Hello everyone! Welcome to another week….of July…..the second week in fact. How did that happen? I’m really not sure. It feels like just yesterday that I was wrapped up in blankets with an electric heater on, typing away in January whilst we waited on deliveries of heating oil…..now the sun is out, and we have begun the latter half of the year.
And the summer for many of us means craft fair season! Either as a vendor, a customer or as both. I know I’ll be doing a bit of both this year…..It’s a time when often the best laid plans of mice and (wo)men get thrown to the wind, beads get flung around, and any studio or workspace’s disorganisation can reach epic proportions – or is that just me?! Thank GOODNESS that the beads that I stock over at The Curious Bead Shop are organised in an entirely different manner than everything else, otherwise my studio really would be 100% chaos and I would have to give up and pour myself a stiff drink. Maybe one of those would help anyway!
So what better time to begin the new monthly segment, looking at bead storage and peeking into artists’ studio spaces. Ok, I know I won’t be giving you a peek into ALL of my studio, as really, it is quite a mess (understatement)….But I will be sharing tips and tricks from others, and maybe an organised and/or inspirational studio will pop up here too. Perhaps even a small corner of my studio….
Are you more organised than me? Would you like to share your studio or a brilliant storage tip? Leave a comment or email me at songbead {at} me {dot} com!
The first storage tip comes from our very own Erin Prais-Hintz of Tesori-Trovati Jewelry. And it’s a good one. Chain – isn’t it a pain to store? Doesn’t yours get completely tangled, however many times you separate it out? Erin has come up with a great and creative solution.
“My favourite storage solution is the paper towel holder that I display and sort all of my chain by metal type! It used to actually be in a box, and this way I can see it all on the wall!”
“Not the best shot but I think you get the idea! It is a metal paper towel holder from Hobby Lobby. I used shower curtain hooks that look sort of like carabiner clips to separate all the different chains that I have into types and metal. Makes it SOOOO much easier to find the chain I want instead of digging through baggies and bins! “
Wouldn’t this make life so much easier? What I love most about this, perhaps even more than the ‘tangle-free’ aspect, is that Erin can actually see what she has. Am I the only one who sometimes comes across a baggy of detangled chain that was sorted into a dark corner somewhere and forgotten about for quite some time? And as a bonus, they all look very pretty together too, hanging down like that!
What’s your favourite bead storage tip, or corner of your studio? We’d love to know!
Next week, we’ll be back to Amuse Your Muse – and this month’s theme? Ceramic beads. Share links to your favourite ceramic art beads and ceramic art bead artists in the comments below! Do you make ceramic beads? Share a link! We’d love to see them too.
And now for the BeadBlogger Links. Have a great week everyone!
Rebecca is a Scottish jewellery designer, currently living in Belfast, Northern Ireland. You can read more about her and her work at her blog, songbeads.blogspot.com and see more of her jewellery at songbead.etsy.com. She also has a supplies shop at thecuriousbeadshop.etsy.com.
Tina
July 7, 2014 at 2:08 pmLike your blog and your craft:-)
My daughter also do a little like you:
http://mariahoffbeck.blogspot.dk/p/blog-page_3.html
Have a lovely day.
Tina
freshbakeddesigns
July 7, 2014 at 3:38 pmGenius solution to a tangled up problem! Thanks for sharing.
Kathy Lindemer
July 7, 2014 at 7:11 pmI don't have any great storage system unfortunately, but I do separate my beads by color and metals by type. When I first started beading I didn't even do that. I have a long way to go and it is complicated by my having to have it portable since I spend half the year in Delaware and half in Florida!
I have to say, I have a number of favorite artists that I purchase ceramics from– a few include MartisButtonsnBeads, MarshaNealStudio , suburbangirlbeads,JeraLunaDesigns
lindalandig
July 8, 2014 at 7:28 amHanging the chain is so clever!
After designing jewelry for over 30 years, I have now happily joined the ranks of ceramic bead makers! My shop now has ceramic components, polymer clay components and finished jewelry. Here is the link to the ceramic section: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LindaLandigJewelry?section_id=15557355&ref=shopsection_leftnav_5 or if you prefer, this is the link to the whole shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LindaLandigJewelry
rouladen
July 8, 2014 at 12:15 pmWhat a great idea. Sadly, I can't think of anything clever that I do. I keep all my beads & components mostly in small plastic bags then I group them into larger plastic bags based on type – i.e. light colored pearls together in one bag, silver beads in another…
Though, I will say that having everything in clear baggies is helpful for finding something quickly or spreading a part of my stash out to see what would go with a focal piece I want to turn into a necklace.
Colleen
July 8, 2014 at 12:42 pmPretty sure I'm going to steal that chain storage idea. I had been thinking of getting a belt holder or something that has little hooks, but Erin's system is even better. It can hold more and the hooks could be removed to add to a pile of "figuring out what I'm going to make" items.
I don't have a beading space. Everything is in my bedroom. Computer too (desktop – I'm a bit of a gamer). So I'm constantly trying to think of new ways to organize things to maximize space.