What's In My (Jewelry) Bag

One of my main goals for 2016 is to finally get my act together with this blog. I know I've said it a million times but I am determined to make it so this time. I have a do-able content calendar created for the next few months so we'll see how it goes!

Onward we go : Jewelry Tuesdays

For my first new change, I decided to implement "Jewelry Tuesdays". Every Tuesday I will be posting a different piece related to different aspects of jewelry. This week I decided to do a mash-up of a "What's In My Bag" post and a "Studio Tour" post. I'm calling it a "What's In My Jewelry Bag" post, (clever, I know!) 

First thing is first : the bag. I keep everything semi-contained in a black Longchamp bag. This bag is the best for anything really, and I used to use it as my everyday bag. I love that it is huuuuuge and super sturdy.

This picture makes it look more worn than it actually is. I've had it for over 3 years and it has gracefully handled any element that I have thrown at it. 

Next we have the items inside. Because I have to be mobile, I do most of my work on a Bead Buddy Jr. This works for me because it has the bead mat material on both sides and lets me store my tools and any projects I am working on. 

I try to keep only the necessities with me but as you can see, "necessities" is a word I use loosely. 

I have a set of mini flatnose, round nose and clippers, a large set of clippers, nylon jaw flat and round, a pocket crimper, a small pair of scissors and a metal clip. I feel like this is a good set of tools to have, it pretty much covers all the needs of the work that I do on a day to day basis. 

I keep most of my beads in this standard compartmentalized storage box. All the beads are separated in small bags so that I can store more per tiny square because let's be honest, I have way more beads than probably necessary. I used to just have the bags in wherever they fit but then one night I took the time to organize them by color and boy what a difference that made! Plus it just looks so pretty! 

I keep my crystals in small bags in an old Birchbox box. This started as just a few stones but now I have to keep the box closed with a rubber band because I have so many. And these are just the working stones. If I carried around everything I had, my arms would break off from the weight! 

Currently I have some beautiful pieces of Sodalite, Citrine, Amethyst, Quartz, Rose Quartz, Carnelian and Moonstone! 

In a similar fashion, I keep my spools and loose pieces of wire in another old Birchbox box. I use mainly Artistic Wire because I like the coloring, but I'm thinking of perhaps branching out to try new types when these run out. This box is also helpful to keep the little scraps of wire contained. I tend to save pieces because you just never know when you will need a tiny scrap of wire! 

The last large container that I carry is this nifty two piece storage box. It has a large bottom space for storage and a removable portion with compartments. This piece has quickly become stuffed with bits and pieces so I will probably have to clean and reorganize this soon. 

The removable piece is perfect for storing jump rings, clasps and pins. Again, I keep many things in small bags because it is easier to fit more. It also keeps things more organized because as you can see in the bottom left, I didn't keep the silver and bronze in bags and they ended up mixed together when the plastic divider came out. (womp womp)

The bottom of the container has all the charms that I use in my work. There are so many odds and ends in here, I often forget what I have. I love having an abundance of charms though because they are sometimes my favorite part of a piece. 

Finally, I have my essentials. Small bags for storage of everything from components to finished pieces, chain, E600 to glue everything and anything and my favorite tool: a seamstress tape measure. Not shown are the other miscellaneous things like a ring mandrel and thing-a-majig because I don't use them that often. I also have two large bags that have beads and other random things. 

While it isn't ideal to not have a set studio space, working out of a bag is not the worst in the world. It forces me to work with what I have and to not go crazy with supplies. 

Do you work out of a bag or do you have a studio space?