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The Anatomy Of The Perfect Craft Workshop
Craft businesses are becoming increasingly popular. Sites like Etsy mean that practically anyone with artisanal skills can set up and start selling online. What’s more, profitability can be tremendous. Consumers are willing to spend small fortunes on bespoke products.
In this post, we take a look at how to set up and manage the perfect craft workshop. Here’s what you need to do.
Find A Suitable Work Table
The vast majority of workshop-based artisans work at tables or benches. They need them for everything, from sewing clothes to fashioning bits of metal.
Craft tables need to be large, extremely strong and durable. The best options are metal-framed designs (preferably steel), with replaceable wooden tops. This way, if you do have a disaster, you don’t have to replace the entire table.
Splurge On Shelving
The next step is to think about how you’re going to store all the items and raw materials that you need to use as part of your work. Leaving them lying around in tubs and boxes isn’t usually an option.
Most people creating craft workshops typically splurge on shelving and find minimal-profile options that they can safely fix to the wall. Don’t rely on substandard or flat-pack products as these may actually be a safety hazard in a commercial environment.
Gather Your Tools
All workshops need the proper tooling to function correctly. Without it, you’ll struggle to produce items of a quality that customers will accept.
Your workshop may require:
- A jig
- A spline broaching tool
- Spanners and wrenches
- Cutting tools
- Sanding machines
- Bottling equipment
Before you buy any tools, work out whether it is better for you to lease or buy outright. If you are setting up a workshop for a short-term project, that will influence your decision.
Zone The Space
Workshops only have a limited amount of space. Therefore, it’s critical to decide where you will perform certain tasks.
In some cases, you’ll want to think of your workshops as miniature production lines. You’ll have one zone for raw materials, another for crafting, another for boxing and packing, and then a final zone for shipping or finished inventory.
You can also arrange the area for different types of projects. For example, you might have one zone for forging rings and another for making bracelets.
Include Windows For Natural Light
If you’re stuck in a workshop all day long, the last thing you want is to be stuck in the dark for most of the day. Make sure that you have plenty of access to natural light. Try if you can to place windows high up so that you can maximize light coming into your workshop without compromising on storage or shelving space.
Get A Peg Board
Lastly, you’ll want to invest in some sort of display where you can keep tabs on what’s going on in your operation. Peg boards are among the best ways to do this because they make recording information incredibly simple. You might also want to try chalkboards as well. This way, you can easily set daily priorities for you and your fellow artisans.
