Thursday 25 March 2010

Our Creative Space...


On account of our Quit your day job interview on Etsy this week, we have received several comments and inquiries regarding our bead drawers, so we decided to share more in detail what and how they are.
This type of drawers is used mostly by architects and such to store drawings. They are called flat file cabinets and you should be able to find them at mayor office supply stores in your country. They are very expensive, so maybe you can find them second hand, but check that they have strong, good functioning ball-bearing rails. A single drawer of this size filled with glass or stone beads can easily weight 40-50 kgs, so simple rails won't do.

Also, be sure to open only one drawer at the time or the whole cabinet will topple forward. Yes, it happened to us, with a million beads on the ground as a result.


The last drawer is bigger to accomodate spools with wire and other larger stuff. The other drawers are only 3'' (7.5cm) high for optimal use of the space. These cabinets can be found in several sizes, but this is the best drawer hight.


The inserts are cheap plastic boxes, also available in several sizes.

An excellent alternative for the architect cabinets is this office cabinet, ALEX from Ikea. It looks small in comparision, but the drawers are A2 in size, so lots of stuff can be stored in them too. The drawer hight is the same, but they fit under tables and they are mobile! They are quite affordable too.


Here we have used those plastic partitioned boxes that you may allready have to store your beads. You can remove the lids for easy access and they allow for even more detailled sorting of your goodies.

Splurging in good storage saves a lot of time when creating and will make you extremely happy :)

Again, a big thank you to everybody who took the time to comment on the interview and send us sympathy and encouragement. You rock!!
You can see more workspaces at Kootoyoo's blog!

19 comments:

  1. You are so right, good storage is the key to being a happy maker!

    Loved your interview, well done on your wonderful achievments:)))

    ReplyDelete
  2. WOW! It's like a store! So many supplies!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. How wonderfully stocked and organised! Thanks for sharing your storage tips, and huge congrats once again on the feature! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. It's the dream land of supplies :)
    I think I'll have a better look to that Ikea cabinet, looks very practical indeed!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who envies your storage cabinets :) You have a great environment for creafting! :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for sharing! Think I'll go at Ikea this week-end...

    ReplyDelete
  7. I could spend days and days looking at your drawers....can I come over for a bead therapy? :-)

    ReplyDelete
  8. wow... impressive! i love the storage just like that. making massive amount of stocks become so organised. thanks for sharing, Estella!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Such a nice interview! I'm agreat fun of your art :)))
    Marica

    ReplyDelete
  10. Judit: you are more then welcome
    :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. aaaaaaaaaaaaa1!!!
    no comments..
    i have just fainted...
    SUPLIEEEEESSSSSSS

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wow. I love the look of this. And look at all those beads! Again - wow!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wow I would love to come and bead at your studio !
    It's like the cave of Alibaba !

    ReplyDelete
  14. Fab storage, Star! You guys are so organised! :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. First of all I want to congratulate you both on the Etsy feature!! It was so inspiring to read your story and learn more about you. I am so happy for you!

    Your drawers are amazing. When I read that once they toppled my heart skipped a beat. Oh my goodness, I can not imagine the work it took to pick up all those beads from the ground!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Your drawers look like a wonderful glittering treasure chest. I have an Alex and absolutely love him, the drawers glide like a dream, I'm sure I'll end up getting another. : ) Fab post!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. what an amazing stash ... thanks for the opportunity to rummage through your drawers. i love looking at other people's stashes. they always look more interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Your work space is amazing! I love the light and the colors of the furniture, it all gives a fantastic feeling of calm and clean ambience :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. This is soooo great! Amazing organization you have! I'm in love with that drawers too, might try the IKEA ones, thank you for sharing!!

    ReplyDelete