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Come on in, don't be shy! I'm happy you stopped by today. I always have time to take a break and show people around.
Unlike some of the photos I've seen of studio and workshop spaces , especially on Etsy. mine is not neat and uncluttered, but it is organized.
Even when I was a teacher, my desk was always messy with projects. I could never understand how one can stay in the creative zone if they were always stopping to straighten things up. But that's just me.
My studio space is our entire basement, which is quite large. Right now I'm taking you through one room which is the main work area where I spend most of my time.
Organization is Key to a Functional Studio

Create an Organizational System that Works for You
My space is filled from floor to ceiling. Because I work in mixed media, my supplies are varied. So I keep like with like and label everything. Even though there are probably thousands of items in here, I can easily put my finger on a particular supply when I need it
Here is where I keep all my embossing powders and metallic paints. They fit nicely in this old shelf and I quickly find what color I am in need of.

Where my husband works they were throwing out these old wooden boxes. How could they!!! So he rescued them and shared his bounty, some are in his workshop in the garage and some are with me.
The wooden rack they are on is from the Wellness Center I used to operate, so it has found a new home. The way this rack is made the shelves are adjustable, which is a great feature. All my boxes are labeled and put with similar items. Encaustic supplies together, Shoe People supplies together, well you get the idea.

Here is my work table with a tray of items I am currently working on. I keep what I use the most on this table so it is within easy reach and I don't have to keep getting up and down to find something I need.

I rarely buy anything new for storage, I use what I have laying around or buy something very cheaply at a thrift shop.
This is an example of using a cardboard box that I made dividers for to hold pens, plastic ware, markers, etc. Not pretty but very functional, and of course cheap!

Most of the stamps here are flat cling stamps and chunky stamps. There are other places I store my wooden stamps.

When doing mixed media and altered journals I use a lot of ink pads. The most frequently used are at my desk but the extras fit nicely in one of these old cassette tape boxes. The ink pads are about the same size, so it is a perfect fit.

Remember those old wire storage cubes? Well they are a great storage solution. I have created a lot of custom shelves with these.
Form a cube, then add additional shelves to the size you need inside the cube. I use zip strips to hold them together.
The final result is very sturdy. This shelf is at the end of a row, so I Can also hang stuff off the outside.
You know you can't let a good space go to waste!

Here I am using the cubes as they were originally designed to be put together .
I have stacked two together and use the small grid slots to hold rolls of paper, dowel rods, or anything long and thin.
Small rolls go to the front, longer rolls to the back.

Again, the ability to customize the size of the shelf you want makes it very space efficient.

Stored in a metal tool box on a rolling stand, I was the lucky recipient from someone who was getting rid of this fabulous piece!

Another wooden stamp storage idea. I used an old shelf for the stamps and it is hung on a small wall space.
I have used every nook and cranny in this shop area to put supplies.

As I keep saying, no space goes unused.
I have 4 doors in this room and all of them hold supplies.
Here I hung a rack over the door which holds chains and large rolls of copper.

Here using an old book case. I have stored my acrylics, special paints, gesso, and assorted supplies.

More paints. A swivel rack holds a lot of paint, organized by color.
To the left leaning against the knee wall is a handmade paint rack again using one of the grid cube pieces.
Behind this knee wall is my sink. Supplies are stored on that side as well.
I have additional paint stations but won't bore you.

This works perfectly to store all by ribbons and twines.

Keeps them in one place and easy to find the brush I'm looking for.

Easy to see what I have when I am looking.

Here are my polymer clay supplies and reference books.

Here is my jewelry making supply section.


One of my favorite things to do is go to the junkyard with my husband to find old rusty metal parts to use in my art work.

Of course I couldn't ignore the space on top of these cabinets, so they hold glazes, and specialty supplies, like liver of sulfur, stamp cleaner, rubbing alcohol, salt, instant coffee and anything else that doesn't fit nicely with other supplies.


This is one of my prized thrift store finds, costing me a total of 99 cents.
Thanks for taking the time to visit with me. I hope I have given you some ideas for storage solutions in your studio.
Now your turn, is there a storage idea you have that is clever, efficient and inexpensive?
I would love to hear what you do to solve your storage problems.