Bead organization options

Yes, I know I said it was going to be bead organization porn, but I really didn't want people stumbling onto my blog when they were looking for something else.

This is all from the trip that Steve and I took to Madison, Wisconsin for our anniversary.  We were only gone for one night, but we packed quite a bit into those two days!  The chief thing we did was to go antiquing.  Neither of us had done this before, and we found it to be quite a bit of fun, once we got past the "Oh, my goodness - how does one find anything in all of this?" feeling:

Imagine this multiplied again and again and again, and that's only one half of one aisle!  We quickly started poking around and found a number of neat items - old dominoes with lions on them, skeleton keys, and other things that I would love to use for my business, such as this card rack:

I think this could be used to hold my tutorials when I do bead shows, but the price is $84!  That seems a bit ridiculous to me, and I'm not positive it'll work.  When I'm in Madison next I'll bring some tutorials along to see if they'll fit (provided the rack is still there) and see if I can dicker the price down.  I think this would give a lot of character to my table plus provide a needed service.  Ah, well.  I can do without.

This rack got me to thinking... what other things would antique stores have that could be used for displays or for bead organization?

I found plenty of items in many shapes and sizes.

This is a watch/crystal case for $325:

Cabs and art beads would feel right at home in this case!

The brown one below is a spice cabinet for $165, and the green one is a 10 drawer cabinet for $89:

We saw many, many spice cabinets.  A number of them were smaller than the one above.

This one is a spool cabinet for $195:

Can't you just imagine all the tubes of Delicas you can store in this?

I'm not sure what this cabinet is - the picture I took isn't clear enough to make out what it was originally for.  I do know that it's about $445:

Tubes and bags and spools, oh my!

I didn't have foresight to take a better picture of the tag of this next one, but it even has colors listed to help with sorting:

This next one is a rolling parts organizer for $180:  I imagine it'd be nice for books or magazines or a number of other things:

Heck, it could even be used for yarn for crocheters and knitters!

Here's another watch/clock crystal case for $48:

This would lend quite an interesting look to one's studio!

I've saved the best for last.  The one I drooled, squealed, and generally went nuts over:

Steve says it's taller than I am, but I'm not so sure.  It's about $3400, if I remember correctly (I didn't get a good picture of this tag, either).  The base has drawers along three sides.  I don't think the top part spins, but I was afraid to try.  Here's what it originally was:

It appears to be a turn of the LAST century piece!  It's in beautiful shape with sizes of bolts and screws burned into the wood, and just take a look at these drawers:

Some of the drawers even have dividers in them!  I can never look at this enough, so here's another picture:

So... the moral of the story, er, point to this blog is that you can find bead organization and storage options in many different places.  Yeah, most of what I showed you here is out of a normal person's price range (or that bolt and screw case would be sitting in my studio right now - I could NOT talk Steve into it!), but with enough digging and creative thinking, you can find some perfect pieces to make your space pretty while you're storing your beads or other craft items!

Busy busy busy, part 2

As promised, here's what I'll be doing for the rest of the year.  I won't be nearly as busy as I have been (see yesterday's post in case you missed it), but the next month does have its challenges.

Well, my organized studio is a mess again.  That accursed table is back because I needed the flat surface for putting kit supplies on for the Milwaukee Bead Show I discussed yesterday, and it's become a dumping ground again.  I need to get all new supplies inventoried and cleaned up so I can move the table out of here, but I just haven't had the energy.

I'll have to do my best to get that done in the next week because we're having my mother and stepfather over for Thanksgiving.  Steve makes such a nice turkey, even if he refuses to deep fry it.  He keeps talking about unintentionally setting the house on fire if he tries.  Probably wise, but I hear it's SOOO tasty!  I'll be making our traditional German wedding soup (even though Steve says it's bland - I think his taste buds lack finesse).

The following week is when the challenge comes in.  I sort of double booked myself.  I'm doing a craft show at St. John's United Church of Christ in Waukegan, Illinois (1520 North McAree Road to be exact, if you're in the area) on December 1st from 9-2.  I'm also teaching my Winter Wonderland class that day from 2-4 at Knot Just Beads:

Oops!  If there are enough students that the class will proceed, Steve will come down to Waukegan to finish my show out for me and to pack my stuff up, and I'll come back up to teach the class.  It's a good problem to have, so if you'd like to learn how to make this odd count peyote snowflake bracelet, please call Knot Just Beads at (414) 771-8360 for more information and to sign up!

The following week is the Milwaukee German Immersion School's Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Market) on December 8th from 10-3.  This one is very close to home (the school is located at 3778 N. 82nd Street in Milwaukee), and it was bustling last year!  There's a lot to see, so if you can make it, please come and find me!

And in between that, I'll be posting things on Etsy, setting things up for next year, and wrapping up businessy-type things for this year.  I made a spreadsheet that grabs numbers from all different places, so all I'll have to do is run a few reports, plug a few more numbers in, and - Voila! - I'm ready for taxes!

Whew!  I'll soon be off to bead at the Knot Just Beads for their UFO event (UnFinished Object).  It never stops, I tell you!

Have a safe weekend, and I'll be back next week for "Bead Organization Porn"!

Busy busy busy!

Has it really been almost two months since my last post?  You need to poke me every once in a while and say, "Hey!  Post something!"  Truth to tell, I've been poking myself quite a bit (about posting - get your minds out of the gutter, if you please), but as you know from my Time post, time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.  (Heh - I blinked, and it's Thursday.  You'll have to read the Time post to know what I'm talking about.)

Let's see... what happened since my last post on 9/24/2012 (not necessarily in chronological order):

I co-hosted a baby shower for my cousin Dawn.  I made the invitations a month before, of course, but I had decorations to make.  Here's a mobile I made that hung in the dining room:

I was a vendor at the Milwaukee Bead Show (hosted by Knot Just Beads) with my darling Steve there to help me:

Steve and I went away for a night for our 4th anniversary to Madison.  I made a contact with a bead store that will hopefully carry my designs, and we did a lot of antiquing.  We stayed at a wonderful Bed & Breakfast (Sweet Autumn Inn in Lake Mills, WI) and saw "Hello Dolly" at the Fireside Theatre in Fort Atkinson.  I'm planning on doing a "Bead Organization Porn" blog about a bunch of the different things I saw while antiquing.    We also went to Ella's Deli in Madison which was amazing.  It has to be seen to be believed.  There's stuff moving all over the place inside - I really cannot describe it.  To give you a hint about what it's like, here's Steve and me on the full size carousel outside the restaurant:

The following Saturday I taught a class at Knot Just Beads (Shadowed Diamonds), and it was my mother's birthday.  We had dinner with them on Sunday.  The following week I led a class at Vision Forward for blind and visually impaired ladies (for community service for the Loose Bead Society), and the cold that was brewing hit me (and Steve) hard.  I barely moved off of the couch for over a week.

After that was Loominosity - a collaborative sale that the Loose Bead Society holds with the Wisconsin Handweavers.  I helped with checking pieces in from a number of vendors and with cashiering for a few hours on a few days.  It was a lot of fun!

The NEXT week was Jewelry at the Domes (at the Mitchell Park Domes in Milwaukee).  That was two days of selling and visiting with my friends.  It was a lot of fun but very tiring!  Here's Tammy Rae Wolter who was my neighbor at the show with her gorgeous display:

And somewhere in the middle of all that:

I signed up to have a table at the Madison Art Glass and Bead Show in March, and I'll be participating in the Make 'n Take event.  I'm also hopeful I'll teach a class, but I need to get that proposal sent in soon!

And finally, I also found out that I'm teaching my "Tubed Key, or Not Tubed Key" class at the Bead&Button Show next year!

That covers the highlights.  Tomorrow I'll fill you in on what's going on in the next month.  I need a nap!