My Studio

Since I'm super famous and go swimming in my money on the weekends (pretty much like Scrooge McDuck)... I live at home with my parents and work out of the dining room, well i've kinda spread into the living room and kitchen... oops. I'm so lucky that my parents let me take over their house with my mess of fabrics, papers, tools, and other random stuff. They never complain and are always supportive. My dad has even added another chore to his nightly routine when he comes home from work: vacuuming up threads... but he did get himself a handheld Dyson that looks like an alien gun from Stargate to accomplish this nightly mission, so that makes him happy I guess. Anyway. Everyday I have my computer on the kitchen table ready to respond to e-mails and work on any photo retouching and graphics stuff, and there is always a coffee cup next to it as well as a mound of paperwork that will later be "filed" onto the bench next to where I sit so we can eat dinner. I do need to work on a better way to keep my papers organized, but thats for another day.

The dining room is where i spend the majority of my time. Again, being über supportive, my mom emptied out her china cabinet while i was in college so i could put my fabrics in there. Every inch of the dining room is utilized. A super duty clothing rack in one corner holds all my samples, malina patterns, muslins for upcoming fittings, alterations, and some of my dad's shirts that my mom ironed and forgot about. In the opposite corner are two shelving units to hold supplies, boxes of notions, lace, and tulle, as well as more fabric that didn't make it into the china cabinet. The table is a great table, even though its a little low, it has a pad on it which makes it really easy to pattern-make and trace clothing etc. the available working area tends to get smaller and smaller until i organize and it begins again. You'd think that i loose things and am very unorganized from this photo, but i am surprisingly good at remembering where i put things and when i cover it up with stuff... nothing is ever lost in the "studio" its just temporarily misplaced.

The cleanest area of the dining room is the wall that faces the backyard. Against the window are two tables, one with my sewing machine on it and the other holds the serger. This area stays very organized, most likely due to the fact that i simply cannot store anything in my fish tank.

Finally there is my iron and ironing board... which I love! This is were i've oozed into the living room. It was a little cramped in the dining room with the ironing board in there. I have also taken over the shelving unit behind the ironing board with books, books and more books.

Even though i've set up a great space to work in, again thanks to my parents, its really hard to get motivated. When i'm home all day, all alone, its really hard to start another pattern at 3:00, when what i really want to do it take a nap. I get a lot of good ideas laying on the couch... does that count as working?? I'm not complaining, i'm just venting since I had one of those days today. A day when i work at a great speed for 4 hours and hit a wall... I feel like crap and i have plenty of work to keep me busy, i know i have to do it, but all i can think about is taking a nap. Today, i caved and took a nap for about 45min. I did come up with a great design for my aunt's new top... but i still feel bad about it. On days like today its just a non-stop battle with me and myself and its draining. I wish I had a better way of dealing with it, but so far no luck. I've gotten a little better at time management in terms of when to turn on the tv (no earlier than 3:30), when to go the fabric store, and when to go visit grandma and grandpa for some soup and company. I've very grateful that I have this opportunity to have such a great free workspace (with a fridge full of food nearby)... but at times I kinda wish I had a boss to push me a little harder and a time schedule that i had to stick too.