Tour of the New-Look Studio Corner

Yay!  After a good long game of furniture tetris (a phrase I am blatantly nicking from little red hen's comment on the previous post)  I've managed to squeeze a third working desk into my studio.  The only problem now is, well... you know when you spill something on the carpet and you get the stain remover out and create a clean spot so then there is much more to do... well my new corner is like that clean spot, I'm so happy with it I want to makeover the whole studio.

So let's see if we can count how many items in this picture are from ikea... there's the table and chair, the red frames, the little drawers, the magnetic strips and the (ahem... un-ironed) curtain.  The artwork in the frames is by Chrissy Foreman C and Rosie Music and the postcards are ones I've collected in Japan.  

The curtain even has little birds on it.  I'm thinking of keeping a few fabric pens at the desk and every now and then colouring in a bird or a leaf here and there.

And then there's my favourite... my washi tape drawers.  Just simple ikea wooden drawers covered in rows of Japanese washi tape.... I had so much fun doing that!

I like torn edges and as the drawers aren't a tight fit, I left the raw ends just on the inside for my own pleasure.  I cut the drawer holes out just with a fine pair of scissors.

Tired of always rummaging to find the right pair of scissors or pliers, I've popped everything up on magnetic knife strips.  I ran a strip of fabric tape along each one to pretty it up a bit.

In the morning when the little one saw the changes her first response was "Wooooow!".  I told her that it was my new work desk.

"No", my two year old was quick to correct me, it was her new drawing desk.  She went straight away to get her drawing paper, picked her favourite colour pencil (blue these days) and started on a new masterpiece.  Here's hoping the new space inspires the same spontaneous creativity in me.

And.... have you noticed the cleaner look of the blog?  I'm pretty happy with it.  If you're reading this via email (thanks for subscribing!) pop over and tell me what you think.

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Shadow Shot Sunday

It's been a long time since I've participated in Hey Harriet's Shadow Shot Sunday, but this morning as I opened the blinds in my workroom I couldn't not take this shot.  The sun streaming through the window was so inviting, the perfect start to a working winter Sunday.

Hope it's lovely wherever in the world you are today.

This is... the space in which I create

I was so excited by this weeks This is… theme thought up by Quilting Mick because it motivated me to do something I've been meaning to do for ages - put more up on my workspace wall. I have so many postcards by amazing artists from the Design Festa, so yesterday was the perfect time to do it.

So, this is, my space. Let's not use the word "manic"....

I still dearly miss the studio I had in Australia, with two walls of window with lovely soft natural lighting, but this space is still very special to me. I used to share it with my husband, until one day the dear man decided that he'd let me have it to myself. Now it's my own space to mess up (a lot of the time) and to keep tidy (sometimes) when I want.

I hung the postcards with fabric covered wooden pegs (bamboo - sustainable wood) and strung them with thin strips of vintage kimono fabric.

I also bought this cool room divider. It has adjustable poles that push into the floor and the ceiling to stay put. While I didn't need to divide the room as such, the mesh frame gives me so much extra hanging space. There are a bunch of hanging baskets on the other side too.

It's getting close to bedtime, but for a little while, I'm going to go and check out everyone elses spaces. Thanks for a great theme Quilting Mick!

Studio Snapshots

Doesn't it feel great working in a tidy room! I have to confess, I'm not always the neatest of people, and I really should remind myself of how much better I feel once I've tidied up.



My wonderful hubby surprised me with some flowers last night. They still have a little while before they're fully opened, but give me hope that spring is coming soon. The vase in an antique sake carafe I picked up in Kyoto. The Japanese calligraphy you can see behind the flowers was a gift, written by a dear student from school. It translates to "road", but is also used to mean "the path of life". I need to get around to mounting it properly... The other images are postcards by a Japanese designer I really like, all of guys and girls in kimono.

The rest of my wall needs some work. I have a couple of gorgeous pieces of artwork (done by others) that are waiting to be taken to the framers, so until then, there is just a clock I made with kimono fabric when I should have been doing my accounts or something, a postcard by Rosie Music, one of my Kimono Reincarnate swing tags (as a reminder to make some more and my failed pendants.

So that, is a sneak peek of my studio.... It's not where I want it to be yet and I'm hoping someone from my family has taken the hint and bought me Where Women Create so I can drool over other people's spaces, but for now, this is my space.