5/1/13

Behind the Scenes

storage-area2
This may be kind of boring to some, but I've been wanting to show off my shop storage area for a while. It's the kind of thing I'd be interested in seeing in someone else's blog since I live in a one room apartment and I love seeing how other people solve living/working space issues. My place is actually a good size for a studio apt. but there is no shutting my work off in another room at the end of the day (I'm sure a lot of you can relate). I'm pretty obsessed with organization anyway, but living in such tight quarters with my work means that I have to have things organized and look nice, for my sanity. The materials I use for actual art making are pretty simple and contained, but all of the stock for my store, printers, and shipping materials are another matter. I got this wooden shelving at Ikea and I love it because all the shelves are adjustable, it's tall (sometimes you have to go up when space is limited), and it's quite affordable. I decided to enclose the whole unit in curtains that I hung from the ceiling so I can tuck it away when I want. They don't totally cover everything, but I think they make the shelves seem more like part of the room, rather than something industrial and out of place. I also sprung for the slightly more expensive storage boxes, since I have to look at them all the time I think it's worth it. Tucked away on the side behind that curtain is also a ream of the paper I use for painting, which comes in huge sheets. I also have my scanner, my printers, and all my bookkeeping stuff right there. I try to keep everything labeled and keep the labels up to date so I'm not frantically looking though boxes too much.
Anyway, if you too live and work in a small space I thought you might enjoy seeing how I dealt with it!

20 comments:

  1. Thank you for sharing this. Though I'm not as pushed for space as you I have been trying to find a solution for my own storage - it's the combination of finished work plus packing materials which is causing me some trouble! Anyway I'm inspired now.

    I do love your work!

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    1. No problem, I hope you got some good ideas!

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  2. We don't have too much space, either, but we have wayyy too much stuff. Two cats and a three year old make it difficult to put anything up too high, though.
    But I LOVED this post! These are some of my favourite posts. Always interested in seeing "home" posts! :)

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    1. Glad you liked it:)
      Yes I could see how it would be a problem if you had a little person who wanted to climb on things. I keep a fair amount of things under my bed too with the same kind of boxes and that works out well.

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  3. Awesome! I was always dreaming of keeping it small, but as we do bigger stuff, we grew out of space so fast.
    Would love to be able to show our studio soon... but it's never this in order...

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  4. This is a great set up! I wish I was as neat and organized as you! And I love seeing how other artists and makers organize their creating space. I have a little room for my art and I have all my things like packing materials, etc. in a small armoire (nothing fancy, it used to have my tv in it!) but its nice to have something I can close up and not have to look at! My creating space is an absolute wreck now since we're moving...and its kinda making me anxious! I feel like I cant think straight with things so messy!

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    1. Sometimes I wish I had a work space that I could just leave messy when I'm into a project, but I just can't when I live here too. I feel the same, it's hard to think straight when it gets messy!

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  5. It's so organized! I love seeing how people live and how they style their work and living spaces. Especially small spaces, since I live in a small space too. Thank you for posting this! Looking forward to more :)

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  6. So wonderful to see your storage method! Can we see the rest of your place sometime soon? I love peeking into artists homes....
    xoxox
    Ulla

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    1. Me too:) I will try to share the rest soon!

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  7. I like the boxes you chose. Quiet and classy.

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  8. I love to see how people organise their living/ work spaces and storage :) I have a few of those white boxes, very useful!

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  9. I am poised to open an online shop and I too live in a small apartment, so this is great. Thanks for sharing it. Seems like IKEA really owns this corner of the market, no one seems to do small space organisation on a budget quite so well.

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    1. It's true! I bought a non-ikea cheap storage shelf a few years ago and it gave me splinters and pieces kept breaking off.

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  10. Thank you Julianna, I love seeing how other people work as well! I keep everything in boxes as well, it keeps it so much more organized and I can't work well when my space is not in order.

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  11. Please show us more of your apartment! This is soooo cute!

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