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
