T-minus Ten

days until I get to move into my new studio! Good gravy, I am so excited. It will be like a whole new world! This last Monday I went to look at the space, which was so much larger than I expected. It's in this old house near Mississippi (which is a cool little street with a great breakfast place called, aptly enough, Gravy, and an okay yoga studio). I met the two ladies I will be sharing the space with and they seemed super cool and laid back. It will be so nice to have people to talk to about jewelry things. We chatted for a while about stone suppliers, casting places, and mold making. It was awesome. I'd been in such a vacuum working alone for so long (well, since February). The space itself is large (I have no idea how I will fill it up..I'm sure I will manage it. I'm picturing a little space with my desk etc. and a couch for people who want to consult in person to sit on, and then my work space.) and the house is so old that the floor sort of slants away from the middle of house. But it's sort of perfect, really. Next door to our space is a tailor's sweat shop. I think the main lady over there is Russian, and there is a clothing store downstairs. One of the girls has a little brindle french bulldog, so Gunter and Dieter will have someone to play with! What else..... I'm thinking of getting this:

(vacuum table, kiln and assorted odds and ends for investing)

Along with this:

(centrifugal casting machine)

And eventually this:

(this is used to inject molten wax into molds)

and this: (to carve wax with)

Man, I am so excited to start carving my own designs. I love fabricating by hand, and the possibilities and limitations of the method have definitely influenced my designs for the better I think, but carving in wax just seems like freedom! There are just so many more possibilities! Right now I sort of feel like I'm caught in 2D and when I can start using wax carving and casting I will break free into 3D. Does that make sense?

This is new:

And it's in my size, so I plan on keeping it for myself.