Studio - Supply Storage

With all of the organization going on in my studio this year, I am tackling every area, nook and cranny, leaving no space untouched.  Organization and storage are the key words going on all around my home.  Here are a few of the storage ideas I used for my sewing/craft studio, I hope you find them helpful and they inspire you to work on your studio, craft room or office.

On my craft counter I have glass jars of every kind and a metal pail to hold my colored pens, pencils, scissors, paperclips and paint brushes. This puts all of them front and center, ready to use whenever I need them for an art project, I don’t have to look around to find what I want.

Some of my favorite crafting patterns are stored in an open rod iron basket on my sewing counter, a great way to see what I have on hand; I don’t have to hunt my patterns down for a project.  A great way to store note pads or other items you need to find quickly.

I put my scrapbook paper in rolling 12” x 12” drawers so I can easily move them around the room to whatever station I am working at.  The drawers are set up by season and color, keeping the papers flat for better use.  The same drawers could be used for business papers, note pads, extra paper or anything flat I need to store.

These clear boxes are used for project storage; products to be made and projects still in progress.   The clear drawers, on wheels, hold all my beading supplies for jewelry and home décor projects.  All of the boxes and storage drawers can easily be moved around the studio for easy access.  I like all kinds of clear storage containers from glass to plastic so I can see what’s inside, this way I don’t forget what I have and where it is stored.

I love using cubby storage all over my studio; the storage units support each side of my cutting table, run along my windows and are the main storage for my fabric walls.  Easy to build and they always look great no matter what you put into them or on top of them, they come in several colors to match your work spaces.  Here are a few of the storage items I place within the cubby shelves.

I really like the colored fabric boxes specifically made to fit the cubby shelves, they are great for holding patterns, projects, paints, rubber stamps, papers and just about anything else you can think of.  I have them all around my studio, including the closets; I clipped on paper tags, made with my label maker, so I could quickly identify the contents.

All of my resource materials are stored in sections of each cubby by project content or as sources for future projects.  I have tons of books, magazines and patterns which all have visible homes for easy reference.

The clear containers store my rubber stamps and inks as well as several others not shown.  The divided folios usually used for document storage, are used for scrapbook papers and embellishments.  My folios sort my papers and embellishments by color, holidays, events and miscellaneous items.

Because most of these storage containers are see through they can be quite chaotic to the eyes when not in use, I hung a café curtain rod mounted on some cup hooks to slide on a curtain, perfect for covering it all up and to give my eyes a rest from the chaos.  I use the same set-up to cover up my fabric walls when I am not using my fabrics for a long period of time. The curtains keep the light from fading my fabrics and give me a neutral back drop of black and white to work with when I am designing patterns or fabrics.

Thanks for letting me share just a few of the storage solutions I used to organize my Studio/Craft room.  I hope you find my storage solutions useful and inspiring for your special creative spaces and offices.  Look for part two of Studio – Supply Storage in my next post.  See you soon.

Laurette

If you enjoyed reading this post you might also enjoy reading:

Fabric Organization

Organization Bug – December 2011 archive

Control That Clutter Parts 1, 2 & 3 - October 2011 archive

Paisley Crazy Room Makeover – October 2011 archive