I recently had the opportunity to purchase some IKEA shelving, the Expedit line, one of the larger ones, the 4×4 cubbies. It might seem grandiose, but i thought it would make a great glass scrap organizer. I have been turning ideas over in my head on how to reorganize my glass. currently, it is stored in milk crates, on an industrial kitchen rack, one of those metal ones. This one is about 15 years old, so it is super sturdy, designed to hold heavy industrial and commercial supplies and cookware. I have two of these and they are workhorses. the racks themselves must weigh 50 lbs. it is an effort for me to move one by myself.
I have devised and discarded several plans, which i won’t go into here. too much explaining. The current rack is sitting at a right angle to the garage wall, so it sticks out… it worked when i initially set it up, but now, it is kind of a pain in the butt. I had planned to move it lie flush against another wall. Then this shelf unit came up for sale and I thought, ooooohhhh, that’ll work great! Then i took it a bit further and thought since it was such an attractive shelf unit, why not bring it inside?
With that in mind, I painted a wall last weekend, and moved my work table. Even without the shelf unit, I am super happy with the move. I only turned the work table 90 degrees, but I love the new orientation. I am able to look out the sliders to the side porch, filled with plants and bright lights and sleeping kitties, and into the LR, and out into the front yard.
Yesterday, in the midst of running a low fever, some lovely hot and cold sweats, and a little bit of something else i won’t mention, the shelf unit came home. My wonderful neighbor, A, helped me out. A does these gorgeous mosaic mannequins in glass, but she also paints and draws beautifully. She understands the jones for a new arty toy. Not only did she help me unload the heavy-ass thing, but get it into place as well. AND she went to trader joes and picked up a bottle of cranberry juice for me, while i swooned on the couch.
Today I set it all up, in between resting and eating and watching episodes of Castle. I had gotten some 24″ flourescent light fixtures, with plug, from a neighbor who was moving out. I mounted those on the wall behind the unit. I ran to OSH and grabbed some daylight tubes, which turned out to be a bad idea. By the time i arrived home I was shaking and sweaty. Fun! A cold shower and two episodes of Castle later, i put in the foam base in all the cubbies, and carried in some glass, just to see how it looked…
it looks AWESOME!!!!
I am so pleased with it. it will take a while to load it all up, but it will be grand when it is all done. For one thing, the glass is filthy with dust. I’ll run up the compressor and use the blow attachment to dust it off before brining it inside. But not today.
Posted in Cool glass, Inspiration, Technique
Tags: glass sorting, glass storage, green, IKEA, stained glass, storage, work area, workshop, workspace
love affair with stained glass 
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