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ric-rac
Come behind the scenes at Ric Rac and tour Jodie's colourful sewing room filled with adorable plushies.
My absolute favourite thing about this space is that I have it. I spent many years crafting on the end of the kitchen table, shoving things into tubs and under beds to keep spaces livable and now with this space I don't have to.
I don't have to share it with half a laundry or a study and it doesn't need to be turned back into a guest room at the drop of a hat.
I love that my craft work doesn't have to be interrupted or packed away.
Tell us about your space
My sewing room is a former bedroom. I used to have a sewing room in a tiny room at the back of the house but now that my kids are grown and left home I upgraded ! It is always a mess. I used to religiously clean it and make it look like an inspiring pinterest-worthy craft space for interviews but I hate that falseness. It is unreal and certainly unattainable for me so I am happy that Cat agreed to me sharing my real sewing space with you.
What have you done to make your space cosy, beautiful or inspiring?
I am not sure that anyone could describe my room as beautiful or inspiring but there is a certain colourful chaos about it that I love. The best thing I have done is get proper heating installed, so now even on the coldest Ballarat day the room is still a welcoming place to be. This has made a huge difference ! I spend a lot of time in my sewing room and although it is filled with tiny wonderful fun things, it is a workroom so functionality tends to win over beauty. I am constantly juggling things around to make everything fit. It is filled with half made toys and limbs, tiny bits of hardware and loads and loads of felt and fabric.
How do you keep organized?
Although it may appear otherwise I am actually really organised. (I am a librarian by day). I have a to-do list every single day and I always have a combination of hand , machine and computer based projects on the go at the same time so I can switch between them as I need to.
On the back of my sewing table are six green tubs, I bought these in the misguided hope that they would help me contain myself myself to six projects at a time. They are an epic fail in that department but a great way to keep parts of a project (or three) together in the same spot.
Any tips & tricks for organising supplies?
Buy more containers ! I am a sucker for storage systems, I love buying new containers and organizing and labeling everything. Of course I eventually outgrow the containers or see something that I am sure will be better so the whole process starts again. I think organizing a craft space is a constant evolution.
I am sure it is people like me who keep storage shops in business.
Which are your favourite possessions and are there any of your own creations on display?
Scissors are some of my favourite possessions. I am ridiculously fond of them. Of course I am a collector of robots and old toys, and any manner of fun things that catch my eye but scissors are my most favourite. I am trying to curb my collecting of random stuffs but I will always collect scissors.
Most of my creations on display are prototypes of toys that didn't work, headless bodies and body less heads. I have other makers toys on display and enjoy the creative circus of all the things mixed in together.
How do you organise your inspiration and ideas?
I am not much of a sketcher so my ideas usually begin in fabric. Those tubs on the sewing table contain lots of beginnings of new toys. I might just quickly try out a shape and then write some notes about it, pop it into a ziplock bag and put it in a tub for another day. I sometimes write new toys on the whiteboard if I want to remember to give them a try. There are always way too many ideas and not enough time. When I am thinking about where to go next I rifle through all the bags of bits and pieces until something takes my fancy or sparks an idea and off I go.
Where do you look for inspiration?
Often when I am making a toy, another one will just pop into my mind, it might be a sibling to the current toy or someone completely different. Sometimes a fabric will suggest a toy or it might just be a shape I want to try. I set myself little challenges every now and again to try and make a sad toy or an easy toy or even a toy that is a representation of a person I know. It sounds crazy I guess.
If you had three wishes, what would you do to make it the dream space?
I actually love my sewing room but if I had three wishes I wouldn't mind a bit more space and a cutting table. My third wish would be an extra day in each week to spend in there !
Whose craft room would you love to explore? Send us a message!
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