[Current studio. My IKEA ‘workbench’ with benchpin clamped on, my stone-setting vise, and elderly laptop for Important Studio Internetting, i.e., streaming This American Life.]
[Other corner with shelves o crap and my soldering station.]
My studio situation is melting down. Studiomate #1 just bought a real live house of her very own that has an adorable little garage about to be converted into her very own studio with french doors and perhaps a skylight. I’m not jealous. Or bitter. Our current landlord has chapped the hide of studiomate #2 one too many times (or perhaps once was enough) and so we decided to give the place up. So… My options are thus:
1) Find an awesome little place, not too big, not too small, nice light, roommates or none, secure, comfortable, internet-capable, walking or biking distance from my house. And cheaper than the place I rent now. Is this really too much to ask? Craigslist seems to think so.
2) All of the above with room for two and split it with studiomate #2. Again, Craig is not being very helpful.
[Studio design I cooked up in a fever of builder’s excitement. Siding would be corrugated metal and salvage cedar siding or palette wood. I know the roof is thin; I hadn’t decided what to use yet.]
3) Build a studio in my backyard (see above). With all of my free time. The fact that we rent our place sort of puts a soggy damper on this idea. It would be difficult to move anything we built out of our backyard without removing a tree, squashing half the garden, and dismantling the fence. Not to mention it would probably be a little heavy.
[Interior layout.]
3) Modify a prefab shed, shipping container, build on a trailer (like a thing you pull behind a truck, not a camper) into a studio. The same issues with the fence dismantling, garden squashing, and tree killing still stand. It would be less work but a lot less pretty than my adorable little design above.
4) Buy a boat, put all our stuff in storage, and sail to Mexico. (Don’t laugh—I’ve done it before.)
I’d so go with option four. Please! We’ll have cocktails ready. I’m browsing your blog for you margarita recipes, craving those margaritas you served at anchor in Panama.
Cheers, Nina
Heya Nina – Margarita recipe is one of the golden cocktail recipes:
2 parts strong (tequila)
1 part sweet (triple sec liquor)
1 part sour (lime juice)
I usually mix as above and then do a quick taste check–sometimes if the limes are super sour, a tiny bit of sugar needs to be added to balance it just right. Mix the ingredients and serve over rocks (or shaken over ice in a cocktail shaker and served up) in a salted-rim glass. Mmmm.