My Studio Storage Pieces

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Kater's Acres Library Card Catalogue
Parker & Lolly daily mug rug made by Mom

So much of me revolves around my family, its heritage, and pieces of timeless treasures that it’s hard for me to let go of that part of who I am. I am a neat freak. Therefore, studio storage is important to me. My Mom is quite the artisan. Her stained glass, her sewing, and her quilts fill my home. Even my morning cup of coffee sits on a little Parker & Lolly mug rug that Mom made me. It’s big enough that I have taken it to clay classes and shared it with a claymate so both our coffee cups can sit on it. So when designing and building my studio, from my original studio at the old house to my new studio here in Ohio, my studio storage always came first and was a priority in designing and filling my space.

In my studio, however, there are 3 wonderful pieces that I want to share with you. You’ve seen these pieces before and they are not new. Two of them were present in my last studio. We have talked about them on the blog before. However, they have gotten a lot of traffic on my Facebook page recently. I thought that I would use this opportunity to talk about them again and give you more information.

See How to Reclaim Items Here

Library Card Catalogue

Kater's Acres Library Card Catalogue

My favorite object in my studio is an old library card catalog. This card catalog belonged to my grandfather. He was a journeyman plumber and retired only to find himself reemployed by a local school system as their head of maintenance. As card catalogs became obsolete, the school got rid of them, my Pops took this one home. He used to keep joints, small pipe bits, washers, and anything else he used for his plumbing in its drawers. After some TLC, a lot of elbow grease, and some love this is what I have now! I painted the thumb knots to match the clay in the drawers so I could quickly and easily find the clay I was looking for and if I don’t say so myself, it looks fantastic.  So now, here in my studio, it has a great second home and I use it for clay storage … yes, polymer clay fills the entire top half. (Insert big, huge, whopping smile here!)

Stamp Sorter

Grandpa's Stamp Sorter from KatersAcres

And just so one grandfather isn’t outdone, when my other grandfather passed, I inherited one of the trinkets from his office. I don’t know what this is or what it was used for. I have repurposed it into supply storage. The drawers are shallow but long.  For years my Grandfather was an avid stamp collector (back when stamps were collectible) and he used this to sort and collect his stamps. It sat on top of his desk in the upstairs living quarters of his home. Today it is a home for buttons, chains, feathers, Altoid tins, jewelry findings, threading, ribbons, and so much more!

Roll-Top Desk

KatersAcres Roll-Top Desk

This is my desk and another family treasure. For years this was my Uncle’s desk. But for another number of years, it went unused and fell into disrepair in their home. It was tucked into a corner bedroom waiting to be replaced. I took the desk, immediately loving it, but not having the ‘perfect home’ for it in my old house. But when we moved, all of that changed! My new studio/office combination became the perfect place for this gorgeous piece of furniture to sit and be loved once again. Although I don’t use the roll-top feature as it is in disrepair, I still love this gorgeous desk and I am very happy to call it mine and have given it a new home. (Please note the gorgeous stained glass lamp my Mom made sitting on top of my desk.)

I would like to encourage you to find &/or keep things that are important to you or to your family. Even if they are old or a little tattered and torn. They can be reused and repurposed. Don’t give up on them, just reuse them to suit your purposes. You’ll find that you can make a lot of good uses from older things.

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