tiny studio, vintage storage strategies

It's been a hot minute since I posted about frivolous things like dresses and housewares, all things I think about quite often, but never commit to paper.    I've been thinking a bit about stylish storage in particular lately, so I thought I'd go there. Since the studio is now back in my home and still in a bit of disarray, I thought I might on occasion share some shots on instagram as things tidy up.  Combining two spaces, even one as small as the studio footprint has been a challenge, and thank god for giant metal shelving, which has bore the brunt of the stuff that accompanied the move. It's about 1/4 the space, and was already housing my at-home art & craft supplies (paints, jewelry making materials, sewing supplies.) so it's a tight fit.  Some larger things (the cushy chair, the dress form, the pegboard screens, the velvet ottoman) have spread into other parts of the apartment.  Other, more sales-oriented stuff like the chapbook racks and folding table are shoved behind my couch waiting to be stashed in my entryway closet as soon as I make room. ) There are still a couple boxes on the floor that need to be dispersed, but a handful of things have made my life much easier and some storage solutions I rather like.


1. baskets and wine boxes

I've acquired these over the years, both for at home and in the studio, and the larger wine boxes and cigar boxes are perfect for storing collage fixings (ie the mound of paper that threatens to overwhelm me.)  The baskets hold bigger things and  more important HIDE so much and keep it looking tidy even when it's really not.  I seem to have hoarded so much in terms of supplies and these help keep things straight and accessible.


2. old wooden tool boxes

I have a couple of these.  The green one on the table is my go-to for holding scissors, glue sticks, markers, pens, business cards, tape, staples, and on and on.  Its kind of battered, but was painted green when I spotted it on e-bay about a decade ago, which is my color obsession at the moment.  The second is a new one made to look old and holds brushes and bits on my painting work table in the corner. I also have some old file card holders that I inherited from the library as they became obsolete that work good for holding books after assembly.

3. document & file boxes 

Before I moved into the studio, I invested in some document boxes (I think from the Container store, but I may be wrong, ) They are also good at keeping the paper mess tucked away, in this case, my stock of notecards and extra covers.  I also inherited the larger file boxes during various library cleanups that work nicely for storing extra book stock and artwork.


4. tiny drawers

I swear by my little ikea metal drawer set (which is falling apart because I put it together) but it holds my supplies of packing tape, press postcards, business cards, etc. , I also procured a  strange steel vintage file box I procured via ebay last year.  It was meant to hold horizontal long file cards for something decades ago, and for awhile was a good display case for paper goods in the studio. Now it houses ALL my acrylic and water color tubes and has room for more, which could be a problem when I get on a supply buying binge for things I barely have time to do.

5. table top display

Because I have only one large corkboard at home, already full of postcards and collected ephemera over the years, and a whole studio of stuff I used to have taped to the walls..I turned the table (which was initially covered in Alice in Wonderland pages) into a sort of flat ephemera storage--postcards, photographs, random paper bits fit nicely under the plexi-glass and can be piled on indefinitely. Becuase I did some damage to the modpodged pages (hello, the bottom of a hot pizza box) and wanted a smoother surface, the plexi is perfect and easier to keep clean and impermeable to damage.


6. vintage chairs & stools

Not storage, so much, but still very useful. Granted I am usually the only person around, I really don't need as many chairs and stools as I have, especially now that they have been combined in one place, but I love me a vintage propeller chair. And don't even get me started on industrial stools. I started collecting them after my original dining room chairs were on the outs.  Pretty much I have seating for a good half dozen, when at most, there are two of us., plus a couple of stools that serve as end tables in the living room. I have a problem, but like kittens, I can't just leave them in the thriftstore, can I?


At some point I'll give a proper studio tour when the dust settles, so stay tuned for that....