Belonging to the Space I Built
Recently, Jamie Mahon visited The Nest for a weekend of shooting, and the first of those glorious photos are now starting to trickle through. We’ll share a few of our favourites here, but keep an eye on our socials for the rest.
When Jamie asked how I felt about the finished photos, I said, “Like I belong.”
And I did. The images we created together feel like they were taken not just in The Nest, but of it — as though the space itself was another subject in the frame.
The Nest was never designed as a stage set or a fantasy dungeon. It was built to feel lived-in, luminous, and alive - a space where the edges between power and comfort blur. I wanted somewhere that could hold tension and tenderness in the same breath.
That’s why the light isn’t cold or clinical; it falls like starlight. Hundreds of tiny bulbs hang from the ceiling, constellations I strung by hand. When someone steps inside, they’re surrounded, cocooned, in a soft glow that feels both private and infinite.
Jamie’s photos captured that perfectly. They caught not only the aesthetic - the vibrance, the textures, the play of shadow and shine - but also the feeling of the room: the hush, the invitation, the anticipation of what might happen next. His work has a way of honouring collaboration; he doesn’t just take pictures of people, he listens to what a space wants to say.
For me, these photographs mark a quiet milestone. For a long time, I worked in other people’s dungeons - beautiful, but not mine. The Nest changed that. It’s the physical embodiment of everything I’ve learned about dominance: that control doesn’t have to be loud, and elegance can be a form of power.
Each session I hold here feels different because the room meets people where they are. Some arrive nervous, others hungry for intensity; all of them soften under those lights. The Nest does part of the work for me because it invites surrender before a word is spoken.
Since building it, I’ve seen how the space shapes not only my sessions but my creative work. The photos with Jamie reminded me of that — of how design and dominance share the same principles: precision, awareness, intention.
And perhaps that’s why I’ve started to receive requests to help others shape their own spaces - places where their work, too, can thrive. It’s something I’m exploring, slowly. The idea of helping others create environments that speak authentically to their practice feels like a natural extension of The Nest’s purpose.
When I look at Jamie’s images now, I see more than composition or aesthetics. I see belonging - the kind that’s built, not granted.
Every light, every texture, every photograph is a reminder that this space - this atmosphere - didn’t just happen.
It was made, deliberately, to hold beauty, intensity, and care in the same breath.
It was made to let people breathe.
