Getting the studio organized

So, as you could probably tell from my post a few days ago, my studio is a veritable hodge-podge of furniture and DIY storage. Are you looking for pretty pictures of an IKEA craft studio where everything is painted the perfect shade of pink with little tags attached to wicker baskets and specialty shelving holding a myriad of supplies meticulously arranged according to size, shape, color and use? Sorry. Nope. Not here.

Don't get me wrong, I don't begrudge those fine people with perfect studios but when it comes down to it, if someone said, "Hey, here's $5000 to make your studio pretty and perfect." I would say, "Thank you, but I'd rather take that money and my hubby on a really great vacation to someplace tropical." It's not that I don't like spending money - I just don't like spending money on fancy furniture. A bookcase is a bookcase is a bookcase. It doesn't matter to me what color it is or who designed it as much as whether it fits in my space and functions adequately like a bookcase should. Why spend $200 on a bookcase when a $10 one from the thrift store does exactly the same thing?

I guess that's how I feel about my studio space. I like it that I have a bunch of hodge-podge furniture with nicks and scratches and peeling paint somehow pieced together to form this space that acts as a hub for both crafting and running an online business. And now that it's almost organized (still have some stuff to move out to new homes), I am starting to feel like I can breathe in here! Creativity and claustrophobia are NOT happy bedfellows!

So, I am going to share with you some more photos of my studio space today - such as it is. I hope you enjoy this little tour. :)

I'll start with the only in-progress photo I managed to take. I was moving the 24-drawer steel cabinet and had to pile the drawers someplace. It's a heavy cabinet even without the drawers in it!

This is what I now see when I walk into the studio... it's so wonderful to have a clear path into the room. Often, in the past, I felt like I was stepping through an obstacle course! The table is gone, the chair has been moved into the center of the room and a side table with storage inside sits along side the chair. If I want a table to work on, I have a 4' x 2' folding table I can bring out as needed - actually, you might notice it leaning against the dresser on the lower left. Anyway, this open floor plan means I can set up the space as I need to.

Here is my hodge-podge north wall. But it holds lots of fun stuff! Some of this still needs to be relocated or sold so I can move my favorite books back in. I mean, it is a bookcase, after all...

Now, I only show this photo because I have not been able to actually use this door for a VERY long time - I had a folding desk in front of it piled high with stuff. Stuff is gone, desk is gone, door can open and close - AMAZING!

On the east wall is a large vintage dresser and on top, a collection of baskets, bins and drawers that work amazingly well as a unit. 

Here's the entrance to the walk-in closet (still a disaster! I'll get to that soon...) and my photo/shipping area.

And my standing desk...

So, the 24-drawer cabinet got moved to the corner along with another smaller steel cabinet. I know you still can't see it! I have a rolling desk chair that I'm not convinced should go away quite yet so that is sitting in the space between the desk and the cabinet. On the chair are boxes with "overstock" from the clean-out that I will be posting for sale on Etsy and eBay. Hopefully, all that stuff will be on its way to new homes and I will finally be able to take a picture of the cabinet in all its glory! :)

You might also notice some empty wall space! Holy cow! Room to grow...

This photo just shows off the latest piece of artwork to come my way! This shrine was made by my good friend Stephanie Failmezger - I traded a woven necklace for it. She did a series of shrines dedicated to threatened/endangered species - this one is dedicated to sea urchins whose bright orange roe is considered a delicacy and thus, over-harvested.

Here is my shrine space, of sorts. I don't sit in front of it and meditate or anything but I do love lighting candles and all of the objects mean something to me. Besides the pillar candles (which I buy only at thrift stores), I also have 6 various holders where I burn tea lights. Needless to say, I go through LOTS of tea lights!

This fountain, on semi-permanent loan from my friend Mary, is one of my all-time favorite things!

Above the candles, is a display with rocks, bones, feathers and mementos of people, places and events. I used to have two of these (remember that newly-empty wall space?) but culled things down to fit into one unit - I even have some empty spaces for new artifacts!

Here's a shot along the west wall.

Here, I used the space behind the door to hang up my ukuleles and Irish whistles (in the Owl bag). I have actually started practicing again! Easy access makes all the difference!

The side table next to the chair holds my yoga mat and weights. Since clearing out the space, I have room to do morning stretches in privacy...

... except for the dogs staring at me! The chair is temporarily covered with stuff I had on hand. I would like to make a cool patchwork cover for it - we'll see... Anyway, I had thought to ban the dogs from the chair because of the dog hair and the digging but couldn't do it. They seem to be happiest hanging around while I work and I like having them there.

So, I am far from done. As I said, there are still a few errant boxes of stuff hanging around and the closet is in dire need of a good hoeing-out but it's SOOO much nicer than it was.

I'm not sure why I felt the need to share this on my blog. Maybe some of you will find inspiration in my space and realize you don't have to have thousands of dollars and made-to-order storage to build a space you enjoy being and creating in. If you surround yourself with things you love that inspire you - I believe you'll have the beginnings of a space in which your creativity will thrive.

'Til next time! :)