I am taking you on a brief tour of my studio today. For some reason, I love systems and seeing how work flows are designed. In my studio and my home, I frequently like to move furniture and tools around and see if I can create better solutions for living and working. I am that weird person that likes to move everything out, clean really good, cull, separate and then put everything back in. It is kind of like a puzzle to me. How many ways can I change something and get better results each time? I think that is why I love digitizing embroidery designs, because they are just like puzzle solving. You can add pieces differently each round and still get to the same end result. My work space is a challenge. It is actually supposed to be a dining room. There are windows that minimize wall space and a large cased opening that I had to creatively work around.
I like to have a very large cutting and working table and this is certainly all that. I have a 4x8 sheet of plywood on top of two shelving units. It sits in the middle of my room and everything has to revolve around it. My husband has offered to "cut it down" several times, but I love it so much. The storage containers underneath are so great for holding all of my extra fabric also. I think of all of the things I have in my studio, this is my absolute favorite. My family likes it also. It has proven to be a great work surface for everyone.
Having small rolling carts makes it easy to move my notions around as I want to. I also label the drawers so I know exactly where all of those small pieces are. A sewing studio is always going to be hard to keep clean but small drawers really help.
I have talked about this stacking case in a previous blog and I still use it for extra pins, needles, marking tools etc. The best part is I can grab it for travel and retreats.
My heat press is situated on it's own stand. All of the transfers, t squares and items I use with the heat press stay in this area so I don't have to look for them.
My Silhouette is on my desk close to my computer. I mounted a set of drawer pulls on the shelf so it can slide in and out. This ensures my vinyl can feed all the way through the silhouette without getting tangled.
Fabric storage is always a challenge to keep neat. I use the small collapsible fabric boxes to keep mine in order. I separate each fabric type and try to group them by color also.
Here is another one showing how I roll the fabric tightly. This way I can see everything I have in stock.
Large glass jars help me keep my thread protected from the air and dust. It is also a pretty way to showcase all of the colors I have.
There is a designated pressing area always set up and ready. Storage underneath holds different tools and materials.
A cabinet above the pressing station holds all of my starch and pressing tools.
A small rotating tray helps keep the smaller tools in place so I can find them easily. I also have several Ott Light lamps for task lighting.
My husband built risers to put underneath my desk. This made it a custom area that is the perfect working height just for me.
The cabinet that holds my Happy embroidery machine also houses all items I need to use along with it. I also keep my stabilizer to the right of the cabinet.
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So here I am with my furry buddies. They are usually in my studio also or very close by keeping me company. My work area has taken many years to create. I started my blog in 2015 and over these last 5 years, it has morphed several times as I have learned new skills and added tools. I have a more detailed You tube video you can watch below that shows all of my storage ideas. Many of them are cost effective and they don't always match. I like the purpose of something much more than the look of it. My desk for example cost about $20.00. It is beat up but very substantial and works great for my work flow. So check out the video. It is quite extensive and might give you the urge to create a space where you can "BE YOU" Everyone deserves that. I hope you have enjoyed this post, share what you learn and are generous with what you create. Someone will appreciate your hard work!
