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ep7 creating in a small space
Hey there. Today’s episode is a solo episode and I’m gonna talk about the new shed I just bought to turn into a studio. Huh. I’m gonna share with you my plans for it cuz I think that’s really exciting and I think you might as well. And I’m also gonna talk about how I make space to create in a small space. So I had a listener reach out to me and let me know that they would love to hear how I stay creative and have the room to be creative in a 400 square foot house, cuz that’s what I live in. So we’re gonna talk about that and then I’m gonna talk about finding space for your own creativity, both physical space and mental space. So let’s get started.

You are listening to the In Kinship podcast and I am your host, Tina VanDenburg.. The In Kinship Podcast is a podcast for makers who crave a vibrant, authentic life on their own terms.

Today’s episode is sponsored by Kinship Handwork. What? That’s my business. Yeah, for real. I thought for good news sakes, I can sponsor my own podcast. I have cool things to share with you and I have an exciting thing to share with you that’s very time sensitive. So here I am sponsoring my own podcast. So you may not know this about me, but I own a business teaching women how to sew clothing they love called kinship handwork.

And in my business, I teach in person in northern Michigan where I live, or actually all throughout Michigan. I also teach at retreats on Mackinac Island I have two of them a year and I have online courses and workshops, and I have some new exciting ones coming up for the spring of 2023, and they’re going to be in my new work studio.
Woo. So exciting. All right, so the point of sponsoring the podcast today though, is that my spring retreat on Mackinac Island, which is gonna be held on April 30th through May 4th, is available for registration right now, but only for the next like five days. If you’re listening to this. On the day that it dropped, which is February 23rd. Then registration closes for the spring retreat of 2023 on February 28th. As of March 1st, all of our hotel rooms return back to the hotel and are gonna be gobbled up by some other eager people who wanna visit Mackinac Island.

So if you’ve been considering joining us for the spring retreat, now is the time truly. , and here’s what we’re going to do at the retreat. The spring retreat is gonna focus on cloning, ready to wear clothing that you already have and love. And the beauty of this is you could have something that you like very much, that no longer fits you or has holes in it, or you wish had a different collar.

We are going to be able to clone that garment and make the changes that you wanna make. , and this is the best part. No clothing will be harmed in the process of cloning those, those pieces. So you’ll get time with me to work through how to clone that garment, how to create patterns, and then you’ll sew up that pattern and have this garment that we’re gonna make sure that we fine tune the fit on.

And you can do that with a couple of different pieces if you want to. Depends on how ambitious you are, the retreats themselves. Are magical. A little bit of mindfulness, circling up with other women, making with our hands, empowering ourselves to dress in the way that we want to.

All of that comes together at the retreat. retreat itself is incredibly intimate. There’s only 12 spaces,

and I have some surprises up my sleeve for you. Not only do I make you special little things but also I plan a special night for us as well. So jump on the website, kinship handwork.com, K I N S H I P H A N D W O R k.com,
and under retreats you’ll see both the spring and the fall. The spring one is the one that’s gonna close here in a less than a week. The fall one, you have a little more time if you wanna check that one out. Oh, and I should say, if I know it’s a big deal to make a plan to gift yourself this kind of time and space. So if you have any questions on whether this is a right fit for you, if you have enough experience, if you have too much experience, whatever that might be, please reach out to me, tina@kinshiphandwork.com.

And now back to our show.

So a couple of weeks ago, one of the listeners to the podcast reached out to me and had mentioned that they would love to hear about how I stay creative and how I find space to be creative in such a small living area. My little boy and I live in a 400 square foot little house, and we moved here just about nine months ago or so.

Now I am not new to small living. When I was in my twenties, I had a bookstore, and when I had the bookstore,
I converted a very dear friend’s, shed into a little house, actually, I call it the Shottage, which was a hybrid between a shed and a cottage . It was 10 by 20, had a sleeping loft up top. and it was just delightful. I lived there for two years and I absolutely adored it. It was back in my twenties, but I have always had an affinity for small spaces. I feel comfortable, I feel safe. I like that in a small space I can have quality materials. And not have that break the bank, right? so I can do work that I love doing and also live in a really beautiful way .

So in all fairness, I have this little space that I’ve been creating in, but I do have this beautiful little building that I purchased a couple of months ago. So I have an Amish community near me and they build these sheds. that can become a multitude of different things. So I bought a shed that was 12 by 20 and by shed, I just mean it’s a, it’s a small wooden building, 12 feet by 20 feet.

It has a loft up top. It sort of sounds like that Shottage I talked about doesn’t it?, but it is a wee bit bigger , ironically, and this is gonna become sort of a multipurpose space for me. So, Because I do live in a very small house. There are some things that I wanna store that I don’t wanna get rid of. I’m gonna talk about curating here in a minute.
But there are some things I don’t want to not have, but that don’t fit in my little place. And things like canning supplies, camping gear, winter gear, Christmas decorations, things like that, right? I’m gonna put a floor planned in the show notes because I think that’s super fun and I’m gonna do that so you can see it if you want to.

So I totally would wanna see that. So you open up at the doors and you look to your right, and there’s a six foot loft on that right hand side. And then on the left hand side, it’s open ceiling. So underneath the loft, half of that 12 foot space, cuz it’s 12 foot wide, is going to be storage.

I purchased some heavy duty storage shelves, and that’s gonna be storage for camping gear, canning gear, all that kind of stuff. . Then the other half of that space underneath the loft is going to be spaced for my wee little fella, my boy who’s seven years old, he’s gonna have a work bench over there in shelving and things like that to store all of his treasures.

He’s very excited. Although I will tell you, he was surprised and slightly disappointed that he didn’t get half of the building. So when the building arrived, he and I both rush out there to look at it and he’s like, mom, what are you gonna do with your half? And I’m like, my half. What are you talking about?

And he’s like, well, I get half and you get half. And I’m like, whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on. Well, I am excited to share with you. You’re not gonna get half, but you’re gonna get a great corner right over here. And he had to deal with his disappointment, to which I said, there are children in third world countries who don’t have a workshop at all.
You. . And so, um, he found that to be just as effective as I did when my mom said that to me about clearing my plate. So anyway, , the rest of the space though is going to be my studio and, and one of the big walls. I have this giant armoire, and right now this armoire is serving as my closet in my little 400 square foot house.

It’s monstrous. It’s like four feet wide by two feet deep and probably seven feet tall. It’s heavy as sin, but it’s got cupboards down below that have doors. And when you open up those cupboards, my sewing machines fit perfectly in there because that’s where they are housed right now. The top portion also has cupboard’ doors. When you open the cupboard, doors kind of stepped back are shelves. So my plan for this piece is to move it outta the little house cuz it’s really commanding and sort of obnoxious in the little space. It feels like ominous when you walk by it. It’s so big.
So I’m gonna put my fabric on the shelving. Along with other notions, I’ll probably put them into baskets cause I like texture and I like natural materials. But I’m going to also take and build myself a cutting table and it will be hinged to the bottom of that little shelving unit.

And when you open up those doors, I can then fold that table down and fold the legs out and have a cutting table. and so then it will be tucked behind the doors when I’m not needing it, but available when I do. So excited for that. How exciting is it that you have a piece of furniture that I actually purchased at a thrift store for like 25 bucks?
That is gonna have a life sort of easily serve a purpose in my new space, so I’m very excited. . Then in that space, I’m also gonna have this beautiful rocking chair that was gifted to me by a friend. I’m gonna reupholster the seat on it and I’m gonna get myself another little armchair and I have this beautiful round wooden table and I have some task lighting that’s gonna go into that little corner and that corner’s gonna be for handwork.

It’s gonna be for visiting, obviously, is probably where I’ll do some recording. , all of that cuz you know that I do videos online and I also do them podcast. So the podcast and the videos are all gonna happen out there. And I’m gonna do live workshops. Where I’m gonna teach you how to sew specific clothing and that’s all gonna be in my studio as well.

So I’m really excited to have a dedicated space to do that and then be able to shut the doors to the space, come into the house. Make dinner and kind of disconnect from business. Cause right now all business happens on my kitchen table and I’ve been doing that for years. But I know that that’s not the best plan for me because it’s hard for me to disconnect from what I’m doing and shift into, um, non-working Tina.
And so, you know, that it’s really important to me to spend the time to know what works well for me and part. is having something that signals that one part of my day has ended and another has begun. Okay. Whew. So exciting. Then in the other corner, kind of curling around to the front side again, I’m gonna have a counter that has my favorite sewing machine and my serger set up all the time.

Oh my God. Listen, I know how lucky. that this was happening, that I’ve prioritized this in my life and I acknowledge that like I have coveted something like this for so long. So I’m excited to share it with you, but I also know like I’m really sorry if you’re like, dang you, I want that too. Get I get it. I totally get it.

So as I come around to the front, then underneath one of the big windows that are in the front of the building, I want a big work table. And by big I just mean like two foot by four. . Uh, but I want it to be vintage. I want it to have a patina. I want it to be just like beautiful wood that’s got like oil in it and not like motor oil right?

But like the oil from hands, I just want it to be sturdy and beautiful so that I am on the search for everything else I pretty much already have, which is exciting. It’s exciting to bring that all in. And then at that work table, I’m gonna do all the. . I’ll do computer work there. I’ll do leather work there.

I’ll work with rivets and wax canvas there, I’ll do little paintings, whatever, right? That’ll be the place where a lot of work gets done. And then I have this beautiful chandelier that I purchased at a thrift store. I’m very much a thrifter so every once in a while I will collect things that really speak to me.

I don’t bring a lot home because having an excess amount of stuff stresses. , but this chandelier I found two years ago, and I knew that I wanted it to be somewhere someday. So I have the building and it needs the electric and insulation and drywall put on the walls, things like that.

I will post pictures of that giant armoire I’m talking about, and I will post pictures of the floor plan because I always find that fascinating.

And then as I start to put it together, I will also share that on my blog. So my first tips for being creative in a small space, and I would actually just say in any space at all, is curate what you own.

Not only the crafting supplies that you have or the making supplies , however you define your making, your creativity, but also in the things that you own in your home. And now this doesn’t mean you have to become a minimalist, right? You can be a maximalist. Absolutely. I just encourage you to make sure that the things that you have in your life, the things that you have in your home are things that bring you joy, that are either things that have utility or are beautiful or are holding the place for something down the road that you’re gonna find to replace them with.

Like maybe. They’re not beautiful, but they’re useful and you know that someday you wanna replace them with something better. I think that that is a really valuable way to live, and I think that when we know what we have and what we own, especially when it comes to fabric and things right, then we are more mindful with what we purchased because, um, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to purchase
rivets or something, not realizing I have a bag of 200 sitting at the bottom of a basket, right?

So like, the more knowledge you have of what you own, the less waste you’re gonna bring it. And so I suggest that you curate what you have. And I, I like to be rather brutal about this because having an excess of things makes me stressed out.
Living in such a small place. This means that I need to make sure that everything has a place. And I think that that pertains to your working making space as well, right?

If everything has a place, then you are gonna have so much more ease When you wanna just kind of jump into making something, you’re not gonna have to dig through some baskets or some totes to try to find something and not be able to locate it.
And I know this can be a little bit of a pipe dream, cuz I continually have to. , I continually have to clear that stinking kitchen island off, which I had visions of it being clear all the time so that at any moment I could cut vegetables or I could cut out a dress, or I could sew up some bags, right? I had this vision that that island was gonna be clear all the time.

I don’t even think it’s ever been clear, like right this minute as I’m looking around. There are two packages of dried fruit and three books in a game. To go back to the library, there are some markers, , and a bill that I have to pay and the tablet, and then this sweet little phone holder that my, my little boy made me the, I’m not sure what category it falls into because, so he made this little phone holder out of Kinex, and I’m gonna put a picture of this in the show notes too.

and if you’re a parent, you know what Kinex are. But kinex are these plastic mm kind of stick and cog looking things that you can build things out of. So he built me a phone holder out of Kinex and I love it because I love him, right? But it’s not particularly good at holding up a phone and it’s not particularly beautiful , so it just kind of floats around the house cuz I don’t have the heart to not.
but I don’t know what to do with it Exactly.

We’re not all perfect at this For sure. So all of these things are on my, my kitchen island right now.

And I wish that they weren’t , but I don’t have a great space for them. Right. When I moved into the little house, I definitely thought about the flow of my life. Where would I set my case? Where would I put my coat? How would my boats be arranged, especially in the winter. I live in Northern Michigan and we get lots of snow.

Where would all of these things have a home? So that I didn’t get overwhelmed with clutter and I enjoyed my living space being such a small space. And so for me that meant I purchased some things that I might have made myself in a different life. So like for instance, I purchased a spice rack that was really streamlined and clean so that I could put all my spices next to the stove.

So they were in easy access, but they also still looked pretty neat and orderly. Normally what I would’ve done is found some beautiful vintage wooden boxes. Stack them up in this beautiful artistic way and put my spices in there and that would’ve been all right, but I couldn’t get quite as many in there.

I needed to maximize the space I had and how I was using it. So be really mindful on how you house, what you have. That’s kind of my tip number two, make sure that everything has a space. When I moved, Creative making materials into my little house.
I couldn’t bring it all with me. I have things in storage that are gonna get shifted into my new workspace, but I have this vintage wooden accordion, sewing box, and all the things that I need to create something went into that box. My favorite scissors, threads, buttons, elastics, seam, rippers, all of those kind of things. And by culling it down to the things that I knew I would need so that if I did a project in my small space, I knew I’d have all the tools I needed really allowed me to curate, again, going back to that curation, what it is that I own. Now I have some other tools and materials that went to the storage unit, but I do have to then like, as I bring them into my new studio space, decide, do these really have a home here?

Do I really need them? Because for me, at least, and I know we’re all different, but for me, having too many things just clouds my brain and makes me feel a bit stressed out, there’s really value for me in clearing out and making mental space as well as physical space. Which brings me to tip number three, and that is to make mental space to be creative, right? And part of that is also prioritizing your creative ventures. So if you are not creating and instead, but you are spending 15 or 20 minutes, I don’t know, getting lost in social media or doing something else that isn’t feeding your soul, prioritizing what it is that you know that you need in your life is a really important thing to do.

So several years ago when I first had my little boy, I had postpartum depression. It wasn’t something I’d ever experienced before. and I didn’t even know that that’s what it was for a long time.

I just knew for about a year and a half I was underwater. I felt like I was drowning. I felt very strong in being a mom, but in every other way. I felt like I was under the ice and I could see the world, but I couldn’t quite see the world clearly. If any of you have suffered from postpartum depression, you know, it’s, it’s a really strange place to find yourself.

And at the time I wasn’t creating, I was nursing a brand new baby. And I was becoming a mother at 37 and had to learn how to let go of the very developed adult human that I was. And that’s not to say that you can’t be the adult human that you are and a mother at the same time. . But I believe that for a short time at least, there’s that shift and it’s hard, and you have to figure out how to exist within that space as both just your unique human and also a human that a little baby is relying upon so strongly.
So during that time, finally sort of hit a brick wall and realized I have to find a group that is making things. I have to find a group that gets me out of the house. So that I can’t push it aside. I commit to other people. So I’m there every week, and so I found a knitting group in my little hometown, and I went to the knitting group every Wednesday and I held that boundary like it was a lifeline because it was, and I held it even when. . It was pushed against and it was pushed against because it was a new boundary and it was something that like, well, you know, this is going on, so can’t you just skip that this week or, that’s happening, so can’t you just skip that this week?
It’s just this week. And I did sometimes for sure, but for the rest of the time, I held it strong and I’m so glad that I did because it helped me feel like a human again. Right? It helped me through what was a really difficult time. And also really lovely, right? Both of those things can be true at one time.

motherhood was absolutely beautiful and life-giving, but it was also really hard in those very early years, nursing with a baby that wasn’t sleeping through the night for like a year and a half. It’s hard stuff. I held that boundary very strongly. . And part of the way, the reason that I could do that at the time was because couldn’t just let it be wishy-washy because I have committed to other people.

So if you are struggling to find time to create, I suggest finding a group that you can make things with. So I had this knitting group that I went , every week, but then I also developed a maker’s group and we would get together and people would do whatever they wanted. So like somebody would be doing wood burning, somebody would be knitting, somebody else would painting.

I often brought mending because I loved to mend in theory, but I find it really hard to commit to on my own.

So my suggestion to you is to create some kind of accountability with other people, at least to get you started, at least to get you back on track, to be creative. And I know this won’t work for everyone but I found it to be a really great way to get my creativity back and to also get that community, which was really important to me.

So you have to prioritize the need to create. And so that could be, again, creating a group that gives you that accountability to make sure that you show up to create stuff, which is sounds crazy, like it should be more effortless. But at least in my own life, I sometimes struggle to have it be effortless if I don’t put some boundaries or priorities on myself.

And then the other thing is to create mental space. to be creative is do the things that you need to take care of your body and to take care of your life so that you have more room to make things. Cuz we all have space where we waste time because we feel crummy about the way our lives are going. Right?

So for me that means if I started every morning with my morning routine, which is a meditation or a journal, maybe a little prayer. and then I did some dancing or some yoga, and then at some point during the day I also walked like, wow, I am so set up for success. And I know that isn’t directly related to being creative, but for me it is because it’s like taking care of the things that crowd my brain and and don’t allow me to be as vibrant as I want.

So that’s important for me. And then I also love the ideas that James Clear puts out about atomic habits and that pair your creativity up with something you already do, right? So have a trigger. An example of that is if you know that you’re gonna brush your teeth every night, right? maybe.

Then right after you brush your teeth, you spend 15 minutes writing in your. or writing your book or whatever, so then that act of brushing your teeth, which you’ve already well established in your life, most likely, is then gonna trigger the next thing that you wanna continually do in your life.

And I think that if you can find something to kind of pair up with that, that there’s a lot of value in that as well.

I also wanna talk about the value of trying something brand new. There’s something about the excitement that we get in being a brand new learner at something. If you are in those sort of doldrums of creating, see if there’s something that sparks your interest, that’s brand new for you, because being a brand new learner is exciting. It’s also frustrating.

I will tell you that right now. It’s a frustrating experience when you can’t, when you haven’t mastered something and you’re still working through that frustrating, like, I can’t quite get this. Why can’t I? Until you can kind of flow into that master. . But there’s also something very exciting about painting your first painting that looks like maybe your son did it, but being so excited about having done something new.
So try something new. I think that’s a great way to kickstart your creativity. as well. So if you are looking. . To be creative in a small space. I think the biggest key for me is to curate what you own, curate what you own in general, but also curate what you own in your hobby and be really clear with what you wanna work with.

Like maybe you don’t get to work with all of the markers and pens and paints when you’re doing mixed media stuff. Maybe you have just your favorites and invest in quality stuff so that what you are working with, you love working with. And also. Having a space for everything, making sure everything has a home, and that way when you are ready to work on something, you just bring that little caddy over, or you bring that basket over, or you bring that little accordion, vintage sewing box over, right?
You bring those things over and they’re easy to get to because if you put too many hurdles in front of you, you’re not going to be creative. You’re not going to take the time. If your kitchen island is never bloody clear , you’re not gonna find the time to do the things you wanna do. This is definitely a reminder to myself.

And then prioritize it. Prioritize it by creating space in your life for it. Like making room for your space, making mental room for yourself by taking care of yourself in ways that allow you to be more creative So those are my suggestions. And again, I’m gonna put pictures in the show notes cause I think that’s very.

And I can’t wait to share with you my journey as I make this art studio in my backyard.

That’s it for our show. Thanks for listening to the In Kinship podcast. I’m so grateful that you were here. I value the fact that you are spending your time. , thank you.

Would you do me a big favor? Would you jump on your podcasting app and subscribe to the In Kinship podcast?
And also leave me a review? . And a final word from our sponsor, Kinship Handwork yes, my own business. Woo. So remember, if you have any interest at all in that spring retreat, jump on the website right now.

You have until February 28th, 2023 to register for the spring retreat, which is gonna be held April 30th through May 4th on Mackinac Island in Michigan. We’re gonna clone some ready to wear clothing. We’re going to laugh and get. And move our bodies and have just the best time. Jump on the website at kinshiphandwork.com, and that’s K I N S H I P H A N D W O R k.com.
Click on retreats and choose spring retreat.