South Kensington’s Paper Box Is Adding Another Tiny Fitness Studio to the Mix

Paper Box Studios | Photo via Lara Zeigler

This past fall, yoga teacher Gabrielle Sigal opened a tiny yoga studio fittingly named Paperbox Studio in South Kensington’s Paper Box Studios building at 1639 Hancock Street. And come September, another fitness studio plans to set up an even tinier studio, at around 300 square feet, in the Paper Box Studios building. This studio, called Backbone, will be a private Pilates spot.

Owner Lara Zeigler, a classically trained Pilates instructors, will teach private one-on-one classical Pilates classes along with Pilates classes for breast cancer survivors — her mother is a survivor, so these classes are near and dear to her heart — and Pilates classes for folks with back pain. A private classical Pilates session will run $70, while the Pilates classes for breast cancer survivors, dubbed the Pink Ribbon Program, will cost $250 for a six-week series that includes two 30-minute private sessions each week. And one awesome pro tip worth noting: Your first private session with Zeigler is free.

Zeigler, a freelance architect, plans to offer private sessions in the morning, evenings and on weekends. And when it comes to the space, she says folks can expect something a bit funkier than your typical Pilates studio. Think: Lots of exposed brick and 12-foot-high ceilings boasting unpainted wooden rafters. Zeigler’s studio equipment will be made by Gratz Industries, a big player in the Pilates world that just so happens to be based in Fishtown.

Zeigler’s plan is to start taking clients starting in mid-September. Until then, folks can follow along with the progress of the studio on Instagram.

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