As I’ve mentioned, repeatedly, I’m redoing my studio. By the way, it’s almost finished (the big stuff is done; paint, floor, new cabinets, work bench) and I will be posting lots and lots of pictures within a week or so.
Anyway, about my boxes. I was trying to think of a good and relatively inexpensive way to store frit, foil, enamels, and other lampwork stuff as well as beads, findings, etc. You know, all the junk that seems to pile up. I looked and looked but everything I found either wasn’t right or cost-prohibitive. Stupidly, the answer was right in front of me, on my desk, next to my computer.
Years ago, I lived near Tampa Florida and Tampa has a little incorporated city to the south, and I believe, east of it called Ybor city. This was, at least at the time, the trendy, artsy-fartsy district that became a one-stop boozapallooza at night. Ybor had other attractions including an old cigar factory in which was now housed a cigar shop. They had gobs of wooden and cardboard cigar boxes that they were practically giving away. I stockpiled a bunch and I think sold most of them when I moved back to Indiana. But I do still have a couple and I use them all the time.
I knew you could still buy them especially since the cigar box purse craze from a few years ago but I didn’t know where to look around Indianapolis so I looked on the internet. Etsy and Ebay had listings but Thompson Cigar Company had the best deal; 10 boxes for $10. They have a listing for “premium” boxes 10/$20 but I was thrilled with my “bargain” boxes!
I’m not sure what to do with the two Italian cardboard ones that have the satin over foam troughs…I mean they just scream bead storage and the Criollo box has little drawers, how freakin’ cute is that?!?!?! That one might have to be for show display. The rest are as cool as I expected, just not quite as unusual as those three. I can’t wait to start unpacking stuff tomorrow!!!!
