Organize Your Bead Studio

re: Organize Your Bead Studio

uni356 — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 08:52:42 GMT

Have just found this site and your post.

How wonderful!

I tell my better half to clean up his mess so I can CREATE, lol

I will share this with him

I have such a beautiful place to create beautiful things but when I walk through his MESS of tools and clutter to get to my space I loose my ENERGY, lol.

I know I need BLINDERS lol

re: Organize Your Bead Studio

JaneH@66 — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 21:29:58 GMT

Jean, it is great to see someone who can be organized. I have a question about how to keep a record of the Delicas, or other seed beads that I have purchased. I wonder if there is a list of the beads that can be updated. I used to have a card that I carried with me with all the floss color numbers on it, and it helped me not buy multiples of the same thing. Every time I bought a new color I would put a check by the number, and know that I already owned that color. Have you ever heard of such an item for beads? I would most use it with Delicas, but it could be helpful as a sort of inventory control for other beads as well. Anyone out there have any help?

Thanks

re: Organize Your Bead Studio

Maxwell4 — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:45:55 GMT

I woud like to see a more panoramic view of your studio. I know, that woud be a lot of trouble for you, but we would all LOVE you forever if you would take more pictures.

re: Organize Your Bead Studio

evelene — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 18:00:30 GMT

I work with a lot of very small beads, I buy glass tubes for my beads and store them in a typeset cabinet I bought for $40 at a garage sale. Great find! It has about 20 1" and 2" deep drawers. I think that someone should make these for sale! NowI just wish I had more time to bead!

re: Organize Your Bead Studio

ToliveInspired — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 01:36:39 GMT

I would love to have a larger space to set up a studio but I have a mini 1 bedroom that my hubby and I live in.. But I still managed to set up a mini studio/creative space.. I bought a small long table ( A sofa console actually) with drawers and an large storage ottoman to put some of my creative stuff in ( I have a shelf in a "hall" closet that I have some things for my creating too. For inspiration I have a shelf or 2 dedicated on my bookshelf and a few binders with sheet protectors that I have put clippings from jewelry mags and any magazine that the jewelry, color inspired me. So I would say even if you only have a little bit of space you can still fit it in there if it's something you really want to do. I ended up getting rid of some things that were in that space I now.

re: Organize Your Bead Studio

ToliveInspired — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 01:36:38 GMT

re: Organize Your Bead Studio

DAD/SgCBlessings — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 23:33:45 GMT

hi all! this is the "virgin"!!! lol ive never beaded a bead in my life but here i r!!! i lost my only bio child-- a daughter-- 8 mos ago and im hoping that this will be my salvation!!! i love beaded jewelry-- jewelry period -- so im hoping that will b my motivator 2 continue w/ this endeavor. ive certainly had fun shopping!!! esp. at thrift stores as im a tree hugger and want 2 do my part. i have no idea what seeding/seeds is-- can someone explain that 2 me. im feeling like that might b a good start. but whadda i know??? im just doing this as therapy and dont have any money 2 invest as a business so ill feel blessed if at my darkest moments i get some comfort at this site. thank u all 4 sharing-- i appreciate it. have a God Blessed Day. kalyna

re: Organize Your Bead Studio

ChristieK@5 — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 05:07:24 GMT

I have stopped receiving Beading Daily and sorely miss it. Please help.

re: Organize Your Bead Studio

CathiT — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 12:38:34 GMT

Hi Jean, What a fabulous and inspiring article. As a result I went from a cramped, clutter dining table to a wonderful 6 foot table top I purchased from Ikea. It sits on two "shelf legs". These are two cool adjustable level shelving cabinets that double as the legs to hold up the table top. All my plastic beaded boxes sit there. I never thought about a separate box for my bead kits till I saw yours in the photo. Great idea. And the bulletin board is super too! I can have my grandgirlies photos there, one of my honey too, and lots of bead idea photos for easy reference. The table top itself has a giant wicker rectangualr tray filled with tins of all kinds that fit each compartment and hold tubes of beads, scissors, crimping tools and the like. 1 Small 9-box wooden cabinet sits on the desk top and the little compartment hold clasps and findings, misc decorative beads, dozens of little tubes of delica beads, etc. Also purchased at Ikea. Other decorative "special" items also are there, a neat decoupage jewelry box with bracelet samples, a soup can covered with a digital collage of some of my published works acts as a pencil holder. This area gives me great pride now, and I work at it a little each day tidying it all up before bed so can sit there in the early morning with a cup of coffee, my little mini-studio has given me so much joy. Thanks Jean for inspiring us, and to let us see your "mess". I was so thrilled to know that a professional and busy mom and career woman such as yourself also fights the battle of the cluttered and disorganized bead table. Cathi Tessier lingeringbead@yahoo.com

re: Organize Your Bead Studio

Johnsbl — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 01:53:58 GMT

I have set up my beading table in my sewing room (master bedroom). I have half the room dedicated to sewing and two tables to beading. One 4ft table has three hardware bins with multi sized drawers. I keep my gemstone beads in one 18 drawer set. I have all my metals (findings, spacers, clasps, chains, etc) organized in a 30/9 drawer set. The third one is a 60 drawer set organized in colors of seed beads and other misc beads. They set nicely on the back of the table against a wall. My second table is set up for fusing and soldering, soon to add an oven for polymer clay (possibly more unfinished projects?). I too have a hard time keeping my desk clean and would try to follow the advice of RobinE. Unfortunately for me, my love of beading has expanded into my living room being done on a portable laptop craft table. This now resides on my cutting table when not in use with similarly unfinished sewing projects/excess fabrics from finished ones. Thank you for Beading Daily! I find inspiration everywhere, especially in the comments section here.

re: Organize Your Bead Studio

Heron Moon Designworks — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 18:37:04 GMT

Unfinished projects are my bug-a-boo. I have a large studio but my work surfaces are old tabletops atop sawhorses, so I have little storage. My UFOs, as I call the projects that get interrupted mid-stream and that lie around on my tables for months, seem to wind up taking over the space. And they share it with plastic boxes of beads and trays of findings. I've finally come up with sturdy paper plates as a temporary solution. I scoop my UFOs onto the paper plates, and stack them in the corners. It's a poor solution: I can't see the projects and so never finish them--plus I tie up the beads that I might do better to use in another project. Now I have to move and must pack it all up, somehow, and find it again where ever I wind up. That may just be a good thing. I will probably put all the beads back in their original containers...and I'll have so many new choices, once I start unpacking, LOL.

re: Organize Your Bead Studio

RobinE@13 — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 12:49:52 GMT

I have 6 10 drawer plastic sets of drawers, (yes that sounds redundant!). They are all labeled and generally sorted by type of stone or bead or crystal. I think my most effective way of keeping the studio organized is to put materials away after I finish a piece. I have a bad habit of just moving materials to the side and then I can't find them if I need them. Another time saving tool is to enter the piece into the data base as soon as it is completed. That way I have all the materials I used right on hand with their codes, etc. Thank you, Beading Daily, for all your helpful hints!

re: Organize Your Bead Studio

shedevil50337 — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 10:55:48 GMT

It's interesting seeing how people get organised, and am rather jealous of the space some of you have. :-) I am forced to be very organised as I live in my bedroom. I am pretty much bed-bound due to illness so everything I need throughout the day is crammed into the bedroom. This incudes lots of books, laptop, somewhere to make hot drinks and store food during the day and, of course, all my beading supplies. The latter are stored in 2 laptop bags, which are left on the bed when my partner goes to work and then can be easily slid down onto the floor when I've finished with them. Inside the bags, everything is put into bags and then into clearly labelled plastic sandwich boxes (to cut costs, most are the boxes that take-away rice was delivered in). I only have 1 box specifically designed for beading use, and this is used for findings. One laptop bag contains beads and the other findings and tools. Any finished items are stored in a separate box, in individual bags, although I don't have many: as money is tight, I've given almost everything away as presents for Christmas and birthdays, and the few that have been kept are in my jewellery box for personal use. I've only been beading for a few months and hope to sell my creations once I feel what I make is worth buying. lol I'll have to arrange more suitable storage for finished pieces when that happens, although I hope to make most to order to cut down on the stock levels of finished pieces. The one invaluable thing I use is my large wooden tray on short legs. I use it for everything, such as resting the laptop on it when I'm able to sit up, using it as a proper tray at mealtimes, and it is also great for beading. I lay a couple of bead mats onto it, and I'm away. :-)

re: Organize Your Bead Studio

ccrawford727@yahoo.com — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 14:29:28 GMT

Okay, here's my 2 cents worth...I also work from a closet in a guest bedroom, but I placed a desk in front of it and I use the closet space to store my bins, carts, supplies, etc. The desk is parallel with the closet and my chair is between the two, so I can just swivel around to get supplies, and swivel back to work at the desk. (I think the feng shui issue is covered because I am facing outward!) Then I can close the closet door and leave the room looking fairly neat (except for all the projects I have going on the desk,... but that's another story :).

re: Organize Your Bead Studio

RobinA@20 — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 19:35:14 GMT

Must be in the wind... not the snow... the organizing! I started four days ago and still am not finished. One trick for me was to let go of some stuff, as in take it to the thrift store. Not easy to do... I am taking fabric, spools of waxed thread and some beads... about two plastic tub's worth. But it feels good. Now I can get more current items off of my work space and into the storage tubs. Yay! Thanks for this topic, Jean! Robin A.