For award-winning Edina photographer Andrew Vick, Minnehaha Creek is more than a scenic backdrop. It is a current running through nearly every part of his life — family, work, creativity, history and home.
From the windows of his new Nordic-inspired studio space, Vick watches kayaks drift by in summer and sees smoke curling from backyard saunas in winter. Children pull sleds across frozen paths where neighbors once paddled canoes months earlier. Parents gather at makeshift swimming holes. Strangers become friends somewhere between a rope swing and a floating cooler of shared snacks.
To Vick, the creek is not simply water winding through the city. It is a living thread of community and memory, one that has quietly shaped the rhythm of life in Edina for generations.
“Life along the creek feels like a Hallmark movie mixed with Huck Finn and a little bit of Neverland,” Vick says. “It takes you somewhere. It takes you home or away. It reminds people how to slow down and connect again.”
That idea of connection is at the center of Vick Studios’ next chapter. After years of dreaming, planning and working with the City of Edina, Vick is bringing his studio home through a newly completed accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, tucked near Minnehaha Creek. But for Vick, the project is about far more than architecture or remote work. It is about building a life rooted in purpose, family and cultural identity.
The studio itself reflects those values. Inspired by Scandinavian design traditions and Vick’s own Norwegian heritage, the space draws deeply from water, nature and Nordic hospitality. Even the family name carries meaning. The original spelling, “VIK,” translates to “bay of water” in Norwegian — a connection Vick says feels impossible to ignore living beside the creek.
“We took that to heart,” he says. “This space is inspired by our family origins, by water, by travel and by the feeling of gathering people together.”
Inside the studio, guests will be welcomed with handmade wool socks to wear as slippers, warm drinks and thoughtfully prepared snacks in a full kitchen designed for lingering conversation. Materials and inspiration have been sourced from Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark, with details influenced by travels visiting Nordic studios and returning to the family farm for creative inspiration.
Vick describes bringing home paint chips, textures, décor ideas and even inspiration for a grass roof accent. Every design choice tells part of a larger story — one grounded in heritage and the natural landscape surrounding the creek.
“I want people to walk in and feel curious,” he says. “Curious about the culture, curious about the creek and curious about why home matters.”
That sense of home extends far beyond the studio walls. Much of what Vick loves most about Minnehaha Creek centers on the way it gathers people together.
During the summer, neighborhood group texts light up with what Vick jokingly calls the “bat signal.” Parents rally kids toward the water after long hot afternoons. Someone brings tubes. Someone else drags over kayaks. Another family stocks a floating cooler. Soon, neighbors are floating downstream together while children jump from rafts and count turtles along the banks.
“We share photos of blue herons, turtles laying eggs, kids trying their first cold plunge or somebody grilling by the water,” Vick says. “There’s always this invitation to adventure.”
One neighborhood tradition involves birthday floats stretching from Lake Minnetonka toward Edina and beyond. Participants bring whatever floats — kayaks, tubes, canoes — while music drifts across the water and strangers wave from backyards along the route.
“At times we’ve traded a dip in somebody’s hot tub for a beer,” Vick laughs. “You just meet people differently on the creek.”
That “hop-on, hop-off” culture is part of what makes Minnehaha Creek feel unique. Though the waterway flows through suburban neighborhoods often associated with shopping districts and busy family schedules, Vick believes the creek reveals something more timeless underneath.
Historically, rivers connected communities long before roads did. They carried trade, stories and people. Minnehaha Creek itself played a role in the development of Edina, helping power the historic grist mill that once operated near today’s 50th and France area. Vick’s own home still contains traces of that history, including an old flour bin connected to the milling days of the community.
“There’s something deeply human about waterways,” Vick says. “At our core, people want adventure, connection and community. The creek checks all of those boxes.”
The seasons only deepen that connection.
In winter, when much of Minnesota retreats indoors, the creek transforms again. Backyards once divided by fences suddenly become shared landscapes. Neighbors create skating rinks, light ice lanterns and carve Nordic ski trails through the snow. Children build sledding jumps while adults gather around fires or text each other asking who cleared the latest cold-plunge hole in the ice.
“Winter almost becomes more social,” Vick says. “The creek connects people in a completely different way.”
That closeness to family is one of the driving reasons Vick brought his studio home after two decades in business.
“When I started photography 20 years ago, success meant having a studio on Main Street,” he says. “Now the dream looks different. The dream is being present.”
From his artist loft, Vick can work while watching life unfold outside his windows — boats drifting by, children exploring, neighbors gathering. Even when deadlines keep him inside editing photos, he says the creek keeps him connected to the people and moments that matter most.
His sons have become increasingly curious about the work happening around them, often asking who is visiting the studio or reaching for a camera while he tests lighting setups. Vick hopes the new space becomes a place where family and creativity naturally overlap rather than compete.
“The boys are getting to experience what dad does in a different way,” he says. “That’s important to me.”
The studio will also host intimate gatherings that continue the creek’s spirit of connection. Plans include chef-led dinners with wine pairings, educational photography workshops for children and small creative events designed to bring people together around storytelling and shared experience.
In many ways, Vick sees the project as an extension of the creek itself: a gathering place where strangers become neighbors and where slowing down matters more than rushing toward a destination.
“There’s a difference between a walk and a stroll,” he says. “A walk is about getting somewhere. A stroll is about who you’re with. The creek invites people to stroll through life again.”
And perhaps that is why Minnehaha Creek continues to mean so much to the people who live alongside it. It is not simply recreation. It is memory-making. It is history meeting the present. It is children discovering wonder while parents rediscover it too.
For Vick, bringing his studio home beside the creek feels less like starting over and more like returning to something essential — family, heritage and the simple beauty of gathering together near the water.
“This place reminds us how to be human again,” he says. “And I think people are craving that now more than ever.”
A Taste of Creek Life: Tips for Experiencing Minnehaha Creek This Summer
- Check Minnehaha Creek water flow reports before heading out to determine whether conditions are better for tubing or kayaking
- Popular float stretches include routes from Lake Minnetonka toward Edina and from Edina toward Minnehaha Falls
- Waterproof bags and carabiners are essential for securing phones, towels and snacks
- Bring water shoes, sunscreen and a floating cooler for longer outings
- Look for public creek access points and portages throughout St. Louis Park and Edina
- Don’t rush the experience — the creek is best enjoyed as a slow stroll, not a race
- Watch for wildlife including turtles, blue herons and ducks along the route