The Bead Dungeon and related topics

My mom turned 95 in March.  For Mother's Day this year, my sisters and I decided to make videos for her of our homes and other little tidbits she might enjoy.  Since she has never been able to see my studio, I thought she might enjoy that.  But before video taping the "tour", there was a lot of cleaning that needed to be done.  Since I am not a person that cleans needlessly, it occurred to me that this would be a good time to take some pics and start a series of blog posts.  I love seeing other's studios and how they are organized  (or not!).  Plus I thought I would throw in some beading tips and shortcuts I have picked up over the years. 

First, the studio.  You know the pictures you see on Pinterest of the brightly colored studio with sunshine streaming in the big windows that overlook a fabulous flower garden?  A sea breeze billows the lace curtains and the huge room is furnished with coordinated spotless furniture.  Oh yeh, and there is no clutter.  Well, go back to Pinterest right now and gaze some more- get it out of your system, cuz that is NOT my studio.  In fact, I am being a bit hoity-toity here, calling it a "studio".  Around here it is known as "the dungeon".

I'll give you a bit of a description.   As the name implies, it is in the basement.  I have no windows or natural light.  (I do have an exhaust/inlet fan to provide fresh air and clear out fumes) I would dearly love natural light, but we work with what we have. I make myself feel better by thinking about the fact I work at night, and would not have natural light anyway. As for furniture, it is scavenged from here and there- a mishmash of whatever works.

Now about the clutter.  Well lets just say, if there was a TV show called Bead Hoarders- I would be the star.  I have so many beads I couldn't use them all if I. lived to 100.  Then I bought some more.  The room is small to begin with, and beading stuff is crammed into every available space.  It is pretty organized, but there is LOTS of stuff.

Here is a snapshot of one corner of the dungeon.  (really- there are 2 more walls of beads!) I have tidied up a bit, but this is before major cleaning.  I will take you around it in future posts to show you more close up.

 We also have a 25ft. RV that we use to travel to shows and for vacations.  We end up spending many weeks at a time in it.  I take my beads with me (of course!) and work on the road.  I can make a piece, list it on Etsy, make the sale, and ship it all from the road.  I love when that happens!!

In the RV, I have lots of natural light.  And sometimes a sea breeze, as well as beautiful scenery. (In fact, look out the window on the pictures. Right now we are listening to the sound of this babbling brook. Almost as good as a sea breeze!?)  But a definite lack of space.  So storage has been a challenge and I have had a lot of experience packing.  My husband just built those 2 bead cabinets for me.  I can't wait till next time to show you what is inside them!! Awesome!!

Although neither work space is ideal, I feel so fortunate to have these places where I can bead. The dungeon is cozy and peaceful and set off from everything.  If I want to leave a project sprawled out over everything for a couple of days, I can.  No need to take care of it so there will be a place to eat dinner.  Everything is within easy reach and I happily lose track of time, often beading till 3AM. 

So there's the overview.  Next time I will start showing you how my beads are organized and stored.  Right now I have to go buy some more beads- I think I saw a little corner that wasn't filled!