Linking to: Savvy City Farmer Where Woman Creates
The studio has finally been cleared of all the sanding/painting/general storage debris. We’ve put up the slat wall, suspended ceiling, and storage wall. John has hooked up the electrical fixtures. I’m mostly moved in. Who knows, I may even be able to start making art this month!
Studio Before photo
I’ve given a fair bit of thought to studio design. I’ve been very fortunate to have had my own two wonderful large studio spaces in the past, plus a shared space at Granville Island, and have visited the studios of scores of fibre artists. My lecture, A Space for Sewing: 101 Great Ideas presents examples of practical design.
Studio After photo
This studio will be the culmination of all I’ve learned about studio design for quilt artists. Some salient points:
Light/Electrical: Most of the natural light is from windows facing south east. I have that light at my back when sewing, and have a mirror mounted to reflect the view. Four energy-efficient fluorescent ceiling panel lights are outfitted with natural daylight tubes, and the sewing machine, 
dyeing sink have pot lights mounted directly above. There are plenty of electrical outlets, mounted in the ceiling, and at counter height and regular height. Heat is provided by a small electric kick-space heater under the dye sink.
Floor: Is sealed polished concrete, which acts as a heat sink on sunny winter days. Four inches of styrofoam insulation below the slab. The floor is sloped to a drain, should any dye sinks over-flow.
Storage: The 18′ back wall is covered with 24″ deep floor-to-ceiling shelves. Quilt storage is on the wall, 
covered with cloth and plastic
, to keep out dust, light and water leaks.
Four ranks of Omni-carts 
fit below one shelf, and another shelf is sized to store two dollhouses. Fabric storage is in laundry baskets.
Thread storage is in plastic bags in the drawers of the table.
Thanks to Judy Morningstar for this idea.
Thanks to Judy Morningstar for this suggestion. Fabric is arranged by colour, easy to see, and has air circulation to prevent mold.
The doors for this storage unit are 8′x 8′ felt-covered work walls, mounted with sliding barn door hardware.
(See how we built these doors/design walls here.)
Clear acrylic drawer fronts show what's inside
Two stacks of acrylic-fronted drawers hold notions.
Workspace: Is an L-shaped arrangement of the sewing machine and work table (an old Home Economics clothing lab table, covered with melamine for fabric dyeing/painting and fitted with a hanging shelf below.) 
Two old re-purposed office cabinets are high enough to do rotary-cutting and hold my 2′x4′ ironing board.
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Those are the highlights of my studio. I’m very lucky.
Floor plan:
(I have decided not to have a pottery wheel in my fibre studio. It will live in the garden shed instead.)
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Happy Dance !!!
Love Joy
This studio looks like a place where good things will happen. My burning question is: will you remember how to sew after this long hiatus?
How will you keep the issues of pottery dust out of the fabrics?
Your whole journey has been fascinating. Thanks for sharing it with us all.
hugs from Judy
Well… I think sewing is like a language – once you ingest it, it comes back real fast. But, that was a rhetorical question, wasn’t it?
For pottery dust, I will build a 5×5 “room” in the corner of the studio for the wheel and pottery supplies, which will be shut off. And, when I was learning pottery, I learned that you wet-mop everything every time you finish for the day. That really helps to keep the dust out of fabric and out of my lungs.
Thanks for the kudos, my friend.
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