Redress: New Studio Check in Part 1

It’s strange to think that I moved into my studio just 2 (well, okay, getting closer to 3) months ago.  How could I ever have done Craft Leftovers without it? And how could I have lived and cooked with it all smashed into every nook and cranny of the apartment?

This is a two part post:

One is that I’m checking in on my new studio here, how it’s going, if I’m fully unpacked (no, yikes!), and what my plans are for the studio’s future set up.

Two is how my home studio is doing. How does it exist now? Am I drawing and painting more (you bet!)? How is the home/work division going? And how is my stress/overwhelmed with work feelings going?

First I’m going to show you the things I do like about the studio. I love my fabric covered boards. They are so cheery that it really makes up for having a window (well, not quite, but as close as it can). And I’ve started to really fill them out.

Here are some drawings, my color wheel, the cover for this month’s issue, some quilling, some recycled paper boxes (will be used for starting seeds in a bit–project in feb issue of clm), and my christmas stocking–which I enjoy so much I have not put it away with the rest of the xmas supplies and decorations.

Here we have 2 notes from friends and a collage I started in a collage workshop a few months back. I still need to finish gluing things down, haha. I like it all the same.

This cute little print was given to me by my friend Jill. This little guy is hand carved, painted, posed, and then photographed by a local artist. So neat! I love the candy matching the spots on what I’m going to call a ferret even though I’ll bet a weasel was more in mind.

I finally have all my craft books down here and they pretty much fill the whole book shelf! Awesome! It’s so inspiring to see them all lined up and having them on hand is great. I’ve kept them fairly organized too, even though I rifle through them a few times a day.

This is the darkest corner of the studio, so please excuse the blur here. I’ve done pretty well keeping my fabric organized. I need to give the smaller stacks a good reshuffle, but I’m not too worried about it. Everything is in the proper area it should be in, even if it’s not a neat pile–which we’ve already discussed is pretty much impossible to maintain.

I’ve kept up with the shipping area too. It’s pretty tidy and I know where all of it is. I could do a general straightening up, but I don’t think it would take more than 5 minutes.

And my desk has stayed really organized too. I make sure to clear off all the clutter on a regular basis. It’s really just that little basket of random bits in the front right and then some loose cords because I’m charging my iPod and syncing my calendars. Usually those cords are in a drawer and it’s completely straightened up.

Having that filing shelf (inbox/outbox/filebox) has really helped. I picked it up at the ISU surplus sale for $3.00 last month. The top shelf is for ready to be dropped off orders (I already went to the post office today), the second from the top is for invoices and general outgoing mail that still needs a stamp, the third from the top is for bills/tax forms/things with due dates that I need to deal with, the second from the bottom is business things to be filed, and the bottom shelf is an all purpose shelf reserved for Ames C.art business stuff. All that used to just be in a stack, no wonder I was always losing important documents! No more. :)

This area looks a little more cluttered than maybe it really feels. It’s actually pretty tidy. I was cutting a bunch of fleece and just need to wipe down my mat. And my sewing machine needs to be turned around so the cord runs across the back of the desk instead of across it. Then the planter box, yep that is a window box right there, is holding all my measuring and cutting rulers. I have a “tea station” right there and I just finished eating my yogurt snack, so I put it on the shelf to get it out of my workspace/so I will remember to take it home and wash it out too.

Okay, now for what I’m not so thrilled about.

These two areas of my studio pictured above is all stuff that needs to make it to the storage unit. Most of it is cast offs from the things that my studio used to hold (office supplies/cubical equipment/office furniture). It’s really come down to the fact that it’s too cold and too icy to deal with so I’ll just have to live with until it thaws out a bit. Annoying, but not horrible. It’s out of the way and pretty much just makes that side of the room feel more cramped than it should.

And then this shelf I’m not even really using. In fact, I have a few spaces like this, which makes me think I need to reorganize my supplies in general quite a bit.

This is my big clutter area. Okay, granted it’s really only this bad because I had a workshop on Thursday and just dropped off all the supplies today. It bothers me when stuff collects here, that it  gets put away pretty quickly.

The main issue is actually that rubbermaid. It’s full of random yarn/fabric/lace that I really am just not sure what to do with.

One of my friends, Sarah, gave me this great idea to post a “craft leftovers challenge” where I take a nice assortment of goodies and post them, see what you guys think up to make from them. Then I’ll write up the pattern and the winner gets a kit (with the supplies or similar supplies, and the pattern!).

I really love this idea and I think this bin has so many great things, it’s just a matter of getting a new perspective. Maybe that’s how I’ll finally start paring it down. I think I’ll start up next Monday actually! Hooray! What a great way to start the month of February!

So my main goals with the space is to:

1. Take all that stuff to storage as soon as it thaws enough.

2. Re-organize my supplies so I’m using my space more effeciently.

3. Go through the rubbermaid and sort/organize/use/make into kits/make into challenges everything that’s in there so I can ditch the big rubbermaid completely.

4. Hang up my peg board. It’s not pictured, because it’s still in the garage! Another “as soon as it thaws” on the list. :)

Next week I’ll show you how my home studio is coming along and how great it is to have a “kitchen” table.

Happy Crafting!
Kristin