Shop Renovation 2020 Project Part 2 – Walls and Windows and Floors oh my!

 

Okay, I wrote this post months ago, and took the photos - it was one of those 5am writing things.  And then I have let it sit, unpublished for far too long.  

The world is an upside down place these days and I'm struggling to make myself do the things I want to do.  I love making for Elfworks, but I'm lousy at the marketing and promo stuff.  Lately I've even been lousy at the making.  But I'm still here, and here is some kind of update on what's been happening over the past months.... 

Yes, here it is months later and I've written nothing more about my Very Exciting Shop Renovation. I confess, I've had my hands firmly in the dirt trying to grow things, and lay groundwork for other projects for almost all the intervening time. In my defense, this is all part of the larger Elfworks picture, but has not gotten me far in the shop.

I mentioned that my partner Darrell had done all the actual building of the space. While it is hard for me to let go, it was a wise decision. He is a much better builder than I am, and has a lot more experience. The result being that my shop is very awesome. Not fancy, not shiny, but awesome. Much of the wood that was used was recycled from other projects, so it is a patchwork in many ways, but that had its advantages too (besides lowering the cost.)

Darrell started by framing in the walls, then the floor. The floorboards were laid, but not attached while he worked on walls and insulation and wiring (yes, that's right, insulation!!) The ceiling was framed in – we are dropping the ceiling to make it easier to heat...not like I need head room! The window on the northwest wall was framed in – positioned to allow light in from the window in the outside wall of the building. And then it got even more exciting.

Once the walls were up, the floor got finished – Darrell put a little bit of insulation under the floor and the boards got screwed down. The larger pieces had been loosely placed on the boards for layout and positioning and got moved back into their homes. I made measurements and did chalkmark layout of the rest of the space.

We had talked about bench space, something I've never had much of with the result of always having to shift tools and projects, well, off of other tools and projects frankly. Never having had it, I wasn't sure how much of it I would need. I listened to the voice of experience, and opted for more rather than less. There was a scrounged steel counter that was laying around, but when I looked at it it seemed extremely imposing and space consuming. I mentioned that I am small, looking at the counter what I saw was wasted space where I would inevitably pile things and continue my bad habits.

Solution? Rip it in half and make 2 narrow sections rather than 2 large sections. I love that we are metal people. Deciding on its height was also a big challenge. I am so used to having everything the wrong size that this was a big learning curve. Once the height was settled, sturdy framing set it firmly in place, and a leg vise, appropriately adjusted for height, was attached. (The attachment bracket of the leg vise was a partial decider on the height.)

 

 

I went outside one day and found Darrell atop a ladder, pulling boards from the outside of the building. One of the things we had talked about was light – natural light. While it is true that natural light can be difficult in a smith's shop – the colours always changing depending on how the light falls, I knew I needed it. I find it too hard to work in a dark space and light where there are no windows is always somehow, inadequate (for me.)

 

  Solution? The original solution was that window I talked about on the north wall. On further discussion, Darrell suggested we could put windows on the top of the south wall of the building and put a clear panel into my ceiling to allow for more light.

 Again, there were a number of scrounged windows waiting for use, so they got put into play. While it was a big job, I cannot tell you the difference it has made, not just in my shop but in the shop as a whole.

 Suddenly the world is lit up with those 2 windows in that wall. And my shop in particular practically gleams when you enter. Although we did install a ceiling fan overhead light, as well as making provisions for other lights where needed, during the day they have become almost redundant. Suddenly the shop that was already so exciting became a real joy. Working there will be an easy task, and I know that I can adjust to changing light, though there will be some tasks that will be more challenging with it.

 

 

 

The boards for the walls were chosen and placed with thought to texture (or lack thereof.) This meant that I could turn one full panel and one of the panels above my fantastic new benches into chalkboard. They are already covered in lists of “to do” - largely custom hooks to give my stakes permanent storage places under my benches...off the floor.

The wheeled metal frame that used to hold my propane forge was customized and given new life as a stand for my swage block and bench plate. The casters allow me to leave it stored against the wall or move it into closer proximity to the forge on my lovely wooden floor.

The propane forge now sits on a plate covering the firebox of the coal forge – allowing for me to switch to coal on larger or more curved objects (though the ventilation is not in yet.) The coal forge – a portable table style sits atop a metal plate, which gives me extra space for cooling pieces, still on the floor as is my longtime habit, but well out of the way of my feet.

The forge itself is positioned so that I can either use my anvil, my leg vise or step down and use my BAAT Hammer with ease. It will take a bit of getting used to that it isn't in the corner, but the placement is much better, especially with the changes in equipment.

An old freestanding wire basket style shelf has been repurposed as my hammer rack, also holding many spare sets of tongs and a few other pieces, nestled in the corner where my forge used to be. And steel is now stored in a rack on the west wall, neatly sorted (well, mostly) rather than a mass of buckets with random odds everywhere. Longer pieces are stored just outside the new shop space against a wall. Everything is safely chained off – and I can actually see what stock I have. Not surprisingly I have more than I realized. And now I'll be able to find it rather than assuming I don't have any and buying more. It will also serve as a reminder of the projects I'm supposed to be doing...things I bought stock for, stored it and then forgot about it, project and all.

There are still things to be done – a stack for the woodstove has to be installed, ventilation for the coal forge put in, doors to the space to be built an attached, but the place is a joy to work in. I haven't gotten very far just yet. There is a lot of new to get used to, everything has new homes – shelves and racks and a level of organization that will take some fine tuning and a lot more familiarity before it achieves the efficiency it promises. And I have been mostly trying to “make hay while the sun shines” and all that...true enough.

But I can tell you that I've had inspiration for 3 new large projects since this adventure began – larger than any of the things I've attempted yet. This is a space where I can see things happening, and keep track of what I'm doing. Not that the previous spaces were to blame for that lack – that was all on me. This space though, and the time ahead where I am here and not travelling to and fro to that other life that is on hold for the forseeable future...well, I have much hope for the undertaking of great adventures.

Websites and Personalities

A few days ago I received an email from someone else running a small business. In all likelihood it was generated by an algorithm rather than the person, but regardless...

They run a website design company and wanted to offer me a discount on doing my website. Giving it the benefit of the doubt I answered.

“Best of luck with your business and I hope you do well. I'm afraid I have my own gurus and cannot afford to have an outsider do my site (which is in the process of being re-vamped). I'm afraid all the artists I know are in the same boat, but I will keep it in mind if I hear of anyone. Thanks for reaching out. “

It got me to thinking...While I think there are lots of great people out there who do web design, and there are lots of businesses that benefit from their services...and let's face it, who, in running a small business has the time and expertise to design and maintain their own site?

And yet,

There are so many of us who do. Why is that?

Well, for myself it is at least in part a very definite sense of identity. I have gone through friends who became web designers and who offered me a great deal, and I worked with them for short periods. But in the end they were somehow unable how to communicate who I was.

Some of the designs were likely very good commercially. They were slick. But they were not me. I know lots of people who have gone into web design and done great things for others. I love the sites they have created for them, but I don't think they could come up with something that is for me.

Why is it that my website has been a pared down showcase that does very little to attract people to my business, or give them much information for so many years? Because it has suited me, and the business. Not smart, but true. My business has been part-time most of the time, and I have not been able to decide about certain facets of it – Where exactly do I want it to go? What exactly do I want to highlight....

For a very long time I thought I had to settle down and just focus on making one or two kinds of things. I have since realized that that is not me, and it is highly unlikely that I will be doing that.

There are aspects of my business that are not on the website at all, or only mentioned in passing. I certainly don't put any of my wig work or facial hair into the showcase. It is not appropriate for what I am trying to promote, and it is a part of what I do but not what I want to push. I have other avenues to get that work, and I get enough of it in an average year to keep me happy. I love it, but I don't want to do just that.

So keeping control of my website and its (lack of) progress is important to me. I have friends (gurus) who help me immensely – and in fact do most (currently pretty much all) of the technical work (Thank you Travis!) I am working on changing that and learning what it is I really need to know to do that work myself. But it is just another hat to wear that keeps me from making stuff, so I have been reluctant. And that is a huge reason why people hire out. And a great reason to do it if you can.

For many of us it is a raw cost factor. Many of the people I know who run a small business are emphasis on the word small. Generally it is a one person show, and the profit margins are nearly non-existent as it is. Investing in someone else's time and expertise is just not financially feasible.

Some people would love to turn over their sites and free up their time, but they just can't afford it. And if the site has been up and running a long time and offers a lot of information, the cost skyrockets pretty quickly.

Now, it is true that a lot of this has been made much simpler and cheaper – all the DIY website companies that offer templates and widgets and interfaces have made a lot of this a moot point. But when you are running a small business and you essentially are your brand it comes down to choices. Maybe the choices I'm making are technically wrong. This is probably a spot where my choices are asinine and are holding me back. There is certainly a cost not only in time, but in exposure, in reach, in promotability. Regardless, they are my choices.

I am in the process of going through and reviewing choices, and learning new skills, and doing the work to find a balance for my business and my site. I have just given the okay to my guru to mess with my blog, experimentally, to see if he can give it a further reach. I find the process terrifying, but I know that I need to step out of my comfort zone if I want this to work, and want to be able to create enough of a following to allow me to work.

I was talking about all this to a friend recently, about all the time I'm spending learning to photograph my work so that it presents reasonably well, getting Etsy up and running, writing for the site etc. He asked me whether I thought it was worth the time I was spending – the time I was missing in making things – to do all of this rather than hiring out. I'm still not sure the balance is the right one, but for now it is the option I consider the most feasible.