The New Studio!
Welcome to The New Dye Studio!
Well to be honest, it's my first ever work designated area that didn't also have to heavily overlap our personal life.
Created by Elsie B started while we were living in a variety of hotels through the Midwest - I think technically I dyed my first bit of fiber in some little tiny town in Iowa. I still remember the dark carpet of the stairwell and running up from the front desk with my first order of Jacquard dyes, moving on from the food coloring I'd started out with (BLESS those first customers for believing in me so readily when I had no idea what I was doing).
While this space isn't as large as my dream studio is, you'll hear zero complaints from me - I still have moments of surreality as I'm working in the space, that it's actually HERE after dreaming for so long.
I could talk for ages about everything that brought us to this point but I'm pretty sure you're just here for the pictures. So without further ado....
Upper Left photo: The entry to the studio - we went with a glass paned sliding barn style door. In the photo you can see the dye table (with totes on top of it) and get a peek at the drying rack with fiber hanging from it.
Upper Right photo: The left side of the studio includes where I store the ready to be dyed fiber as well as a 3 sink wet space & the food warmers I use to set the dyes (not visible in this shot). One question I got was if we have an exhaust fan, and the answer to that is yes, you can see it in the upper right corner of this photo.
Lower Left photo: The warming table. We inset the 3 food warmers I've used the past 6 years so they're near flush to the melamine surface. You can also see the storage space for totes under the table as well as the overflow dye shelves.
Lower Right photo: A closer look at the wet space - it's the standard commercial grade kitchen sink with 3 bays & faucet - we also added 2 additional faucets to one of the built-in metal counters of the sink.
Upper Left photo: A closer look at the two faucets we have for filtered water - the one in the foreground is an instant hot water faucet, the one in the background is cold water only. They both swivel to be able to fill containers in the sink or on the countertop.
Upper Right photo: The laundry spinner I use after rinsing fibers - for ease of access (ya girl is tall) it's set up from the floor on a bucket with a hose attached to divert water to the drain & we've bungee corded it to anchors on the wall to either side.
Lower Left photo: The back wall of the studio where my large dyes are stored & the drying rack begins. The dye storage is a place holder for the proofing ovens I plan to add to the studio as soon as the business has excess profit enough for the purchase (that's gonna be a fun addition!)
Lower Right photo: My dye mixing station. We built something similar in a previous set up, and it's so nice to have again!
Upper Left photo: The weighing station, where we take bumps of fiber and turn them into 4 oz pieces. My ball winder is currently attached to this table but who knows if that's where it will stay forever.
Upper Right photo: The right side of the studio includes the drying rack, the tying station (the closet rod), the weighing station, my desk & (out of view) the dye table.
Lower Left photo: This is the 4th iteration of my dye table & I have to say I really love it & couldn't do my work without this cool thing. You can see above it the totes from the first photo looking into the studio. And we upgraded from a single knife strip to two! I'll probably add two more to the warming table side too.
Lower Right photo: The desk I'm sitting at to write this post. Here's where I store shipping supplies and the thank you cards I'm writing to every customer who purchases in 2024.
And of course all of this looks so much more put together than it really is on a working day, but you know that right? There was a lot of forethought and planning and dreaming (the dude has been up in the middle of the night drawing out plans multiple times through the years) that went into this space & I can't wait to see how it allows Created by Elsie B to really flourish.
And if you've made it this far in the post, congratulations & thank you! I hope you loved this glimpse into what we've been up to for the last 6 months & I'd love to hear what you think.
Anyone who comments on this blog post will be entered to win 4 oz of a colorway of my choice. This giveaway is not affiliated with anyone and is solely hosted on the blog of CreatedbyElsieB.com. This giveaway is open to residents of the world that have an address the USPS system recognizes & closes February 12, 2024. The winner will be chosen via randomizer & the winning comment will be shared to social media as an announcement of who won. The winner will need to email hello@createdbyelsieb.com by February 19, 2024 to claim their prize or a redraw winner will be announced on February 20th.
Comments
That’s a beautiful dye studio! I’ve been following you for a while and know getting to this point has been a roller coaster. Enjoy your new space, you deserve it!
I love your new studio. It’s so shiny and new, I would be afraid to use it :)
So exciting to know where you started and see how far you’ve come! Can’t wait to see what’s created in this space.
Love the new space! Have really enjoyed seeing your Instagram posts of you working in the new space. It’s amazing to see what comes out of such an incredible space. Must be inspiring!
Your space looks wonderful! I am new to spinning and am making a list of businesses to purchase fiber from. You will most definitely be on the top of the list. I love your colors!
I see I picked up spinning at just the right time in your journey! excited to see where this space takes you next !
Congratulations on the dedicated work space! Your fiber is always so beautiful I would have assumed you had something like this all along. But now you can really get stuff done in there!
Wow!!! Your new space is gorgeous! Love your work and can’t wait to spin up some more Created by Elsie B fiber!!
They is awesome you are getting a new space to work in! Your colorways are so gorgeous. I ordered a few things from you a couple months ago and haven’t had the chance to spin them yet but really look forward to it!
Isn’t it awesome when you have a work space designed and dedicated to your passion? I have loved your fibers for years and I can’t wait to see what new combos you come up with!
LOVE the new space. I’m envious that you get to spend your days playing with color. Itching to buy more fiber…
Congratulations on opening your gorgeous studio and on everything that it means for your business! I’ve submit your product before and it was silky smooth for my shawl.
That dye studio looks heavenly!! You’ve done amazing work in much less comfortable spaces, I can only imagine the wonderful things that will come out of this lovely space.
Cheers!!
What an amazing studio! Inspires me to keep dreaming about having my own space for personal dye projects one day. So cool to see how far you’ve reached.
Wow!! That looks so great. Yours was some of the first fiber I bought after I learned to spin for a high school project and continues to be a favorite every time I get the itch to start doing it again. May this space bring you happiness for a while to come!
I love your studio. It is so nice and bright.
Your space is so clean and organized! I love seeing behind the scenes and always enjoy watching your reels
So excited for your new space!! I’ve bought from you a couple times in the past and have always enjoyed the quality. Can’t wait to see what awesome new ideas you come up with all your new thinking space!
I didn’t realize this was a new space! I love the set up, and watching your videos on IG. Thank you so much for sharing! PS I love purple. ☺️
I am so excited and happy for you to see your studio space grow! You have such beautiful color combos and it’s so lovely to see that your business is growing (also I love your Insta posts about “this order paid for my lunch and therapy today,” I genuinely think they are so wholesome and they give me hope that artists can be financially successful in this world)