My Studio, AKA The Cubicle

This is a quick post in response to someone having to downsize from lots of studio/storage space to less space. Here are a few photos of my studio in all it's cluttered glory. The inside dimentions of the room are 7 1/2 x11 1/2 feet.

This is the East wall. I have plastic drawer units on wheels under the counter along this wall, as well as 2 smaller units on the counter. There is a shelf over the window for more storage, as well as drawers and a shelf under the table in the corner. Thread racks are hung on the wall.
The room next to this is my office- it is the same size, with 2 desks and a table with storage drawers, computers, and other things under them, and shelves to the ceiling on half of the walls.  Of course computer monitors and keyboards reside on one desk and the table.

This is the opposite wall, to the left you can barely see the shelves for fabric, and there are more shelves behind the design wall. The wall is mounted on hinges, so I can get to the shelves (and electrical panel) behind it. As can be seen here, there are shelves for storage right up to the ceiling. This is an add-a-room, and the ceiling is higher on this wall that the one above- shelves go a bit higher than the photo shows.
You are seeing the whole width of the room. Above the ironing board, on the wall, I have foam board covered in fabric to pin inspiration photos, tiny things that get lost easily, etc. On the left of the design wall you can see some fabrics that are hanging on skirt hangers. These hang off each other, so I can stash a lot of fat quarters in a small area, and still find what I want.

This photo shows the cutting table. When it's not covered in piles of projects, etc.,  it is a 3'x4' work surface covered with a cutting mat. It is on wheels, so that I can get the design wall moved out, when needed. As you can see, I have left it blocking part of the doorway to the studio, I have a couple totes of stuff between the table and design wall, on the floor, right now.

I have also overflowed into my bedroom- shelves near ceiling with fabric, batting, and totes on and under a table, and in the kitchen where I have 3 drawer units the width of the pink ones in the first photo, stacked for painting supplies. I also have totes of my work for sale stacked in my livingroom. If you want to do a bit of disguising, a cloth over a stack of totes can look like a table, or a pretty sheet can dress up a stack to the ceiling. I try to have my totes all labeled, so I know which one I need. During this past summer, when I was doing art shows nearly every weekend, the totes of items for sale and set-up supplies stayed in the van.

I really dream of the day when I can have a much larger studio space, but for now, I can make this work. I hope my ideas for using very limited space can help someone else.
As a tease, I will be posting soon, with my "Fall Collection"

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About

I am a former textile artist and new pattern designer with a degree in horticulture, wishing to share my love of nature, flowers and gardens with everyone through my photos, sunprinted fabrics, and now pattern designs. Chronic Lyme Disease has caused major changes to the direction my life. I have to limit the amount of time spent digging in my gardens, and quilting has become more difficult. I discovered pattern design as a way to get art back into my life. I now use my gardens and photos to inspire designs that can be used on fabrics and print on demand items.

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