How to Organize Your Crafting Space

Having only done three stores on the So. Cal. Bead Shop Hop this past weekend, I am taking today and Thursday to delve into slightly different directions, but ones that sprang from my mad dashing from store to store these past two weeks. Today I am going to explore how the heck I am going to get all these new beads and tools into my workspace!

I started out with a plea across Internet for ideas on how my fellow designers organize their workspaces. Just because I’ve been doing this since 1995 doesn’t mean I know everything about how to wrangle a bead or corral tools.

While I was waiting for replies, I did a search to see what I could come up with that I could pass on as nifty ideas. Now, just because I use these ideas in my jewelry design business does not mean it only works for jewelry designers. If you are crafty and have to squeeze your obsession/hobby/business into a small space, it is my hope that you can gain something from this post.

My friend Anna made this out of a box and toilet paper rolls:

Annas-tool-caddy

(Look! She hangs her tools off the side of the box just like I do!)

Another friend, Alison, uses a tool chest, which I have also done in the past. I got rid of mine because I wanted my tools more accessible and always available once we got settled into our new place last year.

This is a great video (which is actually for short parts) by a scrap booker who took a room that was a DISASTER AREA and transformed it into something beautiful, organized and functional. It’s definitely worth a look through!

This is the before

 

One more tip, in fact, 6 handy tips:

1. Label everything or you’ll find nothing.
2. Bag silver so it doesn’t tarnish.
3. If you work with seed beads, GET A FUZZY MAT!
4. Store away beads and projects you won’t get to for a while so they’re out of the way.
5. Stick with one particular type of storage container for each project, i.e., put all your delica or seed beads in the same style of container so they stack and pack neatly and more efficiently.
6. Stack vertically – reach towareds that ceiling! Utilize every centimeter of space if space is at a premium.

If you are a crafter, how do you organize your space? We’d love to hear your thoughts. Please leave a comment before you go and let us know, or let us know if we helped you.

Tomorrow: 2014 So. Cal. Bead Shop Hop Day #4, Store #6 – Brea Bead Works, Brea.

Kristine Cherry
About

Owner of KC Dragonfly.

1 Comment on “How to Organize Your Crafting Space

  1. This is a really well done video and has some really great ideas for all sorts of crafters, not just jewelry makers. I really like the way you are able to utilize such a small space with so much stuff and keep it from looking totally cluttered. Great job. 😀

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