That Was Fun...Part 3

Well here is the last installment of my office redo until I get my new workbench and last set of shelves. At that point I'll move our giant laser printer onto the shelves and transfer my jewelry making supplies to the new workbench, move my cork board above my reading area (see below), and then relax! Here are my shelves, totally organized! I was able to fit all of my jewelry books and magazines, business books, painting inspiration photos, frames, sewing machine, general office supplies and junk, board games and some of my favorite Etsy artists' artwork.
Here is my beautiful new desk! I got it from Ikea and it is fabulous! I was able to fit one of my filing cabinets right under the desk, with room for a storage box full of old computer stuff behind it (old hard drives, etc.). It is wide and deep enough to hold my laptop, stereo, water glass, to-do binder, scrap paper binder (I told you I'm into the 3 R's, lol), my pen pots (recycled from old tea-leaf cans covered in scrapbook paper), and my "freebie box" - all of my materials that go into making freebies for you when you order more than $10 from my shops. I like to keep it in front of me so that if I have a little extra time I can fill it by making gifties for you! Even better is that my desk is in front of my window so that I can see outside when it is light and be inspired by my forest. The desk is also over my heating vent, which has turned out to be quite handy in keeping my perennially cold toes nice and toasty!
Here is my temporary work desk. It is clean! I have my tools in the storage drawers to the left, with my vice and anvil in front. Then I have my 2 bead and finding storage drawer sets (they are overflowing, so the next time Canadian Tire has a sale on these "Parts Drawers", I'll be getting ANOTHER one, LOL! I also have room to work, which is great, as well as being able to store my various-sized plastic baggies (in the white boxes next to the bead storage) and my photography light is on top of a box to better light up my light box, which I now have room for! See the last photo for my new light box.
Here is what will be my reading corner. I have Arwen's bed so that we can be near each other, I have my tall bookshelves with some books, and many pieces of Etsy Artisans' art - from Epic Farms, Crazy Bliss, Art By Marilyn, Visual Smiles Gallery, Bunnies and Hares by Dragon House of Yuen (not pictured, but I now have them on my small bookshelf), and more! I'm going to put more of my books on the smaller shelf and eventually find a comfy armchair/reading chair to put right beside it that I can curl up in to read a good book for hours on end. I also had room for one of my yoga mats and light hand weights, so that I am able to get in a few good vinyasas or arm curls when waiting for things to load :)
Here is my fabulous light box! Constructed from a standard cardboard filing box, I lined it with plain white paper to bounce the light around in it. I have a white background for dark pieces, and for lighter pieces I have this grey background (it looks brown here, but that is from all of the different light sources hitting it in the photo). This allows me to have more even lighting and get more consistent photos of my jewelry. I finally have room for it, and room to store it when not in use, so I am very excited about this!

Well, that is all for now, I'll keep you updated on the new workbench and shelves as they become available. I'm also starting to (slowly) purchase metalsmithing equipment to expand my jewelry knowledge and techniques, so I will be sure to show you the new tools as I get them :)

For those interested, the heavy duty shelving units (Spacemaker Brand) are from Canadian Tire and cost $45.99 each. They are 36inches wide, 70inches tall and 16inches deep. The desk is from Ikea and is Mikael model in beech/white and was $69.99. It is approximately 55inches wide, 29inches deep and 29inches high. The filing cabinets were fromZellers, on sale for $39.99 each (I got 2) and are for standard, letter sized documents. The black storage boxes were also from Ikea and were the Kassett series, both the CD boxes and Magazine boxes. They came in sets of 2 per kind and were $6.99-$17.99. The parts drawers and storage drawers on my work desk are from Canadian Tire and ranged from $13.99-$29.99 at regular price, but I waited until they were on super-sale. The workbench (still to come) is a stainless steel-topped workbench from Canadian Tire and is regularly $199.99 but I got it on sale for $89.99. The total office overhaul (7 years overdue), cost about $550. Prices are in Canadian Dollars, not including taxes.

Have a great day, I am off to enjoy my nearly finished, and SO much better, art space!