This time I purchased a high-rise! I know it seems a bit out of character for me and you may be shocked by this purchase, but I've really been thinking about it for some time--I just wasn't finding quite what I wanted at quite the right price.
But hey, my last name isn't Trump or Hilton or even Holiday Inn, you know what I mean?
So, I made my purchase (actually had to place an order and wait for things to happen--think escrow--but things went very smoothly.) Once the property was in my hands, I immediately went to work on organizing things, updating, fixing the place up so it's livable.
Now some people call writing on the wall "graffiti," but librarians call it classification, good sense, and providing direction. So as you see below, here, the first thing I did was to set out "classifying" the real estate. Every space was then labelled. Signage was applied.
(It really is "scary high," isn't it?!) I'll give you a more close-up view now, and I think you'll begin to appreciate my purchase.
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| Horizontal Labels across top: 6 frequently used colors of wire & findings |
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| 10 Vertical Labels down left side: Types of items such as lampwork, & metal beadcaps, earwires, metal beads, chain, jumprings, etc. |
Already I'm having great fun! Need brass bead caps? That would be 3 down-4 across. How about metal focals in antique silver? Piece of cake! 5 down-5 across. At least I haven't applied an alpa-numeric classification system for the items yet! There's still time though!
Now, lest you think I managed to get all my beads in these 60 apartments, (I mean compartments), I'm using this mostly for metals, and a few of my more precious beads, lampwork, and focals I've recently purchased. There is still a stacking cart behind my chair full of divided containers holding glass, gemstone, wood, and other beads of many sizes and colors, and still more supplies on the book shelves next to me. Another container keeps my rolls of wire in control (and organized by color), while yet another container holds my many, many rolls of ribbon I use on pendants. (And if any of you still remember this blog entry about "'Making Do'" while you build your jewelry tool collection," I'm still using the utensil carrier for my pliers, wire cutters, and other small hand tools I reach for regularly.)
But my "high rise" has helped me sort, store, and be able to retrieve many items that were getting scattered because they didn't have a home. Now they do. What a happy ending!
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| I think I would like a card catalog some day. Not one from the 1960s-70s with the blah-color finish, but an older one, stained and varnished, with beautiful wood grain. It would be nice if the drawers had glass fronts though, like post office boxes. I've never seen one like that. (And we'd need to remove the metal rod too.) Then it would be perfect for jewelry supply storage! |
So,... how do you store all your many jewelry-related items? (I'm sure there are "classier" ways than my hardware store-find, but I would like to thank the good people at my local Ace Hardware in Shawnee, especially the employee who took time to help me place a special order so I could get one with "lots and lots of tiny drawers" in place of the ones they had on display. This is just what I needed to get the job done right now!)
It's good to be back after a brief blogging break last week! Hope to hear from you soon! Continued Holiday and New Year wishes! --Sharyl
P.S. We've had more people join our blog in the last week! Our warmest welcome to all!
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Graphic Credits:
Hardware divider: photos by Sharyl
7 comments:
Sharyl - Your post is awesome! I love the humor you add to your entries. Love the hi rise. Organizing is one of my favorite things, esp. when beads and beading supplies are involved. Not sure I should tell you this (because it may cause you to spend a good chunk of money), but I know of a website where you can buy something very similar to your dream card catalog. In fact, I use one for my beads that is two drawers wide and 6-7 drawers tall (not on legs, though, it sits directly on the floor). It is made of hardwood. It was described as a card catalog for cds. Each drawer is the width and height of a cd. It sure hold a lot of beads! The drawers even have the label holders just like the old card catalogs. Let me know if you want the website! Enjoy your hi-rise.
Heya everyone! I'm Krista's daughter. I was looking around at blogs she followed and I found this one! Good job Sharyl! Your blog is awesome. Keep up the good work.
-Amelia (A.K.A Krista's daughter)
This is great Sharyl! I have all my beads stored in plastic bags and thrown into a shoebox!
To Pine Ridge Treasures--Oh, I dare not buy, but I'd love to take a look! Please send the website!
To Krista--I say, what ever works for you is great! :-) You may or may not be tongue-in-cheek about this, but I can envision that working great! You can see what you have, metals tarnish less, and beads don't spill all over the place!
I've tried all sorts of containers over the years, and environmentally speaking, I'm sure I'm using way too much plastic for my "footprint!" I have containers with dividers inside of other containers, stacking containers, 2-layer containers, you name it! One thing that HASN'T worked for me is containers with removable dividers. Seemed like such a great idea to me to be able to adjust the sizes of the dividers, but they get warped and small beads slide beneath--then the lid won't shut! Oh, the trials and tribulations! ;-)
Miss Spiritclaw,
I was certain I had issued a public apology to you when I posted this message, but I don't see it, so I'll try again. I do apologize for not posting your first message. Even though you said who you were, I didn't believe it was really you. I'm so glad you are here with us! Please comment any time! I'm very happy to have you participate! And now that I know it is you, I will gladly post your comments. Again, so sorry! --Sharyl
It's OK, Anyone could have made that mistake. :)
Thank you, Miss Spiritclaw. I do appreciate your kindness! --Sharyl
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