We were recently contacted by a lovely, yet overwhelmed, artist who was in desperate need of regaining her creative side. She needed our assistance as clutter was blocking her ability to create, and as soon as we saw the space, we completely understood.
In order to even begin putting her creative, right-brained ideas on canvas, it would require our client to browse through 30+ boxes of art materials haphazardly stored. And did we mention that said boxes were stacked onto of each other inside of a coat closet. Within minutes of doing the above, the desire to be artistic would flee, leaving our client feeling completely frustrated. And we totally agreed.
We began the space as we do all others, by taking everything out. The client removed the wire shelving and added Intermetro shelving, giving an affordable and flexible shelving system to the space. We then got to work categorizing, and eventually to shopping for proper containment. We like try to re-use client's existing items prior to adding more in, but since we wanted to steer clear of oversized bins, we avoided using the client's old containers. We also had to make the closet where all the art supplies would be stored functional, and new practical containment would do just that. An added bonus, limiting space for the client to bring in new materials without having to do an edit beforehand. Creating boundaries is especially humbling.
We used a combination of different styles of containment for accessibility and ease of being stacked. Some may inquire whether or not it is important to use all the same types of containers, to which we would say no. By using a variety of artbins for sharpies and notecards, like-it bricks for pens and markers, dividided stacking bins for stickers and tape, smartstore for acrylic paints and oil pastels, document cases for stencils and prints, magazine and file dividers for notebooks and felt, and turntables for paint we were able to maximize the space efficiently and aesthetically, the two request for the space from our client. And we think we achieved both perfectly!
