With all the extra time at home we had a chance to do some much needied cleaning, organization, and remodeling of the studio. Now, instead of a cluttered workspace, we have an open, flexible area that we can use for assembly, inspection, and display of artwork.
The most exciting change is that the studio space now doubles as an art gallery! I look forward to being able to invite people to the studio to look at art, or even to hold events in the space to celebrate new work. The walls have a clean, bright coat of paint, and Mike designed and built a really nice system of rails and cables that let us hang any of my art on either of two walls.
The center of the room is a flexible space that I can use for working on big projects, have several smaller projects in process, or leave it open for whatever!
Around the sides, on the walls that are not displaying artwork, we have a ton of storage and more work areas. All around it is a great space and so nice to work in!
Keep reading to see how we did it!
Gallery Walls and Open Space
By getting rid of some tables and shelves that I didn’t completely need, we freed up a lot of space. What used to be a nook full of my old bead workspace is now open and accessible. The tables have great natural light. Storage bins help me easily find hardware and supplies for final assembly and repair. Right now, one table is being used to organize and package the last of my bead supplies. They are on their way to some lucky buyers on eBay!
Flexible and Comfortable Work Areas
Since we are a small business, everything we do is on the same property. That means when there is office work to be done, I might need a place to do it. So, I still have a desk tucked into one corner just in case. Since I spend so much time in this room, we hung some speakers in the corners. Now I can play my favorite music and drown out the stress of running a business! The speakers are Bluetooth connected. We also have WiFi out in the studio now, so I can stream from Spotify or listen to my favorite podcasts.
Storage and Versatility
The most important component of the project was storage. In order to make enough space to leave things open and flexible, we got a set of pallet racks to store most of my bigger artwork. Along this wall are also some wire shelves on wheels. This is where I keep metal shape accumulations in process and painting supplies for creating my backgrounds.
Another key piece is the great tables that Mike built for me. Since they are on wheels, I can roll them around to move them into various configurations or just get them out of the way.
The tables are so much fun!
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