Wit and Delight is a blog and lifestyle brand located in Minneapolis, MN. The brand inspires, guides and motivates people to create interior spaces that “give a solace from the outside world.” The company’s creative team is led by founder and owner, Kate Arends. She is a designer, blogger and creative force in the Minneapolis area. Kate leads a team who work and create in a space called Studio 125. The studio is located at the historic FISK building in Northeast Minneapolis.
History of Studio
Kate designed and opened Studio 125 in 2017. She wanted to have a unique location to photograph and build content for her blog and brand partnerships. In addition to supporting her own blog, Kate also wanted to offer the place to creative freelancers a place to create. Since the idea of her original vision, over two years ago, the 8,000 square foot space has evolved into a creative space, podcast studio and HQ to Wit and Delight, and more at Studio 125.
The studio also serves as a space for photo shoots, client meetings and brainstorming new creative ideas. It’s really important to have a space that can fuel your team’s creativity and surround a work-life with flexible work areas. One of the flexible work areas is this center island. The island has many purposes including a dining, happy hours, meeting gatherings and working on projects. The Wit and Delight team takes very good care of the space and expect each of their guests to as well. Kate believes that caring for your space is a form of self – care and beneficial to your mental health.
In the space, a lot of work is being done. Writers are able to create quality content on a range of topics for the blog. Each person can share their stories around interiors and décor, fashion, wellness, entertaining, and travel. As the team works on the blog as their main priority, Kate is focused on creating new art prints for their new retail shop. The shop offers a line of digital prints, stationery and gifts online and in boutique stores. The team at Wit and Delight gets to work and live this life daily at their beautiful headquarters.
When I started Wit & Delight, I had little to no expectations for what would become of this little platform. 3.3 million followers later, each comment, like or note of thanks hasn’t lost its luster.
– Kate Arends
The unique space at Studio 125 in the FISK building and the interior design of offices created a splash in the industry. Kate’s style and aesthetic received significant media attention from publications and websites. Her style captured a fresh take on interior design while adding a punch of functionality to Studio 125. Many readers found this inspiring, but also relatable. The unique blend of these two elements launched the studio coverage as it started to take off online. Design Sponge, Artful Living, Lonny and The Every Girl all covered a tour or areas of the studio. Wit and Delight’s brand partnerships with notable companies also helped drive media attention.
Cambria, Fireclay Tile and Rejuvenation Lighting are a few of the notable brands that work with Kate and her team. This allows each brand to provide an extra push to the project and zero in on specific elements in the space. With all the exposure and attention, it’s a win-win for Studio 125 and each brand involved in the partnership. This grows the Wit and Delight community as well as each brand’s quality customers base.
Studio Tour
Studio 125 has a full kitchen, a smaller kitchenette, a podcast studio, two conference rooms, office space, lounge areas, and multiple photography bays. These photo bays are available to rent at an hourly rate. The consistent themes in the space include gorgeous tiled backsplashes, stunning quartz countertops and seamless cabinetry reflect her style. In each lounge space, the studio rotates the furniture out frequently which helps keep the team’s outlook fresh and new.
The workspace includes large garage doors which helps maneuver things in the space. At one time, a brand rented the space to do a photoshoot for exercise equipment. The large garage doors helped move around the equipment with ease. In designing the space, Kate carefully thought through each of the details in her plans.
New Projects
We chatted with Kate recently and she explained that she has some exciting new projects in the pipeline. She couldn’t wait to tell us about her podcast, where she discusses how life and style intersect. It has a constantly growing audience and user base. On the new podcast, Kate discusses how the choices we make in our daily lives and how these choices can help us find empowerment, self-discovery and beauty in unexpected places.
Kate also recently updated her own kitchen to become more family friendly. She removed a peninsula and updated to a traffic-friendly island. The new deep hunter green on the kitchen cabinetry creates a dramatic impact in the space. This shifted the style from an all white kitchen to a modern, clean look with a pop of color. The refresh in lighting has a softer glow to the space that creates a welcoming feeling. And while she didn’t add any square footage to the space, the kitchen has the feeling that it’s twice as big. She looks forward to using her kitchen space for photoshoots, dinner parties and stay-cations with her family. Her everyday life has become a little bit easier to manage in a space fully accommodated for family living. See below the updated look of a before and after with a few simple updates. We love to see how one space can have two completely different looks.
Kate is a design tastemaker and brand thought-leader. She is someone in the online world you shouldn’t ignore. On her blog, you will find blog posts around experiences and support for people in various states of adulting. Kate works with her team to tell tell stories that her community wants to hear, but also stories that they need to hear. We’ve curated a few links below to learn more about Kate and her studio:
- Modern Day Working Mom: Kate Arends
- Welcome to Studio 125 and Rent the Space
- The Full Tour of Studio 125
- Wit and Delight Podcast
- Kate’s Career Journey
- Gold Digger Podcast Interview with Kate
- Wit and Delight Shop
- Full Kitchen Reveal
