The tea tray system

Its been a very busy and exciting few months here in the studio. Since making the decision to focus on wholesale work and so exhibiting at the British Craft Trade Show (BCTF) I haven't stood still.
On the third day of the fair I had to tell customers that my lead time would be 10 weeks rather than the 3 - 4 weeks stated in my trade info. Since then I've been busy filling orders. My order book is still looking healthy as repeat orders are coming in.

One of the first things I needed to do to be able to complete orders was re-organise the studio. Again. All of the pieces I make are finished with resin which needs around three days to dry. Drying resin needs completely level, dust free surfaces. I needed more surface areas. I also needed somewhere to store part orders while the rest of the order was drying or waiting to be finished. That's when I came up with the 'tea tray system'. I bought a set of Ivar shelving from Ikea - these are great! They are a doddle to put up and can be rearranged on a whim. I set the shelves 4inches apart - just wide enough for me to be able to slide the trays on to maximise space. Then I bought a stack of plastic tea trays. I label the tray with the gallery name and home it on the shelves. This way I can work on several orders at once without losing track.
It's not very sophisticated, much like myself, but it works, much like myself. And I make no apologies for the pics, I'm loving the iphone photo apps these are from lo-mob if you can recommend any others please let me know x

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks for giving us a little insight into your busy life post BCTF! Sounds like you've got yourself a top organization system, there, I am very impressed. Rachel xx

Leigh Shepherd said...

Thanks Rachel, just need to organise every other aspect of my life!

Anonymous said...

Leigh this is brilliant - as Rach says this is very impressive. It doesn't need to be sophisticated to be brilliant... love what you do Leigh. Never, ever stop!

StitchArt.co.uk said...

Great little production line, you’re a one woman factory :)

Leigh Shepherd said...

I'd post pics of the rest of the room but it would blow the idea that I'm organised clean out of the water :/