Ode To A Magnetic Strip

My workshop has never been neat and tidy. Don't get me wrong, everything has a place, but when I'm in the midst of fabricating, I need it all right at my fingertips. Tangles of tools pile up in an order that only I can decipher (sometimes). Pliers, hammers, wires, saws, and tweezers heap together and begin to hinder. Efficiency goes down the drain and takes motivation with it.

And then there are my metal files, hanging neatly on that magnetic strip (picture me, head tilted to one side gazing lovingly). Just look at them all— waiting at the ready, like soldiers in formation. Simple physics keep them orderly, recognizable, and within an arm's reach. Makes me want to...make.

What makes life easier in your workshop/studio/home?

Studio or Workshop?

I am never sure what to call it—Studio or workshop. "Studio" sounds artistic, refined, and peaceful. "Workshop" sounds rustic, industrial, and well, a bit elvish.

Tucked into a corner of my basement, partly under the stairs and an arm's reach from the hot water heater, my space is both of those things—a studio where I design my jewelry and a workshop where I fabricate it.

It is cool in the summer and chill-to-the-bone cold in the winter. It's gray all around, as most basements are, but the splashes of color I have added give it just enough life. A nearby window brings in some natural light, which is one of my favorite things about the space. A Radio, iPod player, TV, fan, and portable radiator provide all the creature comforts I could ask for. I consider myself lucky to "commute" down the stairs into a space that has everything I need to design, saw, forge, and solder tiny works of art.

Call it what I may, my sometimes studio, sometimes workshop is an all-the-time pleasure.