The New Shop
After several months of downsizing and 6 weeks of active moving, I have finally arrived at my new place in the textile art world.
I wisely drew up a floor plan, which verified my gut feeling that I needed to find new homes for some of my furniture, and put other pieces to new purposes. Losing a patio shed meant that anything I wanted to keep, had to become a useful thing rather than a stored thing. So I pulled my grandfather’s tool chest out of the shed and cleaned it up. It now holds my sewing threads and common tools.
My grandmother’s blanket chest became the new filing cabinet, which rolls under what had previously been my sewing desk. My turntable and cutting pads fit nicely into a drawer that used to hold threads. The top of my coffee table transformed that desk into my new cutting table.
The shelving in the cutting room miraculously snuggled in between the electrical outlets, which might be a first. My photographic lights now illuminate the working surfaces, and better utilization of the shelving allowed for decorative pieces along the top. Artwork in every room! This room also laid out well for economy of movement, with nearly everything within arms reach – another first.
Since I’m leaning towards a 1910 aesthetic, I took some time to add some little details, like converting a photocopy of a sewing manual into book format…
…and covering my office chair to accompany the new sewing table, which sits in front of a window facing east, with a 180 degree view of the landscape. I’ve never lived in a place where I could see the sunrise…
Old tea canisters are now pen and brush holders. Magnets adhered to the bottom of a Chinese brush holder will now retrieve pins from the shag carpeting that is exposed between my Turkish rugs.
I’ve also spent the last 4 weeks doing conservation work on a 1904 treadle sewing machine, which I will detail in my next post.
With all the activity that happens with moving a textile shop, I decided to not downgrade this website to a blog after all. I’ve made enough major changes to my environment this year already…
I like the new place, and the positives it offers. Having a window on the world is a happy thing. Best of luck with all that comes next.