Meet Reisha & Andy Rhodenbaugh | Owners & Hosts of the East Atlanta Studio

We had the good fortune of connecting with Reisha & Andy Rhodenbaugh and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Reisha & Andy, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
At the foundation of who we are as a family is a belief that everyone is full of inherent dignity and value and everyone ought to have the opportunity to flourish and contribute creative beauty to the world. This foundational belief informs our vision of helping creatives bring beauty to the world and directly influences the two factors that determine our, and our client’s success.

For our production studio to succeed we knew two factors were essential to nail down from the jump: Our product and our service. Our product is the physical studio itself and we deliver a phenomenal product to each client we serve. We provide a product we ourselves would want to use (and in fact we do!). Our studio is crystal clean, spacious, relaxing, professional, and dotted with intricate details that let you know this space is for Atlanta creatives. When our clients walk through our doors, we want them to say, “Wow, this is even better than the pictures. I can’t wait to create in this space.”

The second aspect is our service, which is our personal interactions with our clients. We treat others how we want to be treated: with dignity, respect, and care. We strive to go above and beyond what’s expected by providing great communication leading up to the booking, orienting our clients to our space, helping set up any needed props, communicating expectations clearly, and being health-conscious. We have found that providing an exceptional product and service leads to experiences that are win-win for everyone.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
We love helping creative people do what they were created to do. We do this by providing a great space from which they can create beauty for the world. We are the owners and hosts of the East Atlanta Studio, a 460-square-foot production space in the heart of East Atlanta Village. Our studio includes a spacious living area, a bathroom for makeup and wardrobe changes, and a king-size bedroom with a 6.5-foot long built-in wardrobe rack. We have hosted over 400 clients from six countries, garnering nearly 250 five-star reviews, earning Airbnb SuperHost status 10 quarters in a row as a nightly rental, and attaining Peerspace PowerHost status as an hourly location rental.

East Atlanta is home to a diversity of residents and creatives. This is seen through the murals that canvas the neighborhood to the eclectic restaurants and shops, along with the famous annual street festival, the East Atlanta Strut, which attracts people from all over the city. Our studio is unique to Atlanta, particularly the Eastside, for several reasons.

First, the studio is located on the bottom floor of the home we live in, in a quiet residential neighborhood. Our space is warm, unique, quiet, and customized with artwork we’ve created ourselves (more on this shortly). When clients arrive they get full access to off-street parking in our driveway which can fit up to four vehicles.

Second, our space is both a guest studio (re: as in an overnight studio apartment) and a production studio. In 2018 and 2019 we hosted over 300 guests for overnight rentals via Airbnb. Unfortunately, as with many businesses, the pandemic forced us to temporarily close our doors. This was discouraging and also led to a significant loss of family income. In early 2022 we re-opened but also pivoted our business model to something more dynamic and fluid. We made the investment to upgrade the decor and reconfigured the spacial layout, and in addition to continuing to operate the guest studio for overnights, we added in the production studio aspect as well, serving creatives on an hourly basis via Peerspace.

Third, nearly all of the artwork hanging on the walls of our space is custom-made. We snapped and edited all the photographs, of unique places around Atlanta. We designed and produced eight framed images. And our brother Jesse handcrafted the wooden “Atlanta” statement piece hanging in the bedroom. All of this custom artwork can be photographed and filmed with no concern of paying royalties to us for including it in any commercial content.

Lastly, as a production studio, we have been recognized by clients as a rare find in that we offer a triple-threat space: Offering seamless, lifestyle, and nature backdrops all in one location. Clients can shoot content on one of our multiple seamless backdrop colors, utilize our various lifestyle spaces, or shoot in nature in our large bi-level and fenced backyard. One client, a stock photo model, noted that when looking for a space to shoot content, she often has to choose between studios with seamless backdrops or spaces with lifestyle backdrops. Finding a space with both (plus nature space) was a rare gem for her. We also offer free 10-minute scouting trips for prospective clients.

We are most proud of getting to work with our phenomenal clients. The creativity they bring to the world is off the charts! We are thrilled and honored to have hosted a wide variety of projects and creatives including brand shoots, music videos, album covers, book clubs, movie script readings, team retreats, journalists and writers, fashion models, live music recordings, podcasts, interviews, therapists, documentaries, influencers, business owners, clothiers, and graphic designers. Getting to witness the creative energy and vision that people have is inspiring! We want the creative community of Atlanta to know we are open for business and want to help creatives thrive in bringing beauty to the world. Right now we are offering new subscribers to our website a discount of 20% off their next booking, so come check us out.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
First, to get a real taste of the neighborhood, they would need to visit at the beginning of the Fall season so we could peruse the iconic annual street festival, the East Atlanta Strut. East Atlanta Village proper is a dynamic cross-section of the city that displays an eclectic mix of restaurants, businesses, shops, and residents. People are always out and about discussing the goings-on, grabbing a bite to eat or a drink with friends, and supporting local businesses. When the Strut arrives each year, the streets are shut down and are filled with open aired vendors displaying their most creative ideas: clothing, jewelry, artwork, furniture, advertising, food, and entertainment.

Because East Atlanta’s streets are so walker friendly we would walk the few blocks from our house to the Strut and on the way home we would stop through Little Azio’s Pizza and Morelli’s Ice Cream on the corner of Moreland and Ormewood. We would enjoy taking them to Glenwood Park to check out the world’s best neighborhood for Halloween decorations (the entire neighborhood is committed y’all) and a Georgia State Panther’s athletic contest (where Andy works with a student organization serving the spiritual needs of student-athletes and Reisha is a graduate student in Public Health). No trip to our area of the city would be complete without brunch at First Watch on Bill Kennedy where the Purple Haze and Breakfast Tacos are a must, and Hell Yeah Gluten Free, Atlanta’s best donut shop. Just be sure to get there early, ‘cuz once they gon’, they gon’!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
We want to give a Shoutout to our brother Jesse, the co-owner of Aquatots Swim Schools around the greater Atlanta area. Without his entrepreneurial spirit and encouragement to take an educated risk to purchase a property and open space in our home for business, our home studio would never have come to life. If you need quality swim lessons for your kids, Aquatots is your spot.

Website: www.eastatlantastudio.com

Instagram: @east_atl_studio

Image Credits
Images by @rivergwest, @isuan.ayo