Features
By
RaCh L.
We head to Wilmington, NC and go behind the scenes at The Cwafty Blog to tour RaChil's craft workshop:
I love how very home-made it is. Its my life goal to be able to make anything and everything so that fact that I have managed to construct a good portion of my own space makes me feel like I'm heading in the right direction with my goal. Even things I can't make yet, like the furniture, I've still tried to paint or refashion that I have some hand in them.
Tell us about your space
My workshop takes up a little more than half of the living room in my tiny two bed room apartment I share with my three lovely room mates. They are literal saints for letting me have that giant chunk of space and I love them all for it. I do pretty much all of my crafting, photographing, and shop/blog planning here. I have my computer upstairs in my room where I do all of my editing, writing, and various blogging stuff.
I do the majority of my crafting in this workshop area but sometimes it leaks over onto the kitchen table, or upstairs to my computer desk when I want to internet and work on something.
What have you done to make your space cosy, beautiful or inspiring?
A year or two ago I decided on a loose color scheme of plum purple, avocado green, tangerine orange, berry pink, dark brown. I really love those shades and I've tried to make some of my pieces such as my chair, my inspiration boards, my sewing machine cover, and some accessories match that scheme. I have decorated most of my office with my own creations, or work that people have made for me.
How do you keep organized?
Organization is one of my goals for 2014. I have been making small steps all year such as getting more storage shelves, sorting my massive hoard of supplies (I still am not done, I have ~10 years of accumulated craft supplies), trying to clear through my supply of half finished projects, and getting enough baskets/boxes/bins/tubs/organizers to store everything in. I guess the answer is I have a precarious half-organized system currently, but am working on sophisticating it.
Any tips & tricks for organising supplies?
Some that I am trying to make use of are:
1. Keep what you use the most frequently, the closest.
2. Have a designated place for scraps, whether it be paper, fabric, or yarn, keep it contained. If you don't use it, don't keep it.
I personally like to organize my specific supplies by color.
Which are your favourite possessions and are there any of your own creations on display?
Loads of my own stuff is on display. I painted that watercolor of the girl and the tornado, made that lemon display, the elephant head, refashioned both of my inspiration boards, etc. As for my favorite possessions, I would have to say my computer, my camera (which is actually a friends on permanent loan) and my sewing machine. They allow me to keep doing this blogging thing, which I have really grown to love over the past year.
How do you organise your inspiration and ideas?
I use a number of systems to keep all my ideas and inspiration organized.
1. I have a blog/shop planner which I always carry around with me where I write down project/product ideas, design them and make notes, plan segments, sales, marketing endeavors. It's a good thing I have this binder or I would probably go crazy.
2. I use my inspiration boards to keep track of colors, patterns, looks, fabrics, supplies, photos, and small items that spark ideas. I also keep notes, lists, goals, and deadlines on these boards. Sometimes they can get quite hectic.
3. I have a refashioned recipe box that I keep track of notecards with product/project ideas on one side and supplies/important steps on the other. The box has a section for coupons and a detachable strap so I take it shopping with me mostly.
Where do you look for inspiration?
I get a lot of my inspiration from various media that I like aka I am a huge fan girl. Cartoons, shows, movies, books, comics you name it I probably have a favorite and probably have a handmade item from said favorite. I also like to just observe what people are wearing/owning/using, what I see trending in stores, or just get random bits of inspiration in my brain.
If you had three wishes, what would you do to make it the dream space?
1. Enough baskets/boxes/bins/tubs/organizers to store everything in, in corresponding color-scheme matching shades.
2. An arsenal of the latest crafting machines, including but not limited to a 3D printer, a silhouette machine, a computerized sewing machine, a seam serger and more.
3. More wall space, and more windows would be a must.
Whose craft room would you love to explore? Send us a message!
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