Friday 12 August 2011

Studio spy

First off, apologies for being a very lax blogger! I've been up to my eyes in wedding corsets, mostly underwear ones. Lots of last minute work and a bit stressed.

As I managed to catch my sewing room on a rare tidy day after I'd given it a good clear up (trust me, it normally looks like a bomb has hit it) I thought I'd take some pics of it so you can see where I work. As you'll see it's not big, just the small bedroom in my tenement flat and I have to say, it's in sore need of painting but the idea of clearing it to paint is pretty terrifying! It's a bit of nightmare to paint as it has very high ceilings and although it's a small room it takes a remarkable amount of the stuff! 


First, a general view from the door. Comfy chair, beloved Pfaff Creative 2.0 and the digital radio that keeps me company. I need another shelf above the top one, as it's a tip, but I haven't got round to doing that (or should I say I haven't got round to buying the shelf and getting someone else to do it).


Behind the chair - bolt-cutters for boning, a mini pressing station to save me having the big iron board out. grommet press and the end of my lovely 50s Singer 201k.


Frank the Singer and a dilapidated dress form I keep mainly for fitting for models as it's particularly small.


The wardrobe stores fabric and notions in those Ikea hanging sweater racks (and no I'm not opening the door, I didn't tidy that far, think yourself lucky you can't see the mess on top of the wardrobe!). Rolls of fabric and Naomi and Nicole the dress forms! The unfortunate stain on Nicole isn't mutant lactation, but a gel pad I'd used to pad up the bust that leaked a bit. Yes, she does have Sweep instead of a head! Oh, and lots of books, I do like my books!


My usual view, well it's usually messier. Thread in the plastic racks, and in the jars. Zippy was won for me at the shows :) The wedding photo in the mirror frame is my grandparents. This is just all the bits and pieces that make it homely, as I'm sat here a lot. I'll never be able to do minimalism!


Betty cracking the whip in case I'm skiving! And the bench grinder. Oh it's not all girly lace and ribbons in corsetmaking. Sometimes it's goggles and sparks and hardware!


And lastly a peek in the drawers where I attempt to organise things. Corsetry involves lots of little bits of notions and tools. I try to keep my grommets, bone tips, beads, buckles etc all filed in here. Needless to say it doesn't always stay that way.

Hope you've enjoyed a wee nosy around my workroom. Now I should really go back through and mess it up some more!





6 comments:

  1. Nice to see someone else who has named her mannequins. Mine is "Mona".
    And as for the tools and hardware, I get so peeved when my kids take the hammer and/or pliers from my sewing area! :)

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  2. My partner gets a bit irked at me for acquiring things from the toolbox ;) I think the Naomi and Nicole were his idea, after Watts and Kidman (he wishes LOL!)

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  3. Thats fantastic! I love looking at other peoples work spaces, peering into their minds a bit, though. Very tidy compared to mine!!

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  4. Thanks so much for sharing your work space with us! I love seeing how others solve space issues. You look so organized!

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  5. coo! your 201 is EXACTLY the same as mine! I am intregued by your bolt cutter machine set up .. did you mount that yourself?

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  6. I promise you, if you could see it right this moment none of you would think it was tidy or organised :) It's mostly a shambles with very brief windows of calm.


    Julia, it's, if I remember rightly, a 1954 model. I like the 50s models as they have all the benefits, but take less cleaning up.
    The bolt cutters - a friend's husband did them a while back. I have a picture on my facebook somewhere I'll look for. Basically they're just bolted onto a bracket, they work a treat.

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