Do you remember the old MTV series, "Cribs?" Every time a film crew would visit some celebrity's home, they open the door to their bedroom and proclaim, "This is where the magic happens."
Well, there's not magic happening in my bedroom these days. You have to go deeper into my house -- all the way down and to the back corner where the cave crickets go to die -- to find a space where something resembling magic happens, the dork magic that is scale modeling. That's where you'll find my workshop. I don't like the term workshop; it seems to imply the presence of large tools and lots of sawdust. (Well, there is a Dremel and resin dust, so maybe that counts for something.) I sometimes like to use the term studio, but since I'm not an artist I probably come off as some kind of pretentious arse, and that's certainly not going to bring any magic into the bedroom upstairs.
I usually just call it my model room. That's what it is. Simple.
I'm extremely fortunate to have the room I do. Until I moved into this house two years ago my workshop/studio existed on a shabby desk in my bedroom, which also served as my work-at-home desk for work and a plant stand. All of my tools were stored in two drawers, a toolbox, and a small footlocker. Always the optimist, I look back and realize that it forced me to be neat and clean, because after every modeling session I had to pack everything up and set it aside.
The 10 foot workbench (with two modeling "stations") in my model room today is a cabinet made specifically for the space. It has several drawers and under-counter cabinets for boxes and larger items. I used kitchen organizers in the drawers to store the many tools we use. I wanted to reserve the wall behind the workbench for displaying photographs and the various aviation collectibles I've gathered over the years. I love the space, though it tends to be chilly this time of year.
I've been planning to write more about my model room and offer some advice for those of you who might one day design your own space.
And yes, that is a Debbie Gibson card in the lower left corner of the photograph. That's another story for another day.
That is certainly a nice place to work i am sure, my old area was known as "The Nerd Room" by my other half....I like the term studio, very upmarket....
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work.
Nice set up Steve!
ReplyDeleteThanks, guys! Whatever it's called, I enjoy spending time there.
ReplyDelete