Happy 2014 everyone! I hope the new year is treating you well! I spent the first few days of the new year recuperating from the holiday madness. Wow. That was a very, very busy holiday season. A huge thank you to all of you who placed orders both here on suiteonestudio.com and through the Provisions shop on Food52. I continue to be amazed (and so humbled) each and every month as I watch my business grow. Truly I couldn't do this without you! I'm so incredibly thankful for your support.

This upcoming year brings some exciting press for my business. In fact, I'll be sharing some of that news with you all in just a few days. In the meantime I wanted to share a little peek into my studio. I've been cleaning and reorganizing the studio (new years resolutions and whatnot) to make the space a smarter, more functional space. At the moment as many of you already know I run my business from a converted bedroom right here in my home. There are some major pros and cons to this situation. One con is that pottery is in its very nature incredibly messy, dirty even. The mud and dust isn't exactly my favorite thing to live with, so I try to keep the space clean (or run the risk that my entire house will slowly slip become a dirty, dusty pottery studio). Staying organized and finding a true place for everything in the studio has really helped me to keep my small space clean and functional. This small space is on its way to becoming a well oiled machine, with everything in its place, and a dozen other platitudes about cleanliness, godliness, and whatever, but it's true, organization makes a huge difference.

I've thought some time about creating an inspiration board for my studio, and keeping random magazine cutouts in a thousand random places really didn't work with my new commitment to organization, so I finally got around to making myself a board. It's funny how many people seem to have had this exact same idea in the new year. I've been seeing links pop up all over the internets this week. You know what they say about great minds! 

The board I made for my studio features raw, fraying canvas, with exposed staples scattered on the exterior edges. I thrifted the cork board that forms the base, but it's just a simple standard cork board like this one. I purchased 2 yards of this natural duck cloth, basically a thick canvas material with a nice bit of subtle texture. (Side note: I also used this fabric to cover my studio tables making them into the perfect clay working tables! So cheap and easy!) To make my inspiration board I wrapped the cloth over the border of the cork board, pulled tightly and stapled with a staple gun. This project couldn't have been easier. The entire project was under $20, took about 15 minutes, and now I have a custom board to pin my clippings and bits of inspiration! I couldn't be happier with the final result! And bonus happy points that this board adds visual interest, beauty and organization to my space!

(P.S. One of my favorite inspiration board posts this week comes from my friend Katie of Twin Stripe magazine. Earlier this week she shared a great DIY on her site with details on how to make a gold striped inspiration board. This board is so preppy, graphic, and fun! I feel like maybe I need to make myself a second board like this!)