some photos here http://www.bhuz.com/forum/rest-belly...ew-studio.html I also agree to have your students sign a waiver.

WOW!! your home studio is gorgeous! I love that vibrant orange

Wow, Mahira, your studio is beautiful, congrats!

Originally Posted by MahiraRaqs

I bought large mirrors from Home Depot and installed them with clips instead of cluing them to the wall. That way they can be taken down easily when I sell my home. There's some photos here http://www.bhuz.com/forum/rest-belly...ew-studio.html I also agree to have your students sign a waiver.

I also got to the point where it made more sense to have my own studio, however I rent and my place is tiny, so I lease commercial space. I'd REALLY follow advice about checking into your insurance! Also, like someone else mentioned, have a standard waiver they'd fill out.

As far as mirrors, I needed something bigger than the mirrors I found at Lowes or Home Depot. I contacted every glass/mirror place in my area for a quote. For three 100 inch across panes (6 ft tall each pane) quotes were going anywhere from 1200-1500. I specified that I wanted them on tracks and clipped to the wall in the event I go somewhere and wanted to take them. Glueing to the wall will damage the wall and possibly break the mirrors upon removal if not done professionaly.

If you are going for large mirrors I'd recommend professional installation. Do some shopping. I got the best deal for the best quality in my area. Also, something to think about- most places have mirrors off the ground. I have mine down to the floor boards for fitness classes and future floorwork classes :) I always thought it was annoying to practice floorwork and couldn't see anything!

You can do painting yourself and look around for good deals on decorations. I got a steal for a coffee table for my waiting room on Craigslist and a perfect area rug! It was huge and I paid $40 for the rug and $30 for the table! Keep an eye out because you can get great deals off that site. Just be careful when you pick things up. Oh, I also was able to find maps of the Mid East from 1929 on there too. I was looking at the right time I guess! I also bought a used hookah from a local place in town for decor.

If you have a place of you own, it'll save you a lot of commute time getting around, spend no $ on gas, and little overhead because you don't have to pay extra rent and utilities. Make sure there is parking for your students.

You can see some pictures on my studio page of my website for decor ideas: gulfcoastbellydance.com - Home

I've been working on my home studio over the past few months as well. I called around ALOT before ordering my mirrors. Our local glass company wanted almost $2000 with installation...I ended up buying thicker mirrors of the same size from a local home center for about $450! My step-father and my husband were able to do the installation themselves in about 3 hours (the place that sold me the mirrors loaned us the large suction cups needed to lift the glass). I also went with clipping the mirrors to the walls, in case I ever want to remove them.

I spent my holiday break painting all of the walls, and we are just about finished putting down a new floor. Doing all of this ourselves obviously saved us a lot of money. It's amazing what some vibrant paint can do to transform the room into a studio.

I'm currently researching the best insurance options. I'll be watching this post for more information on that as well!

Originally Posted by alyssaraks

You can see some pictures on my studio page of my website for decor ideas: gulfcoastbellydance.com - Home

Oh, and hi Alyssa! Your studio is beautiful!!!

Originally Posted by alyssaraks

I also got to the point where it made more sense to have my own studio, however I rent and my place is tiny, so I lease commercial space. I'd REALLY follow advice about checking into your insurance! Also, like someone else mentioned, have a standard waiver they'd fill out.

As far as mirrors, I needed something bigger than the mirrors I found at Lowes or Home Depot. I contacted every glass/mirror place in my area for a quote. For three 100 inch across panes (6 ft tall each pane) quotes were going anywhere from 1200-1500. I specified that I wanted them on tracks and clipped to the wall in the event I go somewhere and wanted to take them. Glueing to the wall will damage the wall and possibly break the mirrors upon removal if not done professionaly.

If you are going for large mirrors I'd recommend professional installation. Do some shopping. I got the best deal for the best quality in my area. Also, something to think about- most places have mirrors off the ground. I have mine down to the floor boards for fitness classes and future floorwork classes :) I always thought it was annoying to practice floorwork and couldn't see anything!

You can do painting yourself and look around for good deals on decorations. I got a steal for a coffee table for my waiting room on Craigslist and a perfect area rug! It was huge and I paid $40 for the rug and $30 for the table! Keep an eye out because you can get great deals off that site. Just be careful when you pick things up. Oh, I also was able to find maps of the Mid East from 1929 on there too. I was looking at the right time I guess! I also bought a used hookah from a local place in town for decor.

If you have a place of you own, it'll save you a lot of commute time getting around, spend no $ on gas, and little overhead because you don't have to pay extra rent and utilities. Make sure there is parking for your students.

You can see some pictures on my studio page of my website for decor ideas: gulfcoastbellydance.com - Home

Wow! Gorgeous! Congrats!

Oh wow, both of those studios look fantastic! I can't wait to get started!

However, since the space used to be my grandfather's office there is a lot of memorabilia up on the walls from his charro/horse riding/Reagan days that I can't take down. Which means I might have to consider the mirrors that have wheels on the bottom so I don't have to move anything from the walls. But it will look nice and put together when I put a rug and a nice table down - I have been looking on craiglist too. =)

And I was going to have waivers ready but insurance completely slipped my mind! Thank you, that's why I love this forum!

Originally Posted by MahiraRaqs

I bought large mirrors from Home Depot and installed them with clips instead of cluing them to the wall. That way they can be taken down easily when I sell my home. There's some photos here http://www.bhuz.com/forum/rest-belly...ew-studio.html I also agree to have your students sign a waiver.

Oh! Wonderful! Good job

Originally Posted by PepperLotus

Oh, and hi Alyssa! Your studio is beautiful!!!

Ditto!! Good job!

I am also setting up a studio at my garage. one of my friend uses 4 mirror closet doors she got really reasonable from Craigslist in her living room...it works for us when we rehearse...so I am thinking that option...also we have a used consructions site that I heard they might ahve mirrors as well.
I am also either thinking of putting very thin/durable carpet or click pergo flooring, but I might need to park my car as I dont have much park space around the house building....
I will transfer my renter insurance and will have waivers as well, as my other teacher friends do.
I know it will take time but slowly things will settle.
Good luck all!

Hi Pepper :) Thanks ladies!

One thing I forgot to mention in regard to the mirrors- since I didn't want to glue them and I clipped them instead, the glass company let me in on an important piece of info especially since there will be a lot of people coming and going. Clipping/putting mirrors on a track means there is a very small gap between the mirror and wall. This means if anyone leans against it, there is a chance that it could flex and break. Aside from that costing me a good $500 a pane to replace, he told me that it could also shatter. This had me instantly thinking of big hunks of glass sticking out of whoevers body that broke it and obviously lawsuits, etc. SO, he told me that if I got them vinal backed, if the glass broke, it would at least be held in place by the vinal. I thought him a smart man and decided to go that route. Just something extra to think about. I'm a natzi about keeping people away from my mirrors haha :)