Bead Table Wednesday - Working in Small Spaces

I've had a few people ask me if I was going to start Bead Table Wednesday again and I thought, yeah, I should do that!  So here we on Wednesday and I know there is a still a faithful group sharing on their blogs, I hope they will also share on our Flickr group so we can connect again!  It's always so much fun to see what everyone is up and their messy work tables!

I'm in a temporary studio setting.  We have a large studio space downstairs.  It's the size of our main floor.  It has a nice sliding glass door to let in light.  It had the bare bones of something awesome.  And then I injured my knee and stairs are a no-no for now.  So there sits my empty studio and we work in every nook and cranny in my living and dining room. 

Since I have been making more jewelry the beads were taking over the dining room table.  We weren't eating at the dining room table and bead piles were growing out of control.  So I had Jess bring up one of my studio tables and we re-arranged the dining room to include a bead corner.  The tables we found for my studio have two leaves on both sides that fold down and can be used as a buffet if needed.

Most of my beads are stored on a large bookshelf. Nothing fancy, just boxes sorted by materials and colors. Labeled on the outside with my trusty sharpie marker to find things easier.

My essentials tools are on the table, but the big tools hang out in our pantry.  A pantry that doesn't house any dry goods, only beads, tools and various business stuff.

It's not ideal, but I wanted to share that you can be creative and look around in your current space - no matter how small - to carve out a dedicated work space for your beads.

When we were young and rented a small apartment, we used a large cubby bookshelf as a room divider and lined one wall with skinny folding tables and storage under the tables.  It didn't matter that is was a 8' x 4' space, it was mine! 

We hope to move soon and that our new place will include a room that we can use as a dedicated studio/office.  I can't wait to stretch out again.  And more importantly have a door that closes at the end of the day and I can separate from work at night.

And what kind of beads are on my table? Just orders mostly getting ready to head out across the country.  I do have these that are heading into my Etsy shop soon.  Queen Anne's Lace have been one of my muses this summer.

So what's on your Bead Table today?  Check out the Flickr group to see what others are creating and to add your photos.