Tuesday, February 22, 2011

My New & Improved Studio Space


Every so often, a neighbor or a friend will be visiting and ask to see my studio. I immediately feel bad for two reasons. One, it's just so cluttered and two, almost none of my handmade items are actually on display. Well, these two issues are now a thing of the past. I spent the better part of President's Day weekend overhauling my studio.

I've rearranged my studio before, even reorganized, but this time was different. This time I purged! My studio had become a storage space for a lot of stuff that I seldom use. With the goal of only keeping what I work with on a regular basis, eight bins made their way out of my studio and into storage. This freed up a lot of space and allowed me to bring up a display unit from the garage. Back in my craft show days, this triangle grid unit was always my favorite display because it holds so much in a rather small space. With the exception of my smaller jewelry items, it now holds every handmade thing I own.


I was also able to create an even roomier workspace for myself. My largest table, which used to just hold stuff, is now my desk. I have all my most important tools at my fingertips as well as my computer and entertainment devices. Gotta have my tunes!

I even cleaned out the closet and, and this is a big and, I don't have a bunch of stuff blocking the closet doors. I can actually get in and out of the closet. It's now workable storage.

I'm not sure why I'm blogging about my studio. I guess it's just out a sense of accomplishment. I can't help wanting to say, "Look what I did!" I should at least be sharing storage solutions or organizational tips or something. I guess I can point out, back in the first photo, how I organize all of my dyed roving. I have two, long card tables stacked up on top of each other. If you include the floor level, it means I have three tiers of surface area to keep my fiber bins. I use mesh laundry bags to store my roving. It's already packaged and ready for shipping by the time they go into their bags. They are sorted and kept organized by type. You know, Merino, Alpaca, Soy Silk...

I also repurposed some storage cubes. This is wear my jewelry lives as well as all of my other tools. It's amazing how many tools of the trade one can acquire.

Now my studio is not only clean, but it has an open feeling. The best part is, the next time someone asks to visit Wind Rose Fiber Studio, it will be fun. I'll be able to show them what I'm working on now as well as projects I've made that date back to my early years. I can put on some music, offer people a seat, and really enjoy sharing my creative space!

6 comments:

Sharon Marie said...

It looks nice and organized. I like your idea of using those laundry things for storage. That gives me an idea because I've seen them at the Dollar Tree here and that's an inexpensive fix for my clutter. Can't walk into my craft room--it's a very small spare bedroom.

Zzz said...

It looks VERY nice :)

Lona said...

Good for you!

Lisa said...

Looks very organised! My craft room is a similar colour lol nice and happy! Mine was organised when I first moved in but now my pets have migrated into there! Thanks, you've given me a push to sort it out!

Lisa x

Spinster Beth said...

Lovely! Lots of good ideas for organizing. I spent the snow-day-off reorganizing my yarn area, too! You did a much better job than I did, though :-)

Heather Woollove said...

What a lot of work, Jenn...and it looks amazing now!!
P.S. Thanks for recommending my blog to the new felter who ordered from you. She is very sweet and I've found some beginning tutorials for her.