studio improvements…

studio1well if you’ve been following us on social media you know we’ve been busy the last month with a few home improvements installing cool new vintage style wood floors.  for the past two weeks we’ve taken on the last room in the house which is the studio, and let me tell you this was no easy task.  my studio is a working studio for myself and mario where you can literally find us in here 7 days a week so the thought of it not being operational for any amount of time was out of the question.  the studio itself is loaded with all of my creative supplies, and although everything had it’s place, once you start moving things around it can pile up quickly (as you can see from mario’s expression above) so we had to come up with a plan…

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we spent a couple of days getting things organized then it was time to set our plan in motion.  since all of my supplies are on rolling metal shelves, we maneuvered them around the studio in sections at a time as our neighbor art tore up the old floor and replaced it with the new one (like one of those sliding puzzle games)…

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once all of the floors were down it was time to get everything situated again.  during the remodel i decided to remove the old particle board bookcases to make better use of that space.  one problem that created was it eliminated my “display” space for all the vintage things that inspire me – art and mario to the rescue!  art created two custom shelves and a cabinet to showcase my treasures, and mario did his distress magic to them…

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i moved my vintage supply spinner that holds all my inks and paints into the corner which made it more accessible from my craft table – then it was time to load everything up!  i love creating vintage vignettes and think it’s important to surround yourself with artful elements in your studio space that inspire.  you never know what might spark the imagination…

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the new cabinet became the perfect spot to display another random collection, vintage alarm clocks. believe it or not, i purchased this entire collection from one person on eBay years ago.  i literally thought i was bidding on 3 clocks and ended up getting over 70 – talk about a lucky find!  i like them since they are a constant reminder to me that there will never be enough hours in the day to accomplish it all, and remember to take time for the things in life that are most important…

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by removing the bookshelves i also had space to add a new set of metal shelving since i was running out of room for my dies and stamps.  now i have the perfect area for all of my sizzix die storage boxes and stamp storage binders and everything is easy to find…

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i would have to say if you look around my studio there isn’t an empty space to be found and i love it that way.  i have vintage locker baskets piled with found objects, displays of old things like paint brushes and random trinkets.  in fact during this reorganization i’ve gathered up lots of vintage finds to start selling on etsy next month. after all, one must make room for more things right?…

crazy

it was a crazy couple of weeks getting everything in the studio put back together, but we always have fun with whatever we do (oh, and don’t be afraid of the monkey, he’s harmless)…

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so here is the finished result and i couldn’t be happier with my new creative space.  the storage closet is filled with all of my class and teaching supplies, and of course my craft table is the perfect centerpiece.  i love the new floors and think the before and after speaks for itself – what a difference!  thanks for sharing in the journey…t!m

Tim Holtz Creative Chemistry 101