Big news! I finally have my very own studio! No more shared spaces!
Yes, it's exciting, but it turns out creating a functional workspace isn't easy. At this point I have made myself at home in fair number of workshops and certainly have ideas about how I want to set things up, but, like all projects, bringing an idea to fruition takes focus, dedication, and sometimes a little bit of heavy lifting.
I am not sure why I naively thought that once I got everything into one room it would be easier to organize. Like the spirit of Thor would tap me on the shoulder and point out the most logical placement for every tool? Thor is the "patron saint" of metalsmithing, right?
Instead, I am overwhelmed by boxes and piles. It seems I have a lot of shelving and organizational items, which you'd think would be helpful, but why did I file my center punch away in the drawer with the tweezers? That was silly because when I needed to use it, I couldn't find it.
On the flip side, other than my workbench, I don't have a lot of tables or open work surfaces. Which is kind of important. Where is my new bench lathe going to go? Do I have to clear off my soldering station in order to use it? It sure would be nice to stop moving my tumbler around. These little pull-out shelves on my card catalog are tempting surfaces, but not really a good long-term solution.
I am definitely gaining an appreciation for those well-oiled workshops in which I earned many a blister. I have a feeling those shops must have gone through several incarnations before settling into the ideal workspaces they became.
So for now maybe I, too, should just settle. Settle for a space that is an imperfect work in progress. Settle down and not panic every time I can't find what I need. Settle in, see how it goes... and wait for the spirit of Thor.
What was the last "blank slate" room you had to fill? How many times has it changed configurations? Let me know in the comments!
Woohoo for having your own space! You’ve got a great start to organizing with those card catalogs. I’m very much the type that needs to figure out the most logical way to organize everything when I’m in a new space, but I’ve learned that I find out what works best over time and it’s usually more insightful than trying to logic my way through it before I’ve spent time in the space. So I definitely think your shop will eventually settle into its own ideal. And until then, bask in the wonderful feeling of having YOUR OWN SHOP (!!!) and embrace the still-figuring-it-out phase!