Studio Redo July 2018

15 months ago the brick and mortar shop closed and Zede lost her garage. A lot of fabric, duplicate supplies, samples, etc… came home with Mallory and Zede. Mind you their studio was not empty because it was used and worked in so all this stuff had to go some where – Zede’s garage, home studio and home gym space.

It can be really challenging to organize and clean up tons of stuff when you actively work and make more messes in the same area with the tons of stuff. We all really wanted the studio more organized, especially Zede. She didn’t want a partial clean-up job though, she wanted a plan and the time to execute it.

Cue the yellow legal pad page full of our cleanup choreography. This was an invaluable list that helped keep us on track and in communication about what was done and what needed to be done.

In one corner of the studio we had stock to sell and filming supplies and amidst this stuff Mallory would film FaceBook live videos and her and Zede would record the podcast. These cramped quarters were less than ideal and drove Zede crazy.

We had already cut the sellable stock down and wanted to trim it even more, the filming equipment needed to move too. Adjoining the studio via a doorway sans door is another room which was the old studio before the new studio space was built but what was quickly becoming the production studio. The filming/podcasting equipment, packing materials, a little office for Mal and storage for art supplies is now housed in the production studio.

So what was on this magical legal pad choreography list?

• tote up product – yes we did, and found it a new storage location
• organize, recycle, and store shipping boxes – lots of recycling
• reassign white bookshelves that housed product – serger thread storage, general storage
• Zede’s absolute most fantastic idea for storing long rolled bolts of fabric

This was the start of our list and we managed to cross these things off relatively quickly with a lot of hard work and ingenuity. The wall of serger threads on hanging racks were condensed into one bookshelf which saved so much wall space. The studio is over garage space so vertical wall space is at a minimum. The front wall is gabled and about 4′ high so nothing tall can really fit there. This space does work perfect for all the machines though, especially since we sit to sew/serge.  The other corner and most of the back wall house the stacks of fabric (our fabric library as we call it).

If you thought our genius ended at all that saved wall space from condensing the serger thread to bookshelves you have seriously underestimated us. Zede’s most brilliant idea was how she figured out how to store the rolled bolts (usually 40″-60″ tall) which there are at least 63 of (Sam counted). She consulted pinterest, google, and amazon to no avail. She came to the conclusion we either stored them in large contractor size trash cans with cinder blocks to weigh them down or …. use an old wood file cabinet that had seen better days.

The file cabinet won! Mallory and Sam were super impressed and loved this idea. We cleaned out the cabinet and treated it with tung oil, removed all the drawers and laid it on its back and there are these perfect sections to hold up all the fabric bolts. This cabinet originally belonged to Zede’s father and she can remember seeing it in his office when she was 10-12 years old. So we know this cabinet is at least 55 years old and now has a second life holding beautiful rolls of fabric.

This storage revelation was so great because we had tall bolts of fabric stored in 4-5 different places and in shallow containers so they were always falling over. Not any more!

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THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY: THE EASY T CLASS

The Easy T Class is the first online sewing class from SewHere.com.

We’re excited to offer an introductory course on pattern drafting, because we know that one of the biggest obstacles in sewing your own clothes is getting the right fit. Instead of downloading a pattern, taping it together, and then cutting it apart again to try and get a perfect fit, try taking your own measurements and drafting this simple top.

The Easy T is a semi-fitted, short-sleeved shirt made from a lightweight, woven fabric.  While the possibilities for customization are endless, we recommend sticking to the basics for your first custom pattern.

One student says, “I ve purchased many (20+) online classes from Craftsy, Creative Live and others. Your Easy T videos are some of the best I ve seen. I love that you created many concise, easy to understand segments.  Breaking the steps down in separate  short sections makes it easy to follow and review things.”

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With all this newly freed up floor space we were able to move the pressing area. Instead of having the ironing board and pressing stuff wedged in by the sergers we now have a roomier dedicated space for this activity.

We did move all the filming and podcasting equipment into the production studio but modified the choreography a bit. The original plan was to have a permanent set up for filming and photography in this area but with all the extra space in the cleaned up sewing studio we decided to film in the working studio instead.

All the things got labeled, no seriously even the pin cushions. It’s important tools get put back where they are needed. The white cabinet in the production studio was hung so the podcast mics have a home too.

Things on the choreography list to still complete are a designated phone charging station/drink bar. We don’t enjoy searching for our phones under mounds of fabric or spilling drinks either. There are also plans to decorate the space and make it more lively and possibly add a wallpaper accent wall. Stayed tuned for the reveal.

Tangents This week

• Zede and Mal play fun guessing games of how many rotary cutters, curves, rulers, etc…
• The back story of the white cabinet
• Mal’s studio envy of evielaluve on Instagram. Her studio specializes in lingerie and Mal finds her very specialized studio space so enchanting

Shout Outs

• Noah gets permission not only to visit the studio again but to actually be able to talk about what he saw,  lol  (the new studio set up is pretty nice in our opinion)
• Go to the SelfSewn Wardrobe Facebook group and search for Fred Berry – she did an excellent job on a small space studio redo

Keep in touch with us at:

www.SewHere.com

Self Sewn Wardrobe Facebook Group

@ZedesSewingStudio on Instagram