Hello. I received an email this past week asking about work space and basic "getting started" questions. This led me to start thinking about, if I had unlimited resources and space, how would I set up my space.
First I would separate my space into three different sections. I would have a "measuring and cutting" area, a "tooling" area, and finally a "finishing and staining" area. This all seems pretty basic and self explanatory.
My "Staging" area would be where I work on patterns, measure and cut the leather, etc. Because of this it would have to be a bit larger than the other areas. This is especially helpful with larger projects and even belts as there is a need to spread out the leather. This also is the cheapest area to set up as I really only need one of those 6' x 3' craft tables from Wal-Mart.
The "Work Bench" is basically what I have right now. Which is 4' x 2' table with a peg board where I would do my tooling. This includes the marble slab to tool on and all the working tools I would need to make a project.
The "Finishing" area is where I would finish off the leather with dyes, stains, and other various chemicals. This area would ideally be set apart from other spaces to minimize any accidents. Notably spilling stain on another project or "overshooting" with the airbrush and hitting unrelated projects. This has happened to me more times than I would like to admit. I would have the airbrush set up here, blocking pieces to keep the stain contained and some sort of ventilation to keep me alive. That's important. This area can vary in size but my gut tells me the bigger the better.
It would also be nice to have various shelving to keep the unused leather and my finished projects organized. Obviously this would require two shelves, one for each, ideally separated, again to cut down on accidentally messing up the unused leather.
Well that about does it for my "dream workshop." I would set this up in a heartbeat but unfortunately I don't have the space right now. One day, when I have a garage I will be good to go. I have simple dreams.
That's all for today. Thanks again for stopping by and as always, drop me a line if you have any questions or comments. I love hearing from you. And a special thanks to John for giving me the idea for this post.
Happy Crafting!
