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