Small space, large dreams
Lisa Loeb finds that her closet-turned-office leaves enough room for creativity.
Singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb needed a command post in her four-bedroom San Fernando Valley home, one apart from the comings and goings of visitors and family.
But with two kids in the house — 7-year-old daughter Lyla and 4-year-old son Emet, her children with husband Roey Hershkovitz — Loeb was running out of space. So she converted a large walk-in closet into an office.
“In New York, where we were coming from, this would be a large bedroom, even though it is a closet,” said Loeb, who has a new album, “Feel What U Feel,” and last year released her third children’s album, “Nursery Rhyme Parade!”
What makes your favorite room special?
First of all, it’s only my things. It’s about my world and my career, and it’s got my memories — boxes of scrapbooks, photos, my grandmother’s art deco pencil sharpener. All my vinyl and my CDs. There are two big rolling carts of my eyewear for my eyewear line. There are projects that have already happened and others waiting to be born.
It’s my past, present and future, all in one place.
What do you like about the room?
It’s one of the more intimate spaces in the house. I fall into memories when I’m in here, even when I’m not actually working on something. As a musician and writer, you are often at different places in your process and your career.
When I come in here, there is a lot of inspiration.
Like what?
There are CDs from people who have inspired me. There are books about writing, written by people I admire, and photos of my wonderful life and my friends and family.
Are there unusual items, too?
There are things like the “Oblique Strategies” box that Brian Eno put together.
If you are stuck at any point, you pick a card and it says things like, “reverse,” or “look at the order in which you do things.” It’s little creative inspiration cards.
Is it where you write?
I don’t compose songs in there. This is all the other stuff you do when you’re a musician. It’s all the administrative work.
It’s all the references and pictures for my Twitter feed and references from old CDs of radio interviews that we post on the website.
How does it reflect your career?
One of the first guitars I ever bought when a song went on the radio is there. It’s a 1958 Les Paul Jr. When I’ve been on the road and bring back things and I want to put them someplace special, I put them here. It’s also my own Lisa Loeb mailroom: Fan mail comes in, and fan mail goes back out.