Studio Life: Behind the Wall

Two years ago, my studio landlord and I struck an agreement for the building space that Needle ‘n Thread now occupies.

I wrote about that auspicious occasion here. I was very excited!

It took several months before the inside of the building was empty and available. In November of 2022 – unbeknownst to me at the time, a mere month before I had to move out of my house due to a remodeling project that turned into unavoidable demolition (!) – Anna and I moved the studio from this residential duplex, where I had been operating Needle ‘n Thread for about four years, to our new downtown space.

You can see photos of how we set up our new space in this article.

When I took the building, the plan was that, by about the following spring, there would be some refurbishing to the front of the building and (hopefully) new windows and a new door.

But as things often go in life, that didn’t happen the following spring. The prospect was shifted to the following autumn, then the following spring… and here we are, two years later, and guess what?

I’m excited to say that, last week, we found that work would commence on this major remodeling project at the end of the week.

And so, at the end of last week, we had a bit of a scramble to move things about in the front of the studio, where we do most of our work near the windows.

The front windows – despite the fact that they were old, single pane, weepy, un-insulated, and barely tinted things – were my favorite part of the studio (aside from the extra space, of course!).

For one thing, they let in a lot of natural light. And what stitcher or craftsperson doesn’t like abundant natural light?

And for another thing, we can watch the world go by as we work. It’s fun to watch town life from our little corner. We’re right on a state highway, so despite being a small rural town, it’s a pretty hoppin’ place! There’s always something to see – friends walking by, interesting road traffic. The occasional truck catching fire. The great feats of navigation while wide loads figure out how to get through downtown and turn at the intersection. Kids licking ice cream cones. Folks hurrying to and fro picking up lunch at the local deli. Fender benders. Typical traffic, foot and otherwise, that you’d see in a busy town.

Now, though, we are enclosed behind a wall.

We are cut off from the Passing World.

The sun does not shine upon us.

(But yes, we still have our tea station!)

Our new condensed and closed-off space will – hopefully! – be short-lived. And the upshot? The whole front wall of our building will be shiny new, with a working front door (woohoo!) and grand new windows. Modern windows – insulated, no less! The front of the building will be eminently more respectable. LOL!

I’ll keep you posted on this Big Project, as the reconstruction on the space takes place. I’ll share progress and before and afters!

And though it’s a bit of an inconvenience, we’ll still be operating. It will affect the way we work and the space we have to work in, but in the long run, it will be a huge improvement.

It’s also one step closer to our ability to have visitors by appointment and to plan for pop-up retail events.

So, that’s the Big News that’s happening in the studio now!

More updates to come.

It’s always an adventure!