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Join us for a #CraftRoomTour of Sarah Waterhouse's studio in Sheffield, England.
I love having a studio big enough to fit in my huge printing table, it's 8.5m long and only just fits in the room but it's gorgeous! I bought it second hand and it's nice to have something that already has a history.
Tell us about your space
The studio is about 10 metres long by 7 metres wide. It's the largest space at our studio block, and we've outgrown it, but we love working here so much that we don't want to leave. I share my space with my husband who has a small area for his design business.
What have you done to make your space cosy, beautiful or inspiring?
We spend so much time in our studio that we have tried to make it a home from home. We have our rescue pug Etty with us everyday so she has her cozy area with her bed and toys. We also have a sofa covered in my fabric which we use for photo shoots so it's nice to have a spot to sit down and chill out during busy days. We then have lots of prints on the wall from all my favourite screen print artists and illustrators so that we can make the room feel homely and inspiring.
How do you keep organized?
When our space is quite tight we have to be really organised. Also as I have someone who works for me full time we both need to know where everything lives. We have special racks to house all the screen printing screens, boxes and tubs of fabric that are labelled up with the correct weight and type of fabric, printed or unprinted. We also have built sliding storage under the print table for storage things that we don't need to get at very often.
Any tips & tricks for organising supplies?
Label and sort as much as you can and have a place for everything and make sure it goes back there. As you start getting out supplies it's easy to lose a pair of scissors or a craft knife in all the chaos!
Which are your favourite possessions and are there any of your own creations on display?
I have a collection of my favourite ceramics in my studio which are a mix of vintage finds and pieces from my studio neighbours, these are my favourite things in the studio. I do have a collection of my work on display but not inside, they are outside in the corridor so that I can show my work to any visitors to the studio.
How do you organise your inspiration and ideas?
My inspiration and ideas are kept in a few different places. I have magazine holders for pages I tear out of magazines or photocopies from books, I then have a selection of inspirational images and postcards that I've collected over the years, they live in a big box on a shelf above my desk. Finally I have a space on a wall in my studio which I painted. I painted a geometric design in my two favourite colours and then left a space in the centre to use as a mood board for colour swatches, images and fabric tests.
Where do you look for inspiration?
I find inspiration all over, in my everyday life around me in Sheffield but also through history. I studied art and design history at university so my inspirations are quite heavily weighted in history. I also like to collect colours and images from magazines and books, sometimes I see a colour and just love it so I have to get a sample to keep for future inspiration.
If you had three wishes, what would you do to make it the dream space?
I would double the size of the room, double the length of my print table and finally have a little showroom area for clients within the room which has all my favourite furniture covered in my fabrics and all the complimentary pieces I've collected over the years.
Whose craft room would you love to explore? Send us a message!
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