Where WESTies Create - Episode 9: emms gEM's and jake + cleo

Welcome to the jewelry studio portion of my home!

I'm Emily of emmsgems and I'm also the shorter half of jake + cleo  and this is where jewelry is made. Last time we met, I took you on a tour of my sewing corner in the basement of my house, where I create my line of fabric bags, emmspocketshop. Now I'm giving you a peak at a room on the main floor of my home, where I design jewelry and my husband hunkers down in our home office.

I should mention that the room actually does triple duty. Under gEM's desk, and somewhat hidden by the rolling cart full of beads, is a cat litter box. I have an older cat who can't climb stairs so I had to find a space for her business on the main floor. This table holds bins, tins and towers of beads. There is always a piece of jewelry on the go in the work area, and is strategically hidden under a towel. It isn't that I fear the paparazzi peeking in the window and snapping pics of my work, but I have a second cat who loves to get her paws in to everything.

I mentioned that I help to create jake + cleo jewelry, and a portion of this room is reserved for this work. A great rolling set of drawers holds jake + cleo 's designing, creating, assembling and shipping needs. We can leave the drawers here, or roll it out to the light filled kitchen and spread out there.

The closet in this room holds a number of things. gEM's necklaces hang on hangers, earrings and bracelets are in boxes. Other boxes hold shipping supplies, display pieces, and extra things. We have two cardboard light boxes and one nylon light cube for photographing product. This mess is an organized mess.

Here are few other photos: a tackle box of beads, the gEM's layout board, and a kiln (hidden in the basement) for firing jake + cleo pieces.

Where WESTies Create: Episode 8 AdorablesbyAlisia

Welcome to my home!  The home of Adorables by Alisia…Come on in!

Living in a basically open concept loft can be pretty challenging when it comes to having a workspace area. I TRY to confine myself to our little den right here…

Yes, it looks neat and tidy, but realize it’s not craft show season right now, so I’m able to keep things mostly under control… I will show you a few of my “secret” hiding spaces though. This is one of my favourite spaces in our loft. I’ve loaded it up with tons of pictures of family, friends and vacations; it’s a great place to curl up in my chair and crochet. I’m still in search of a great slip cover for the chair which was a free hand me down when my in-laws moved – hence the rust on rust tone I have going on….

 

I have a bit of a wool addiction, especially when I find a great sale. I like to stock up on fun colours and soft, cuddly feeling wool. I have yet to find a way to organize it, and more often than not, when I get an order and don’t want to plug through my pile, I go out and buy colours I most likely already have…

 

My husband HAAAATES this corner, as it tends to get pretty full and starts to push the chair away from the wall and further and further in to the hall. It’s currently housing my wool scraps, miscellaneous buttons and a load of bags for my newest project – making Plarn (or plastic bag yarn!).

This is my “office” and also my “photo studio.” We purchased this re-purposed dining table a few months ago, and it also happens to make a great back drop for my photos. The natural light is perfect for taking pictures here! My husband also works from home at times, so we spend many an hour working alongside each other. I love that I can look out my window while I work and see the beautiful Exchange District!  During Craft sale season, this area is usually over taken by stock and table set up things as well!

Another hiding place/creative storage area. Behind my clothes I keep a suitcase with any current stock I have on hand, vacuum packed to fit in as much as I can.  Keeping it this way is also helpful for transporting it to craft sales and such.  Some more bags for my “Plarn Project” are also stored here.

Well, that’s my space – it’s ever evolving like Etsy Shop and business. 

Where WESTies Create: Episode 5, Heidi-and-Seek Boutique

Hi! I'm Heidi from Heidi-and-Seek Boutique I started out my little business when I was in college, and started my Etsy Shop on May 4th of 2009! I've come so far since then, it's amazing to see what happens when you really start working on your dream!

Anyway, here are a few photos of my studio. Almost 1 year ago my husband and I bought this house (he was still my fiance at the time), and I insisted that I needed to have a proper sewing room, so the second bedroom upstairs was deemed 'sewing studio.'  Here's my computer and shipping desk.

It so happens that my dad is a carpenter and had all these leftover cabinets and shelving units that were PERFECT for what I needed.

He also made me this fabulous cutting table with storage cubbies!! Best part-there's cubbies on both sides and it's on wheels!

Across the way is my sewing machine and serger, I LOVE having this much space for the machines.

Another beauty, a hanging rod for my items and a little extra shelf space above :)

I hope you've enjoyed a little peek into my creative space, to be honest, this was right after I cleaned it up for the new year...it usually looks a lot more cluttered ;)

If you want to find out more about what goes on in my creative space, feel free to follow me on my blog, Heidi-and-Seek. Thanks for reading!

Where WESTies Create: Episode 4, Prairie Peasant

Hi! I'm Laura, the designer and creator behind everything you see in the PrairiePeasant and PrairieThreads Etsy shops. I'm happy to show you today the spaces where I create--but be warned, these are not the perfect spaces you will see in studio magazines where everything is colour coordinated and in its place. No, these are real places, where real work happens!

This is my basement studio, a large bedroom that I laid claim to when we bought this house 12 years ago. This was the first creative space I could call my own and I love it! It rarely gets tidier than this, despite my best intentions, but today you can actually see parts of the floor, so that's not bad!

Most of the furnishings have been salvaged from renovations (home and work), improvised, or purchased at great sale prices. My sewing table is a reject flat door from a hardware store on folding legs. On it are my serger and sewing machine, and many projects, current and queued, both mine and at least one of my daughter's. There are bins for storing fabric everywhere--there are more hidden under the table and in the laundry room. On the left side wall under the window is a long counter top with deep shelves for storing paper. It's a nice work height for standing (my professional career as an occupational therapist helped with the ergonomics!), and has a light table which I use frequently.

The opposite view shows my other work table which I found at the Habitat ReStore for $25. It was dinged up and needed a leg repair, but well worth it! It has longer legs (think barstool height), so again, it's a nice height for standing and working. I use this table for cutting both fabrics and papers, so it gets tidied a little more often. Mounted from the ceiling is a roll of paper that I use for some book making and the few wall spaces hold my kids' artwork. I use peg boards on the walls for organizing some tools and supplies.

I don't always like to be holed up in my basement room, so I often work in this corner of the living room, by the front window. On the wall is my daughter's "copying the masters" piece from art class. Here I can have more contact with my family and not feel as isolated. I work on envelopes and binding books at this station. The table is a drop leaf table that my mother bought in the 1950's when she moved out on her own and the chair was my husband's grandmother's.

My husband says I'm a space hog, since I probably use more space in the house than anyone else! I have salvaged books stacked everywhere, and finished journals and boxes of bookboard are stored in an out-of-use shower stall.

In the room adjacent to my studio is an office. Here I do all my computer work and packaging and shipping.

I use all recycled shipping materials, and have them stored in boxes here, along with some supplies and finished products.

Thanks for stopping by and visiting! I hope you will stop in at my PrairiePeasant and PrairieThreads etsy shops or visit me on facebook.

Where WESTies Create: Episode 3, Tawny Bee

Hi, I'm Tawny from Tawny Bee!

I'm a work at home mommy who creates sewn items (mostly housewares) in between shuttling two kids to school, cleaning the house, cooking, attempting not to eat all the leftover Christmas chocolate I find in this house, doing the hokie pokie, breaking up sibling rivalries, finding lost socks, laundry, snow shoveling, etc.

And my work space is in the middle of all the chaos.

Welcome to my basement.

Here is my sewing machine set up against one of the walls right next to my computer.

I move my chair back and forth depending on if I'm working on Etsy on the computer, or if I'm sewing.  Of course, I usually have to boot a lazy cat off the chair before I can even do that.

Directly to my right as I'm working is usually a scene very similar to this:

Those are my little munchkins. They are pretty used to playing around me while I work. If you look carefully to the very right of the photo is the entrance to my laundry room.... er... I mean.... STUDIO of course. :)

In my studio you will find my cutting table. It should be cleared and ready for me to lay out my patterns and fabric and do some serious work. But instead it has become more of a catch all for various projects on the go. The brown basket with handles holds the squares for the Tawny Bee quilt I'm working on. The blue folded mess is an almost finished rag rug for my son. My homemade patterns are stacked underneath the basket.

Most of my stock in stored in those bins underneath the table. And of course my crafty apron that holds most of my work supplies (scissors, pens, chalk, some safety pins, a ruler, measuring tape, etc) is folded on top of the happy face box. Lace and ribbon of every sort is hanging from a pant hanger above it all.

And the beautiful mural that my son made for me has a special spot on the wall. It features trees and train tracks. Bottle Squid that I made with the kids out of empty milk jugs are hanging right above the table.  I always have my kids' creative energy proudly displayed all over my work area.

We go a little further into my laundry.... I mean Studio... and we see my ironing board.  An essential tool for anyone working with the fibre arts. And once again it is half used as a catch all.  I also use my ironing board for packaging orders.  Hence the packing tape. And another use for the ole ironing board is "snap placing" table. I use my snap pliers to attach all the plastic snaps to my mama cloth creations on this board. Hence the jars full of snap parts. I have an analog Pinterest board above me here where I "pin" all the fun things I find from magazines and general crafty stuff including a calendar for blogging, craft shows, shipping deadlines etc.

Once again, I try to include my kids' art in my work space. Their Sponge Bob art gallery fills me with creative energy whenever they pin up a new masterpiece (this time it's 3 eyed paper monsters).

A little further into my studio we find the back wall where I store most of my supplies.

Fabric lines the one shelf.  It may look a little chaotic, but I can find most everything. The top shelf is for upcycling materials and is covered with a blanket because my cat likes to lay on top of this pile and even though I wash everything before use, I don't want her shedding on any of my fabric. The second shelf features knits, fleece and velour. The third shelf is for cottons. The bottom shelf is for quilt batting. Along the side I store binding, buttons, zippers, velcro etc. You can see my giant hanger full of repair items hanging directly in front of my supplies. I figured if I hung it there, I might actually get to it one day. Nope... that hasn't happened. :)

If you look to the left, you will see my basket of mama cloth and a box full of wrapped toy hammocks on the bottom shelf. And again, above everything is the stuff for my kids - puzzles, games etc.

Devo the Found Objects Robot that I made (on the second shelf down on the left most shelves) presides over everything. He's the Tawny Bee manager and quality control. He always reminds me to do a good job and not send anything out that I don't think is absolutely perfect.

Thus ends our tour of the Tawny Bee work space. I hope you enjoyed hanging out with me today! Stay tuned for more Where WESTies Create tours.

Where WESTies Create: Episode 2, NancyBloklandPottery

I am Nancy Blokland, of NancyBloklandPottery, a functional potter in Winnipeg.  I am in my 29th year of my love affair with clay, and in my 2nd year on Etsy where my shop is NancyBloklandPottery. I am a supporter of handmade and have been doing crafts of one kind or another since I was nine years old, when my mother taught me to knit, I learned to embroider and an auntie taught me broomstick lace which I don't think anyone does anymore.

My space in the basement of my house is very small and congested, as it is a converted bedroom with a closet reducing the space. It is functional but not very inspiring. I am hoping to tackle the issue of walls over the next few months when production demands are typically lower. 

My wedging table and where I do my handbuilding and store the clay, new and reclaimed.

 

Glazes stored in buckets

Trimmings from the pots

 

Lace doilies, handmade, rescued from an MCC Thrift store, that will be rolled into clay and become trays, bowls, soap dishes and more!

 

Pots drying for the bisque, which broke this week and after 300.00 plus is reportedly in working order again.

This is my studio, and it is probably evident why I call my blog, Muddy Mama. Here are some photos of my little space in my basement where I obviously don't spend a lot of time cleaning, but work gets done. Pottery is not tidy, that is for sure!

Where WESTies Create: Episode 1, PeriwinkleDzyns

WEST is happy to introduce a new regular blog feature - Where WESTies create!

How regular you ask?

About as regular as the odd spaces we will be featuring! Every once in a while we will be popping in to feature the unique creative spaces where WEST members bend over hacked up work benches and work their fingers to the bone to mold beautiful objects just for you, our wonderful fans!

Are these spaces going to be worthy of those glossy magazines or make that denizen of glitz and glamour proud? Probably not. Will we have a few chuckles and enjoy seeing where real people create? ABSOLUTELY!

Our first volunteer,conscript, is the crazy lady that stepped up to execute this idea! It's our wise WESTie leader, Ruth of PeriwinkleDzyns. Ok, confession time, she's also the one writing this, so let's just say she's wise in her own mind and leave it at that! And besides that, I'm the only one foolish enough to lay it all out there! Or am I? You'll have to stay tuned to find out!

Welcome to my studio! We thought we would start off with the only 3 square feet of empty floor space. Nestled in the heart of old St James, this hardwood floored studio is a former play room that used to house Lego and Groovy Girls. Now it is both working and storage space for my eco friendly jewellery line.

And that extension cord? That's so I can use my dremel; somehow I lost track of where the plug ins are in the studio, or maybe I just can't get to them any more... heehee, your choice in that scenario!

These pictures caught me in between holiday craft sales. Piles of stock, working trays, and just lots of stuff greet you as you enter this inner sanctum of upcycling. It's not always a glamorous business involving manicures and spotless colour co-ordinated work places with lots of painted surfaces and accents--this is real baby!

Here's where it all happens, the work bench aka salvaged 70's office table. It's got lots of flat surface and plenty of task lighting - both necessary ingredients for the fine detailed work I do!

I call it my studio because it makes a much more impressive moniker than "room where I shove all my sh**t." I love to label my storage containers but often find that my good intentions are out-weighed by the reality of keeping a home, day job and small business afloat. Mostly I remember what's in all those bags and boxes, kinda...

I've always been a less than stellar home maker (did I ever mention I really don't get that recent obsession with mid century house wifery some of you gals have? No? going on record here and now!), and cleaning has never been much of a priority. Life is too short to even once consider that you'll be worried about those dust bunnies when all is said and done!

This virtual tour shows you how I think and create in the real world! A lot of chaos, but mostly with a huge sense of humour and a speck of patience. I hope you loved the tour as much as I enjoyed sharing my real space, where a real woman creates!

Hello from Hearts of Glass!

Hello! We've just joined the Winnipeg Etsy Street Team and wanted to introduce ourselves. :) Hearts of Glass is Andrea Steinwand and Heather Stewart (me). We sell at local shows and at heartsofglass.etsy.com and have an active blog at hogtalismans.blogspot.com.

We melt glass in our studio torch and shape it into colourful and intricate lampworked beads. We offer our beads loose to designers and also finished into beautiful bracelets, pins, necklaces and pendants.
My own favorite obsession is the encased floral bead, where I build flowers out of tiny glass dots and trap them between wraps of clear glass. We also love to make sculpted pendants in natural forms such as leaves, stars, and calla lilies, abstract pendants featuring fun oxide colour reactions and effects, body jewellery, and these fun cuff bracelets using our glass toggle closures and recycled leather belts.
















Our next big show will be at the fabulous and wonderful Winnipeg Folk Fest! See you there, if we don't meet earlier at a WEST event! We're very excited to be part of the team.