Workshop Tour

My unassuming workshop means the world to me. It's my space. My office/ studio/ workshop. My workshop was once a very ugly bar area in a rented house that had seen better days. That's how I first saw it, when I came to view our home during the pest and building inspection. My husband and I were both so over looking at houses at that stage. We'd sold our last house and were living with family, I was pregnant with Emerson, and we just wanted to find our new home. But the right home eluded us. We knew where we wanted to live, we knew what we wanted to find, it was just a matter of finding it. We thought we had found it a couple of times, but highway noise and gigantic cracks had put us off a few properties. In the end my husband viewed the house without me, on his way home from work. He put in an offer and signed the paper work before I had even seen it. But I trusted him.

The first time I saw my workshop I was a little in shock. We had wanted a house that was a fixer-upper. But I had not bargained for a home that was full of asbestos and needed a new roof and ceiling. As the building inspector pointed out all the faults, I walked around the weed filled back yard with it's millions of pot holes from a bored staffy, thinking I might cry. Dave was enthusiastic, despite the fact that we couldn't move in until the asbestos had been cleared, carpets removed, floor polished, walls painted and so on and so on.

When we viewed under the house I saw my workshop with it's marine grade carpet, large wooden bar and brick walls. And I saw it's potential. Dave and I argued discussed in the car on the way home as to who had rights to the bar area. Dave saw it as having great man cave potential, and had mentally relegated my tools to the garage. I on the other hand had the financial argument on my side - that my workshop was capable of returning money, while his man cave was not. My husband is a good man, and I got my workshop. 

Many thanks to the lovely Trudi Le Brese for coming and photographing my unassuming, well loved space. 

Jewellers Bench Inspiration

Hannah Ferrara

Jewellery Quarter Museum, Birmingham

Kim Victoria Wearne

Kajs

Kim Wearne

Aaron Ruff

Gild Atelier 

Artilleiret

Ponte Vechio Jeweller

Jamie Lyn

Studio spaces. Sigh. Much like sketchbooks, I could look at them all day long. Even better, exploring other artists work spaces in real life. My twin sister has had the honor of visiting Brett Whiteley's studio in New South Wales, as well as Allan Ginsberg's apartment in New York. While my own workshop snooping has involved Margaret Olley and lesser known, but no less fascinating, artists. 

Are you also fond of a studio snoop?

Studio Tour

Before

After

A colourful clutter of inspiration and necessities 

My new Frieda Kahlo doll. A birthday gift from my sister, handmade by Jennie.

Tools of the trade - My ultrasonic (for cleaning jewellery) is hiding behind the polishing machine, in the middle is my pickle (a heated acid solution that removes flux from heated metals), as well as my rolling mill (for rolling the metal to the desired thickness of plate or bars, or preparing the metal to be drawn down in to wire.)

One would hardly guess, when looking at the 'before' photo of my bench, that I am usually a 'place for everything and everything in it's place' kind of girl, especially when it comes to my tools. I like to tidy up and put everything away when I've finished working, so that I sit down to a clean bench the next time. Only, it wasn't quite feasible during the rush of market prep. Tidying up seemed like a bit of a luxury. My table became a dumping ground of tools, half finished projects, packaging, and general craziness as I tried to get as much done as possible as time ran out. Working amongst the mess has reaffirmed for me why I tidy up at the end of the day!

Yesterday I pottered around the studio cleaning up and sorting out, while the children played, swept the floor and made more mess. Once I have sorted out their pile of toys on the floor, and the pile of mending on my sewing table, all will be well in my studio again. But at least, for the time being, I can now sit down and work on some custom pieces with room to move and think. And a tidy bench.

What does your work space look like?

Are you neat or messy, or both?

I just noticed that I need to fix the date on my bench clock.

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PS. Happy birthday to my dearest darling twin sister! And happy birthday to me! 32. Oh my! 

Grateful for

- positive news at my check up at the eye clinic 

- a small area of focus in my vision

- friends and family who have taken over the reins of cooking, cleaning and child wrangling while I recover from surgery

- happy yellow flowers on my table from a friend

- towels straight off the line, still warm, and so fresh smelling

- how a shower can make you feel better

- babies laughter - arguably the best sound in the world

- audio books of 'Cloud Atlas', 'The Great Gatsby', 'The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy' and 'The Happiness Project'

- the entertainment afforded by a four year old's imagination

- garter stitch - as soon as I had approval from the specialist I cast on my next project, with 7mm needles and 10 ply wool, which I can work on for short periods of time before my eye tires

- so, so very grateful that my friends and family are safe after the floods that Queensland experienced again recently

Hoping you are all safe and well, dear readers, with much to be grateful for too.
I'd love for you to share something you are grateful for in the comments.

Lately

1 & 2. Thrifted round cushion and gum boots

3. So many choices

4. Egg and dairy free baking

5. My little helper is teething

Thanks to all those who joined in the Handmade Ornament Swap! Everyone who sent an email has been included (no matter if our time zones differed and the linky had closed. If you emailed me, you are in.) Sign up is closed now and 72 crafty folk are taking part. What a fantastic response! Even better than I had expected. Thanks everyone for sending through your details and for all your kind words. And thanks to everyone who helped spread the word. We have swappers from Australia, New Zealand, USA, UK, Portugal, Germany, Canada, Turkey and the Czech Republic.

I have begun matching up partners, which is a lengthy process. Each swapper needs a partner for their ornament and a second partner to receive an ornament from, so three people in total need to be matched. If they have chosen to make two ornaments that number goes up to five people. Then the variables such as national or international, likes and dislikes, come in to play. I've enjoyed reading all your likes and dislikes. I have noticed that pink and brown seem to be the most disliked; while traditional colours, embroidery and crochet top the most liked. Everyone will receive an email before the first of November with their partners details. 

I can't wait to see what everyone makes!

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I found this pair of old, rusty, green and white enamel industrial lights on ebay recently and declared them my Valentine's gift from Dave (making things easier for him indeed) and the perfect lights for my studio. In return, Dave decided upon a concert ticket earlier in the month to see Cavaleara Conspiracy at West End. (Not my cup of tea I'm afraid.) Dave also surprised me with an array of sweets yesterday and cooked me my favourite meal while organising for family to look after Cohen. He surely knows the way to this pregnant woman's heart is with good food and sweets.

His next trick is to dismantle and hang the second light shade...

How was your Valentine's Day?

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We celebrated the New Year a midst the company of friends and family (and a friendly possum). Though we welcomed it tucked up in our beds, woken by the dog at midnight, barking at the fireworks. These first days of the new year have been spent about the house. Dave has been felling trees and working in the garden, generally after a morning surf. I have been pottering, planting seeds, nesting, knitting, reading and playing in the studio, as there have been some new additions.

Coralie Bickford-Smith designed Penguin Classics

On Christmas morning there was a rather large box under the tree with my name on it. A surprise from my sweet husband. I had mentioned to him in passing that I thought the Coralie Bickford-Smith cloth bound series was beautiful. This information he filed away until the lead up to Christmas, where he called and visited many a bookshop in the City to secretly amass this collection. I had not a clue as to any of this and was delighted Christmas day to be surrounded by the most wonderful books. (Another two books are still making their way by post!)

Which lead us to the first addition to the studio. Such lovely books surely deserved shelves of their own I thought, to which my husband agreed, even braving Ikea on his own to retrieve these Lack shelves. My search for a sofa bed to add extra comfort and practicality to the space lead to the next addition. I was thrilled to win this darling for only 99 cents on ebay, which folds out to a double bed.

I'm loving how this space is coming together. A light shade, a rug, some more frames, perhaps a coat of paint on the sewing table, and it will be close to being finished for a time. One day we plan to have the concrete floor polished also.

The details - The trio of prints are by Gretchenmist, the hanging tray and white frame were thrifted, the wooden hand is from Typo and a gift from my sister, the white chair was a free road side find, the camera on the shelf is my trusty Minolta from my Uni days, the white head statue beside it I brought back from Athens, the vintage sewing baskets on the shelf below are thrifted, as are the other baskets in these shots, the pillow is a thrifted gift from my sister and the throw is a crochet one I made.

PS. Don't forget to enter the Shabby Apple giveaway. The winner will be drawn on Thursday.

30

I never really thought about where I would be, or who I would be, by the time I turned thirty. Thirty seemed quite old to me as a child, as did twenty-one, though that number seemed to have more glamour. Perhaps being a wife and mother, renovating a house and working in my studio is without glamour. Perhaps our days of world travelling and nights out partying are behind us for awhile. But thirty comes with a sense of success and fulfillment that has taken me this long to achieve and appreciate. As well as many dreams for the future. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Happy birthday dear twin sister, half of my heart and closest friend. I love you. I love you.