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Come behind the scenes at Palindrome Dry Goods for a #CraftRoomTour to see Hannah's studio/closet/guest room in Charleston, West Virginia.
All the color! My closet is in this room, and does not have closet doors, so between my clothes, and all the fabric, and thread, this room is an explosion of color.
Tell us about your space
My cozy little studio is quite small. It's about 10' x 10' and also acts as our guest room, my office, and my closet. I work 30 hours a week for my second job (I own a business with my mother and sister called The Tin Thimble) out of this office, and a lot of happy sewing, writing and photographing happens here for Palindrome Dry Goods.
What have you done to make your space cosy, beautiful or inspiring?
Our house is very funny. It was built in the 1940's and has terribly low ceilings and this awful texture on the walls. My fiancee and I move about every year for his work and because we rent this house (and don't like to own things we can't donate when we move), my studio is a funny conglomerate of thrift store, yard sale, donated furniture. To make the space feel familiar and inspiring, I have lots of photos of my family and friends. Yummy smelling candles, glass jars for my sewing notions, and keeping my fabric & completed projects on display, help keep the room comfortable and bright.
How do you keep organized?
A small bookshelf contains my favorite sewing books, my patterns, elastic and shipping supplies. I purchased a variety of glass jars to hold bias tape, buttons, twine, zippers and more. I prefer glass jars because they keep their contents clean, but I am still able to see what I have in stock.
Any tips & tricks for organising supplies?
The more you can see, the better! Keeping things in containers that aren't transparent isn't helpful because I either forget about them, or have to dig through them to find what I'm looking for. I also like to keep my fabric out in the open so that I can see all the lovely patters and colors at once.
Which are your favourite possessions and are there any of your own creations on display?
Unfortunately, many of my favorite sewing possessions are in California (where I'm from, and where we'll hopefully return to in a few years) so my most favorite possessions here have become my small collection of vintage fabric. Some of the items in my Etsy shop are hanging to the right of my desk. I like to keep my aprons and purses hanging so that I don't have to iron them when I sell at pop-up shops and markets.
How do you organise your inspiration and ideas?
Most of my ideas and inspirations live in my head. If I see something that inspires me, sometimes I'll snap a photo of it on my phone so that I can look at it later. I also keep a sketchpad where I'll draw ideas for handmade clothing or accessories. I have several boards on Pinterest where I keep sewing tutorials, and ideas that excite me.
Where do you look for inspiration?
For clothing, I am often inspired by vintage patterns and current clothing in stores. For products to sell, I'm usually inspired by my fabric and come up with ideas by putting different fabric combinations together. If I'm generally feeling uninspired, I'll look through my favorite sewing books, which usually gets the creative juices flowing.
If you had three wishes, what would you do to make it the dream space?
A large work table. (I currently do the majority of my work on the floor...)
Huge windows!
A wall full of shelves for all my supplies.
Whose craft room would you love to explore? Send us a message!
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