For my ambitious upcoming plans there’s a heck of a lot of canes needed so the next few months will be canes and caned beads. Lots and lots of that.

In the studio, it’s just me and I cycle from chaos to just a little cluttered about every 6 weeks. One part that drives me nuts is how messy my clay table gets. Part of that is the fact that some production scraps are good to use immediately (or almost immediately) in other projects like swirls, scrap mokume gane or new colours. So, I’d leave them out on the table knowing that if I boxed them up I’d have a “look what I found!” moment six months later. Someone said: immediately separate them by colour value in bowls. So I figured, why not. It has made a difference. I may end up with a few bowls on the table or shelf but at least it’s not scattered.

Drilling beads and other dust making work is another bane. I drill on my “dry” table, on a thick plastic mat. This works fine but makes for little curls of clay and dust EVERYWHERE. And since I suck at keeping that table clear I need some strategies here too. I’m thinking a larger mat, that I could roll up when not in use and stash in the corner or a tray to hold most of the crumbs. Probably enforcing the clean table rule would help too as there’d then be less pieces getting dusty.

I always liked the idea of “booth lego” where I can use boxes and other items to both carry stock and arrange my booth with. I may sand down my current Ikea boxes back to plywood so that they’ll better mix and match.

Since I like working at my computer desk best it tends to accumulate the active mess pile.

Some pieces I finally scrape off one table and baked. Soon, they’ll get to the staging area.

Product that’s sorted or bagged to go to the shows. Yay!

I’d love to say there’s some order in the chaos… but right now, it’s hard to see.

This year I decided I wanted a more custom and cohesive look. I wanted it to fit with the brand I have in mind – to use more of a clean but also nature inspired theme.  I started by making notes of how I could do that using what I already have and adding a few pieces.

I kept my old table coverings but plan on editing how they are used a bit as I accumulate more of them. I’d like the green to get draped and mounded a bit on the table tops to make more of a grass or forest floor feeling. In their previous lives, these were clearance queen sized flat sheets and inexpensive fake satin drapes.

Speaking of forest… these are probably the biggest change. I had been experimenting with wood cut outs of trees to hang items on and finally drew up plans. My dad visited over the weekend and cut a TON OF THEM out for me so away I go. I have two sizes here and they will be excellent for hanging jewelry, ornaments… you name it. When not in use, they pack flat and they are super light.

Next up is swapping out some of my other fixtures for easier show items!

If you click the picture, I have notes on the Flickr image. But mostly it’s crowded on the one end because that end is where my chair and computer desk are. So I tend to work where I can swivel back and forth. The far end has my shelves, organizer and my pasta machine. If I shove the chair I can roll right there.

These are the projects on the go: beads in progress for the order and for my shop. Beads that need holes made from the last of a cane by the fabulous Kathi Gose.

And some clay that needs to be tucked back in it’s home and blends that need to be caned ASAP.

These are over the far end of the table and are currently in a sort of ‘See if it works’ arrangement. The very top shelf will hold jewelrymaking supplies as I use those less often. The two below have tubs of cane pieces, various clays, tools, wraps, tiles, glass, cutters… you name it. We see my little Atlas and the green rolling cart in the lower right. The cart has the sort of random additions you can’t live without: more cutters, molds, stencils, sandpaper, pointy things, paints, inks, chalk, brushes, glitter, mica and general chaos.

OK, confessing to this insanity has cured my absent motivation. I now want to go hide and finish the dang beads.

September didn’t seem to rush in but more of a leisurely ambling walk in. I’m starting off the fall with a final mad organization and cleaning run in the studio as the season kicks into high gear. First off, my shelf with labeled tubs (I can’t really justify all the pretty brightly coloured boxes and cute vintage tins I see – little plastic containers are my budget) for beads in ‘process’ and the ones that are listed for sale on Etsy and Artfire. Elsewhere in the studio are other tubs with other Me labels… Ship Me, Make Me, Order Me and so on.

This last flash-arific picture is a DVD rack I grabbed at the thrift store. I think it’s a wall mount rack. I’ve repurposed it into an earring rack on my jewelry & shipping table. The little silver one beside it is a CD rack that was damaged in the move. I may finish damaging it and turn it into another rack.

How’s everyone else’s September starting out?

Part of that obsession has resulted in me stalking the studio, home office and craft room groups on Flickr. And then there’s the results for a simple Google image search on ‘craft room organization’.

I found a book in the library – amidst the other house decorating books – called: Where Women Create: Inspiring Work Spaces of Extraordinary Women by Jo Packham.

Overall, the studios are overdecorated and cutesy for my taste but you could easily just pick and choose ideas to take away. I was happy to see a whole, contemporary, book devoted to professional craft artists work spaces.

I have to admit that I haven’t got my little space quite how I want it yet – it will require some more TLC and different wall shelves but it has gotten good use even as it is. I am hunting up textiles at the local thrift shops after seeing a few of the amazing simple sewing projects Lisa has done with such the last two years.

The last of my furniture and shelves came with my stepdad yesterday. That means the bookshelves and racks are here which will help with the unpacking since the stuff will have a place to stay.

My studio thus far – and yes, the first functional spot is the computer station – is chaos. In two weeks when Lloyd gets back from scout camp he promised to help me out with wall shelves and I should be ready to put baseboards and window trims in then too.

We were back in town by mid-week and the end of Easter break marked the Calgary leg of the Oasis Bead Show. This year there was less of what I was looking for – a good selection of base metal findings – so I didn’t break the bank. I did pick up a few strands of stones and pearls in my regular colours. Chloe picked up a lampwork cat bead similar to Sam, our future house cat. The cat bead is made by artist Fran Davis of Dragonfire Beads.

I believe next year I will make a serious effort to have a table at the Bead Show! It was a candy store of goodies even if I was on a strict diet.