Settling In

Well, I think I am finally starting to settle in for the long cold winter.  It has been snowing for the past few days, and it's here to stay.  It's only 10 right now and not going above freezing anytime soon, probably not until spring.  The wood stove is working 24/7 keeping us cozy.  In the evenings we go down and haul up wood every hour so we have enough to last through the night and next morning.  We just made our last trip and it was bitter outside even though the woodpile is right outside the downstairs door under the deck.  Tonight I saw fairly big  footprints in the snow (not big enough for a bear, thank goodness).  I'm going to do some research to find out what animal they are.  We've seen deer, turkeys, foxes, rabbits, the usual.  Nothing exotic.  Neighbors tell us there are a few bear around.

Yesterday and today I spent organizing and filing mountains of paper in my office.  It's a New Year's Day tradition.  If I'm slightly hungover, it's something quiet I can do to keep busy and start the New Year off organized.  I'm always so proud when I'm finished.  Soon I will get down to the onerous task of working on my business spreadsheets.  Every year I swear I'm going to keep up with it on a weekly basis, but I never do.  Maybe this year will be different.  Maybe someone will do it for me. 

Luckily, we don't need to go anywhere until grocery shopping next week

My studio

I promised I would post pictures of my studio awhile back, so here goes.  I had originally planned to show pictures of my pristine studio, all clean and sparkling, but I thought it would be more realistic to show it in all its glory in the middle of production.  Things tend to get a little messy during a run.  After an order is completed, I clean it up, put down all new paper, wash all my molds and tools, and put them back in place.   Yeah, like it ever stays that way, but that's a good thing because that means I'm busy.  I always start with a nearly sterile atmosphere.  I wear an apron and latex gloves to keep my hands and products clean, no fingerprints. 

My studio is my haven.  I love spending time there with the radio always tuned to NPR.  The music and talk keep my mind active while I'm working.  My melting pot is in a room just off the studio.  I now have 2 pots and without them, I would be lost.  I also have a microwave nearby to melt smaller amounts of wax.  Some day, I may invest in a commercial wax melter. 

I have a work table where I do all my work.  I try to have all my tools organized and right at hand.  I buy disposable pans, paper towels and other supplies  at a restaurant supply store.  I wash and re-use them as often as I can, but they are inexpensive, so I don't feel bad when they are completely trashed during production.

Once the candles are done, they go over to a staging area, a clean table with fresh paper.  Once an order is completed, I can begin the packing process.  It can take up to a few hours to properly pack a larger order. 

 

I have yet another table set up just for packing orders.  I have a closet full of packing materials, including boxes, a huge roll of bubble wrap, shrink wrap, organza bags, padding, zip bags, poly bags and packing paper.  I often re-use materials that I receive from my supply orders - I get tons of packing peanuts and padding, so I don't spend a lot on shipping supplies.  In addition, I moved in July, so I have an ample supply of boxes which I turn inside out and re-tape together. 

So this is my studio, my haven, my workspace.