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We head to Oakville in Ontario, Canada to tour Darcy Allan's craft space.
I am so grateful to have a spot away from my living quarters to go to and make a mess. It's also an outlet for all the tiny, pink + mint green furniture I paint or thrift.
Tell us about your space
My craft space/studio is 525sq. feet of pastel, retro inspired, kitschy kitsch goodness but with white walls. I live in a 1 bedroom apt. so I am so grateful to have a spot away from my living quarters to go to and make a mess. It's also an outlet for all the tiny, pink + mint green furniture I paint or thrift. My home, which I also share with my boyfriend was becoming a candy shop to say the least. Now whenever I find something kitschy + good I have a place to put it:)
What have you done to make your space cosy, beautiful or inspiring?
When I first moved into the spot, the previous tenant was an accountant who worked with the lights off. It was a big brown room. I brightened it up with every ounce of pastel in me. White walls, and lots of thrifted, repainted furniture went in. My favorite thing I did was put up an entire wall of Amy Butler wall paper. It was a splurge, but became the main focus and I am SO happy I did. Little do people know but behind that gorgeous floral paper is a gross brown wall.
How do you keep organized?
So this was my biggest challenge moving in. I am super organized and love when everything has a spot. But when you're working with a tiny space, and LOTS of material to put into that space, it was difficult. All I can say is, thank you IKEA and thank you IKEA AS IS section. I found some great, inexpensive shelves and units to house all my supplies and sewing machines and materials.
Any tips & tricks for organising supplies?
Keep like things together. Because I have a lot of children that come through my studio, things get disorganized quickly so I'm constantly having to have "cleaning days' where I'll put everything back into its correct bin, box, tray, drawer etc. BUT everything has a place in here. I even have a SHARPIE tin. If I find a sharpie in with the regular markers...watch out. It's that organized!
Which are your favourite possessions and are there any of your own creations on display?
My favorite thing in here is the giant, wintergreen display case. It was thrifted for $30 and was gross and old and brown. It is such a beautiful piece now and holds a lot of the items I have for sale in the shop portion. I also LOVE this thrifted, mustard chair I bought for guests to sit on if they're here for a party or lesson. I painted the legs and it's one of those things that people either say EW THATS SO UGLY or...WOW WHAT A GORGEOUS CHAIR. I of course think the latter. I do have lots of my illustrations up on the walls. Because I teach, young girls it's a great way to show them where they could be one day if they keep at it!
How do you organise your inspiration and ideas?
I am such an organized person...except when it comes to thoughts. I have tried and tried again to keep a sketchbook. I have a planner in my purse right now that is lacking half my life. As of right now...I typically store it all in my brain. It's not the greatest of methods, but it works. 50% of the time;)
Where do you look for inspiration?
I look for inspiration typically when I'm out and about. People inspire me, old furniture inspires me, decrepit walls inspire me. You name it if it's weird and old...I love it.
If you had three wishes, what would you do to make it the dream space?
1: I would like another room for storage + supplies that aren't pretty and don't look nice out on display ( example...a water cooler, my mini fridge)
2. a closet for coats.
3. painted checkerboard floors ( I already asked the landlord and he looked at me like I had asked to paint over the Mona Lisa)
Whose craft room would you love to explore? Send us a message!
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