Studio Reorganization Mission Complete!

After a month of sorting, pitching, pondering, cleaning and arranging, I have finally completed my mission to give my art studio an overhaul that will make my work experience more organized and inspiring. It was a more intensive process than I had anticipated because, the deeper I delved into the clutter, the more meticulous my sorting and arranging became to help this reorganization be effective for the long haul. 

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So, let me take you on a little tour. Yay! This is what you see when you walk in the door. On the right is my macho work area for stuff that involves pounding, drilling, torching and smashing. On the left is where I more gently work on art and cards.

First stop on the tour: my art desk. I had two goals when I rearranged my desk: create lots of work space, and keep close at hand the things I use a lot. I have organized my most-used art tools into a series of pottery and wood containers along the back edge of my desk. The art supplies I use the most sit on a lazy susan (I'm bad at putting things away, so this caters to my bad habit). All my pens and markers are organized in those little plastic drawers and the organizer that sits on top of them (which I made with toilet paper rolls). In the bottom right corner of the photo you can see where I toss my trash and recyclables.

I'm really happy with this workspace now. I've got lots of room to stretch out my work, and I've got most of what I need right in front of me. And I love sitting by the window.

Beside my desk is a little caddy that holds random (and painstakingly organized) scraps that result from my creative adventures. I won't bore you (or risk being made fun of) by itemizing them all. The drawer unit on my desk holds administrative-ish stuff, like labels, a calculator, and the receipts I accumulate through a week. The unattractive drawer unit under my desk holds bags of various sizes and scrap paper that I use for experimenting or making paper. Maybe some day I'll try to make that thing look a little more pretty.

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To the right of my desk, I have stored frequently-used art supplies within easy reach on low shelves along the wall beside me. My tubes of acrylic paint hang on the wall from binder clips: now they're easy to access, and they look funky too. (Thank you, Pinterest universe, for the idea.) I got a bargain on a bunch of plastic trays at a local reuse centre, and I used them all to keep my full sheets of paper organized. A tower of paper makes me happy inside.

On the left side of my desk, I've stored more art supplies and tools. Here you might notice some of the things I wrote about in my last blog post: binders that keep my scrap paper organized, wine boxes that store cutting tools and embellishments, and the fabric box unit that stores my ribbon scraps (in the lower right side of the picture). The thing on the wall above the ribbon scraps in a clementine box that I've fit with wooden dowels to store spools of ribbon.

This is an Ikea shelf that anchors to the floor and ceiling, so it's very sturdy and un-wobbly. It's great for storing all my clumsy sketchbooks and pads of paper (on the top shelf). The shelves are adjustable, and I've set up a short shelf in the middle to store large pieces of paper that need to stay flat. One other trick you might notice: a section of an Ikea wine rack keeps my rolls of paper organized, and laying a piece of cardboard across the top of it creates a mini shelf.

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The back wall of my studio is home to upcycled materials. The centre column of this shelf holds the upcycled materials I use the most, including postage stamps, bottle caps, beach glass and vegetable bags (sorted in bins on the floor). A couple more bins of upcycled stuff sit on the low shelf on the left. I wanted to keep my upcycled materials together in one place so that, when I sort through loads of garbage, it's easy to organize and put away. In another corner of the studio, I have a bin unit that holds other upcycled materials I don't use as much that patiently wait for their debut in a new project.

The left column of the shelf stores all my substrate and t-shirt scraps, and the right column holds my printmaking and sewing supplies. 

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My grunt work station didn't change very much through my art studio overhaul. The biggest thing I did here was sort through all my beads and modify how I store them. I grouped them together by material (i.e. glass, wood, semi precious) and colour, and moved some of them into the side drawers of the desk to alleviate some clutter.

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Welcome to my studio's walk-in closet, the unglamorous hideaway for the things I don't know what to do with. Well, that's less true now because I spent some time organizing this little cavern too. 

Until now, my inventory, packaging materials, and shipping stuff were in different places in my house because they didn't fit in my studio. The reorganization in the studio meant that I could empty some things from the closet and make room for a shipping centre of sorts. I emptied most of the drawers in the dresser (most of which hadn't seen the light of day in many moons), and relocated their contents (much of it to charity). Now the drawers store shipping and packaging materials. My jewelry and card inventory now rest on top of the dresser (foreground), along with the rest of my shipping materials. My artwork is the only part of my creative inventory not stored here: it's in another room in the house where the temperature is more stable than this sketchily insulated closet.

Shipping is a much easier process now that I don't have to run around to three different places to put together a package.  

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So there you have it, folks! I feel relieved and excited to have this reorganization project finished. My workspace is now inviting and organized, and still bright and quirky the way I like it. I have no doubt that the arrangements and decor will continue to change over time, but this is a good foundation: a great way to start the year.