5 September 2014

Behind the Scenes... Studio Tour!


Welcome to Tilly Towers!

If you've been paying attention, you may be thinking, "Hang on, didn't she just post a studio tour a few months ago?" For it was only in February that I gave you this tour of my home office/sewing room. At that point, I was very excited to move out of the sitting room and into a dedicated working space. And I didn't mind working from home - no extra rent to worry about, and I could cook spaghetti bolognese for lunch any time I fancied, woop!

And then Coco happened, a mountain of sewing patterns and books turned up and spread all over the flat, the kitchen table became the packing table, the sitting room and hall became the stock rooms, and I would work from 8am to often past 11pm at night answering emails and fulfilling orders without ever going outside. Basically, I was always at work. (And tripping over it.)


I knew I needed more space, some help, and to create some separation between work and home so I could get some rest occasionally. So I took a deep breath, hired Laura and signed a lease on this office. And I am sooooooooooooo happy I cannot tell you!

Right, enough talk - let me show you around...



Let's start with my favourite feature of the room - that window!!! Ehrmergerd... it's just so... big! And bright! The office is in Dulwich (read: West Norwood) in South London, yet we can see all the way to the BT Tower, the London Eye, the Shard, the Gherkin... plus lots of lovely trees. Our desks are by the window so it's very easy to just sit and stare at clouds all day. You can see the weather moving in from different parts of London - all very wonderous.



It's an inspiring space to sew in, with high ceilings and lots of room to spread out and make a mess. We'll move extra tables into the middle of the room on the days we run workshops so we can all sit around together and chat while we sew. For the sake of my relationship, I'm working hard to resist the urge to come into the studio every Saturday and Sunday to sew... sooo tempting...


Did you see the cutting table that Heather Lou made herself? Amaze! It made me well jell, yet my DIY skills aren't up to it (seriously - you do not want to put a power drill anywhere near me, I am too much of a klutz), so I bought this Stenstorp kitchen island from Ikea. It's got a gorgeous oak top, and it's the perfect height to stand at, with space for a high stool underneath when I get lazy tired. Plus it's got wide shelves which are perfect for stashing pattern blocks, pattern drafting rulers etc. It's pretty heavy though, so I was concerned that once it were built I wouldn't be able to move it. So, with help from my man, we added some castors onto it. Wheeee!


Here's my desk (spot the Pomodoro fan)...


Shop world...


Laura answering one of your emails...


There are lots of interesting creative businesses in the building, and Volcano Coffee is downstairs serving crazy strong coffee...


We've also got a little kitchen zone up here in the studio... (jaffa cakes not shown)


The colour coordination is getting a bit ridiculous now...


Speaking of which, check out our gorgeous new sewing machines! If you're coming to one of our workshops, you'll get to play on one of the delightful DKS100 models that Janome has kitted us out with. I'm in love!



I'm so so happy working in this gorgeous room and cannot believe my luck every time I walk into it (seriously, like even when I've just come back from the loo it's even nicer than I remember it being two minutes before). It's taken a crazy amount of work, but I've basically got my dream job and my dream office. I can't wait for the workshops to start so we can welcome you into the space!

[Soundtrack: 'Love Letters' by Metronomy]