diff --git a/examples/epio.ini b/examples/epio.ini
index 00a90bce1..4e61a42d0 100644
--- a/examples/epio.ini
+++ b/examples/epio.ini
@@ -42,11 +42,12 @@ postgres = true
 # to the real file 'configs/epio.py':
 # config.py = configs/epio.py
 
+media/ = %(data_directory)s/
 
 # #### If you're using Django, you'll want to uncomment some or all of these lines ####
 # [django]
 # # Path to your project root, relative to this directory.
-# base = .       
+# base = .
 #
 # [static]
 # Serve the admin media
diff --git a/examples/objectstore/views.py b/examples/objectstore/views.py
index 2a2225293..8f997d7ef 100644
--- a/examples/objectstore/views.py
+++ b/examples/objectstore/views.py
@@ -13,6 +13,9 @@ import operator
 OBJECT_STORE_DIR = os.path.join(settings.MEDIA_ROOT, 'objectstore')
 MAX_FILES = 10
 
+if not os.path.exists(OBJECT_STORE_DIR):
+    os.makedirs(OBJECT_STORE_DIR)
+
 
 def remove_oldest_files(dir, max_files):
     """
diff --git a/examples/settings.py b/examples/settings.py
index 4438bb849..e12b7f3fe 100644
--- a/examples/settings.py
+++ b/examples/settings.py
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 # Settings for djangorestframework examples project
+import os
 
 DEBUG = True
 TEMPLATE_DEBUG = DEBUG
@@ -46,7 +47,7 @@ USE_L10N = True
 # Absolute filesystem path to the directory that will hold user-uploaded files.
 # Example: "/home/media/media.lawrence.com/"
 # NOTE: Some of the djangorestframework examples use MEDIA_ROOT to store content.
-MEDIA_ROOT = 'media/'
+MEDIA_ROOT = os.path.join(os.getenv('EPIO_DATA_DIRECTORY', '.'), 'media')
 
 # URL that handles the media served from MEDIA_ROOT. Make sure to use a
 # trailing slash if there is a path component (optional in other cases).