Comments on: Mission Impossible: Organizing My Beads

By: Stuff N Thingz

Stuff N Thingz — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 22:01:30 +0000

bah, opened the picture and see that my clip it up IS there on the left. Enjoy!

By: Stuff N Thingz

Stuff N Thingz — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 21:59:40 +0000

I have a multi purpose studio that must house all of my business “ventures”. I designed it to be able to have 4 stations to do work. the wall pictured is my jewelry station. For some crazy reason when I metal smith I work standing up. this allowed me to create a large work surface with storage cubes as legs on each side. I am pretty anal and have within the cubes, smaller containers with everything color coded like I’ve seen in pictures posted. When I go to a bead show, I come home and immediately have to put everything away, shifting, regrouping, emptying and refilling containers to ensure everything is still in its color coded spot. My husband thinks I enjoy the organization more than the jewel crafting itself. My other business is creating custom casual apparel, like tshirts, hoodies and caps. I have my heat press, vinyl cutter and work surface on that wall, it is at sitting height. I’ve then used the third wall for my shipping table AND photo studio. Its a very efficient use of space. I do have to store the apparel blanks in the garage, there is absolutely no room for them in the studio. I do have a fabric sweater holder from the closet and bring in blanks for orders to fill so the sales waiting to be worked on are tucked away until its their turn. Ah and I did buy a clip it up system you dont see in the picture, LOVE it. I pull out beads for projects and hang them in baggies so they dont clutter my work surface.

By: SandyM

SandyM — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 18:59:58 +0000

It was my wish to contribute to this discussion so I spent a lot of time explaining my organizational system only to have it all erased because I changed my screen name. Grrrrrrrrr!!!!!

By: diamonddustshoe

diamonddustshoe — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 03:59:03 +0000

I like the jewelry organizer idea. I was using bins by color like above, but I filled some of the bins, and had trouble finding things without dumping it all out. My boyfriend gave me the idea to experiment with binders. It sounded crazy to me at first, but you get holders for things like baseball cards or post cards, and put the little baggies in each slot. This way, you can see everything at a quick glance, and you can even separate colors into subsets, like yellow-green vs kelly green. Fill a binder with pages, just add another binder for that color. You can keep them on a regular bookshelf. It sounds good, so I’m hoping it works!

By: Elis Mom

Elis Mom — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 02:26:01 +0000

I have started using jewelry organizers. Each one has 60 some odd pockets, and I just hang them on the wall with a nail. I put my baggies of stones in the pockets which are see thru. Seed beads also go in pockets. Findings go in tackle boxes with clear lids. Charms and focals get hung on a cork board with a thumb tack. I also have a selection of pill bottles, but I haven’t used them yet….

By: DB

DB — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 19:50:21 +0000

None of the purchased beading bins ever worked for me, since (as has been said by others!) my needs and favorites change. So, since I (unfortunately) have a large supply of pill bottles, I use them. They are big enough for most selections and the color is generally see through.

By: Harriet aka BeadVizChick

Harriet aka BeadVizChick — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 20:29:54 +0000

Ali: As discussed previously, I am attaching photos of my gemstone storage system. I am also attaching a photo of the cute little vertical cylinder boxes which I use to keep all of my small findings, such as jump rings, bead caps, small clasps, metal beads, ear wires, etc. etc. Hope this helps. Best Regards, Harriet M.

By: Harriet aka BeadVizChick

Harriet aka BeadVizChick — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 19:38:15 +0000

Hi Ali: I thought I would add my two cents to the beading storage dilemma. I definitely think it is an ongoing problem. I find that the compartmentalized boxes from either Container Store, or Joanne’s Crafts, MIchaels or AC Moore are great for small items such as buttons, medium size beads (I usually divide by type and color as well). Also, I use the drawers on wheels too, but they can become a problem if the drawers are too heavy as mentioned earlier. One of the greatest items I use for my gemstone beads is the small clear boxes from Container Store (they are about 6 inches tall by 6 inches wide by 5 inches deep approx.). I usually unstring my gemstones, put them in individual baggies and store them in one of those containers marked specifically for each type of gemstone. For example, one box each for amazonite, aventurine, labradorite, lapis, etc. I also store my gemstone pendants in little baggies and they also go into separate containers by gemstone name. It it a little time consuming, but I am able to find what I am looking for much more easily. The boxes are stored in one of my cabinets and are basically lined up alphabetically. I will try to upload a photo of that later. Hope these ideas help.

By: Luv2bead - Little Chick

Luv2bead - Little Chick — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 23:25:26 +0000

Here’s mine

By: Amber

Amber — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 10:20:06 +0000

I just marvel at how much stuff you all have! I have only just started and have a serving tray with tools, beads, wire, findings etc. etc on it. Beads are organised by colour in the plastic bags they came in and then per colour in a zip-lock freezer bag.All styles beads mixed as long as they have the same colour.