another thing i’ve been needing is a place to keep multiple projects where they remain accessible, in sight, and out of the way. that’s a pretty tall order, i know. i decided to have my handyman hang some bars on a wall that was otherwise useless because of the location (two doors open up onto it…there are seven doors in my studio!). he took the wood from the old rack that he built before we moved and used it for the new bars on the wall. he didn’t have to cut the old wood or anything, luckily they were just about the right length already. talk about easy! all we had to buy were some cheap angle brackets and screws. now, at all times, i can see all of my projects that are waiting to be sewn! before the racks, i would just stack all my stuff on top of each other, losing track of what was for what project and why i had all that material out in the first place. it was a terrible system and took up most of my table space in the room. already, they have made my flow so much better that i’m thinking of hanging a few more bars!

the last thing (for now…) that we did in my studio was to set up a proper area for me to photograph my finished pieces. i had been using the teeny tiny wall space that also happened to be the back of a door, to take mediocre (at best) pictures of my finished work. it was really difficult to get a good shot that had proper lighting and no doorknobs, hinges, or light switches in the background. it actually made taking the photos more of a chore than part of the creative process. not good. i had the bright idea of thumb tacking a piece of material over the door to create a solid background and that was definitely better, but not ideal. and my handyman didn’t like the fact that it made it hard to get to the man-cave (garage). so, after a good brainstorming session, i picked a different wall to use. it has two doors next to each other that lead to the same utility closet that houses our central heat system and water heater. TWO DOORS. go figure. we never really get in there so i thought it would be a great wall space to use for photography. my handyman hung a double drapery bar (super cheap at home depot) and i made that thumb-tacked piece of material into a curtain. the second bar will be used to hang a dark curtain (thrift stores, here i come!) so i can have a choice of background when needed. viola! no more ugly door knobs and a nice background that i can just pull aside for entry into the closet. perfect! to solve my lighting problem, i used our club speaker stands and attached my trunk show clamp lights (also super cheap at home depot) to them. i use 60 watt (although i may move up to 75 watts) natural sunlight flood bulbs for the best color. the best thing about the clamp lights is that they are so portable, i can clip them anywhere on those stands for whatever lighting effect i need. so easy!

i owe a HUGE thank you to my personal handyman, donovan! without him, i would still be pulling ties out of bags and boxes and swimming around in chaos in my studio =)

next up to do: add some inspirational art and photos to the room!

as always, you can email me to purchase one of these boleros or to place a custom order!

i made this wrap around skirt out of 5 burgundy neckties and added a handmade, super sparkly ruffle. i used purple thread that matches the purple sheen on the ruffle. it fits up to size 40″ hips. want it? you can buy it at Trunk, SF or email me to request a custom skirt.

i made this adjustable vest out of four blue neckties. it is a ladies M/L with a single strap around the back that ties in the front. there are three snaps that allow 5 different adjustments to the length of the strap. want it? you can buy it at Trunk or you can email me if you want to place a custom order.

i made this vest by upcycling several neckties. it is mostly green with blues, purples, and other colors. the back is a sexy racerback style and the front has five shiny, green snaps to close it. it is a size S/M and fits a variety of shapes. want it? you can buy it here!