Artist Studio Feature - German Dolls

German Dolls "Studio" Tour, a member of the Etsy, Natural Kids Team

My “studio” space is located in the entryway to our house. The word studio sounds too grand really. My little happy sewing space is barely 7x10 feet. Part of that space is taken up by a large old radiator.

The location of my creative space is a good and a bad thing. The good part is, that it forces me to keep things more orderly, since this is the room people look at first when they come to our house. The bad thing, of course, is that I must always put things away and can’t leave a big mess. But you’d be amazed to see what one can do with such a small space!

For the longest time I played with the idea of building a table over the radiator. I don't know why, but it appears, that the family gets tired of my things spilling over into the dining room/family work table. I don't understand why finding tape stuck to a book or page of homework is such a big deal...Do you?

Luckily last year my husband’s crafty woodworker uncle came and helped me ameliorate that stressful situation. I am so thankful I could realize my idea of having a side table. Together we built a new table off to the left side from my sewing table/desk. This space that was once wasted since I could not put any shelving or a table there, now serves as shipping and, cutting table. I also use it for taking photos of my dolls and doll clothes.

In one corner of the table I keep an antique Pepsi crate which I found at a flea market. The crate holds note cards, business cards, tape, and lots of small odds and ends that I need all the time…Note the gnome sitting behind the roll of tape in my tape dispenser. He is the guardian of my tape to remind the children that they have their own tape…What used to be wasted space has become a wonderful work space!

The dear uncle also built me a handy dandy storage shelf for some of my materials and shipping supplies. It is located above the side table and held in place by the window frames and some extra supports through L-brackets.

Unfortunately, there is not enough room for all of my fabric. The fabric I use for doll clothes is spread all over the house in various bins and dresser drawers. Sometimes it can take me a while to remember where I put a particular piece of cloth I am looking for…I wish I could keep everything in one room. But then again it’s good exercise walking up and down the stairs to get your materials together…

Be sure to visit Ulla's shop, German Dolls.