Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Organization Feeds Creativity

Typically when someone thinks of a creative person, they probably think of that absent minded professor.  You know, the one who has things piled all over,  the one who is late for everything, basically, the one that needs a keeper!  Not all creative people are like that.  I tend toward order, structure, and routine!  When my beading table becomes covered in beads and works in progress, my mind focuses on the mess instead of what that mess can become.  So I start organizing my table.  Before the holiday, I was in a whirlwind of beading work with my beading table looking like this...




I can just hear some of you out there saying, "That's not messy!  What is she talking about?"  Well, guys, for someone like me that is very messy!  When my boys were little they had specific labeled bins for their toys!  I know some people think that anal, but it works for me!   My studio table is now organized and order reins supreme again!  Just look at this wonderful bead organization....

I keep all my beads (I know it doesn't look like a whole lot of beads, but there are many.) in a large cabinet that can be closed.  I don't like looking at all those containers.  Here are close up photos of the bins I use....


Notice all the labels!  Like I stated before I like order!  Now that everything is organized I can find things more easily, and my beading life is full of creative ideas!!!  I still haven't reached that level of order where I have all my beads separated by color along with size.  Thank goodness, I'm not that anal!!!  LOL

While cleaning and organizing my studio, I found a wonderful small indicolite Swarovski oval rivoli.  I immediately knew I wanted to make a glitzy small pendant!  See organization does work for me!!!

5 comments:

  1. Gosh, you'd be a perfect beader to use my organizing software! Not only do I label my bead drawers by color, every bead has a number from the software as well. Then I can keep track of what each cost, where I got it, etc. www.beadencounter.com

    I too find that organizing my storage and even entering stuff in my software will spark creative ideas. "Hey, I have these three coral beads already, maybe they'll go with the new coral I just bought!" That kind of thing.

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  2. Agree 100%. I have tried 4 different approaches to a project I am working on, and until I clear them all away I won't be able to start the next try!

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  3. Wow, I am jealous of your organization skills. Definitely something I need to work on. I am totally the absent minded professor type, and sometimes I spend more time finding what supplies I need though all of my mixed up piles than I do actually making the item!

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  4. I'm definitely an organiser - too much mess and I can't concentrate, but so far my beads have stayed in just one box. As my stash has started to grow recently, I'll be taking some hints from looking at your photographs. It must work for you - you're work is always amazing!

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