Are you happy with your shop?

[Mike]

Not whAt you do but where you located?
My first shop was nice on. Lake in NH.
Then it be ame just work. Fast forward i moved toflorida where all my shops have been just a place to work my current place is hot missareble backin a industrial park. I feel like im all alone the rent is cheapand the owner would like to sell. Be rented one unit out to a kids garage band they prCtise now and then. But all ihear is bu bu. bang on the drums. No singing thanks god but even without the band i hate it there now

[gene]

Mostly yes. I rent a space in an industrial park also. A dead end street. The police firing range is 200 yards just past the dead end circle. It's probably the safest place in town.

I would like to have more windows to let in more light. And I'd like to have a country view our those windows, but I'm OK with what I have.

It can get cold in the winter because I don't want to pay for more heat, and it can get hot in the summer because I don't want to pay for more air conditioning - that's my choice so I don't complain about it.

It's a great location for my customers. And the rent is OK.

With the economy as it is, most of the units are empty. I'm in Unit D and there are 2 guys in Unit A that roast coffee. Often there will be a big cloud of coffee smoke rolling down the parking lot. Sometimes I close my doors not wanting my furniture to smell like coffee.

I spend a lot of time in my studio. I would not want a place that I was not happy with.

Good question to think about.

gene

[sofadoc]

My shop is my home away from home. I'm warm in the winter (because I don't mind paying for heat), and I stay cool in the summer (because I don't mind paying for AC).

I have a well-stocked fridge, and cafes within very short walking distance.

My 2 daughters both work at the court house 2 blocks away. They come over for lunch every day (and mooch a free meal off ole' Dad). I really enjoy the time we spend together every day.

I have ample square footage, which allows me to store a lot of customer's furniture. I never have to scramble for work. There's always a couch in the back waiting for me if things get slow (which they seldom do).

You can mention my business to just about anybody in town, and they will say "Oh yeah, I've seen that place".

To anyone who is unhappy with their current location..........I would say...........find a place that makes you happy and move there. Damn the cost!

[Mojo]

I am happy with it. It's hidden inside my home so I get no foot traffic.

I recently looked at some commercial space tucked away in an industrial area and told the wife I will not hang a sign on the building if I should rent it. I crunched the numbers and decided against it. I would rather own my own building then pay rent. It was $ 750 for 1,200 sq ft and included trash pickup and water. I had to pay for the electric. It is a busy place with numerous businesses.

Since I am pretty much all internet based and do not rely on foot traffic then location doesn't matter.
But if I did have a shop outside my home I would make sure it was fairly close to our house so I wasn't losing alot of time in driving and money in gas. My goal is to build a shop on the property we just bought which adjoins our current home.

My wife and I were talking the other day and I told her I would love to find an old 3 story building in a smaller town on main street to buy. I would rent out the first floor as store front, put my shop on the second floor and then use the top floor as our home. I know of a guy who does that in Bristol, TN and it works out great. The rent he collects pays the mortgage so he essentially has free shop space and free living space. He turned his roof into a big patio with plants, etc. Very cool setup.

Chris

[scott_san_diego]

I just moved to a larger space within the complex I was in about three weeks ago.
The reasons why I decided to move:
1. Bigger space. Had 2,000sq.ft., now have 2,700sq.ft
2. Better visibility from the street, to make it easier for people to find me.
3. During the summer the space was extremely hot with no real air circulation.  New location has a real nice breeze to help cool it down.
4. Was always sweeping out leaves and dirt out of the old location that would bounce of the building I am in now.  The new shop stays so much cleaner.

I was at the other location for 15 years.  It was time for a change.  
The other day the Yellow pages came out and did a 360 degree tour of my location.  Hope the link works.
Still trying to put things away.

http://api.everyscape.com/v/1/x/viewer/everyscape_viewer.swf?xml=http://api.everyscape.com/panoviewerparams/1.x/static/775/400/vs/19100775

[Mojo]

Wow. Real nice Scott. The showroom is very cool.

I drooled over the size of your shop space. I would love to have that much room.
The area looks real nice as well.

Awesome. Thanks for posting.

Chris

[byhammerandhand]

Envy

[kodydog]

Nice set up Scott.

Our first shop was a converted railroad station in Conover NC. Neat building with plenty of space but no AC and a wood burning stove. When it got too hot in the summer we would close down and head to the mountains.

When we moved to Charleston our shop was in a strip shopping center with 6 other business. 1000 sf and a 3 year lease. Half was showroom and half was workroom. Kinda tight. We always paid rent on time and the landlord loved us until we told him we were moving. Then he became a real jerk.

We then bought a 1600sf house on a busy highway. We had it zoned commercial and converted it to accommodate a business. 7 years later we sold it to a dentist. He completely remodeled inside and out including ripping the old roof off. Wouldn't recognize the place now.

When we moved back to Florida we worked out of a 2-1/2 car garage for 6 years. Very tight for 2, sometimes 3 people. We then built our 860sf shop. Custom built to our specs. Customers rarely come to this shop so no showroom needed. It has a wall down the middle to separate the office, cutting and sewing room from the upholstery room. It also has a refrigerator and a bathroom. Perfect size for two people.

The fellow I now work for has been in the same location for over 30 years. Like most shops he bought his equipment one piece at a time. Also like most shops, as they acquired this equipment they set it in any convenient location available. They are also hoarders and with 5 people in the workroom it is very cramped. Its not unusual to see three people working at the same table. When I make suggestions to organize the workroom and increase productivity it fall on deaf ears. In the last 1-1/2 years I have cleaned up my little 15' X 15' area, but it is a struggle to keep it that way. Whenever one of the bosses come into the backroom with a chair or bolt of fabric I see them looking around and have to tell them, don't set it over here.

I envy your workroom Scott.

[sofadoc]

Beautiful digs, Scott. That guided tour is pretty neat, too.

My sample room (about 300 sq. ft.) looks as neat as yours about once every 6 months. Then after a customer has been in there for 10 minutes, it looks like a war zone.

I could never do furniture in a open-air shop. I gotta have my AC.

Kody: I have a 750 sq. ft. workroom, and it gets pretty cramped when I have a helper in there stripping furniture. I couldn't imagine sharing a cutting table. After 1 day, I would probably murder someone.

In addition to my work, and sample room, I have about 2000 sq. ft. of storage in the back.

[scott_san_diego]

Thank you all for you kind comments.  Here in San Diego the weather is pretty nice year round.  During the summer months where I am located inland, it will get anywhere from 79 - 88.  When we have a heat wave or Santa Anna it will be in the high 90's and sometimes over 100.  The key is we have very little humidity. 

I am very pleased like I said before with the move.  The showroom is still a work in progress.  But everyone that has come in has complemented me on how it looks.  At my old location you could not find anything, everything was stacked on top of everything else.

It is nice to have the extra space.

Thanks again.

[Mojo]

Scott:

It always seemed to feel like 120 degrees in Diego when I was stationed at MCRD. A bit nicer up at Pendelton though.

My wife took a year off from teaching and we bought our bus and spent a month in Chula Vista at the RV resort there next to the yacht club. My wife fell in love with the area and wanted to put down roots.
That was till she seen the price of homes.

Headed up to Pismo Beach and she felt like she was back on Sydney's Northern beaches in Australia again. Growing up in that area she is a beach girl. We are planning another month long trip out West but this time want to hit Yosemite. if we get into your area I will buy you lunch. :)

Congrats on a real nice professional setup.

Chris

[Can-Vas]

I down-sized as I'm supposed to be semi-retired.
I now work out of my home - the entire ground-floor ('basement') rec room is now my shop with a walk-out sliding door to a back driveway separate from the main part of the house.
Works ok, as I don't do too many really large projects anymore, (just dodgers, convertible tops and biminis), the only thing is my frame bender is mounted on the wall of an 8 ft ceiling, so large frames are a bit of trouble...

BUT; the right-offs against home expenses are great!  :)

[Mike]

scott  I was a kid hust south of LA so I know no humidity was nice.  thenm when I was 9 my folks moved to mass.  where it can get humid in the summer . back in 1970 we didn't have AC and I remember summer night with my window open and id keeo turning my pillow over to the cool side . was never like that before in CA
now florida  humidity forgetaboutit  I .was sweating  just sitting in my shop . I hear ya howard (canvas) on the downsizing I havnt heard back on the deal what they want with the space at the dealers I just may end up cooling where im at its plenty of room larger then my last shop you seen and wait to semi retire to my home shop building

[bobbin]

Beautiful shop, Scott.  Neat, plenty of space, and tidy.  I love that you work with the "door open".  Lucky you...

Coastal So. Maine.  My shop is above the garage.  28x36'.  Forced hot air heat (no water to the building) and a very nice wood stove makes a very comfy space in cold weather.  But in a heat wave, it can be brutal in my shop.  I have awnings on all but the east side of the building (yeah, I made them) and usually they're enough to keep summer's heat under control in conjunction with the midday "sea turn" that usually kicks in between noon-1PM.  We do get spells when the heat and humidity settles over us and the "sea turn" doesn't "kick in", but that's only a couple of times over the summer.  I bought a window air conditioner this year (10K BTU) and set the thermostat pretty high (78-80) for the 4-5 days I used it.  Made all the difference in the world!  I was able to work comfortably.  Money well spent and I'm thinking about using business profit to invest in a wall mounted unit with an exterior compressor.  We'll see about that.  

Love my rolling tables (5, 2 of which have extendable leafs) with melamine surfaces.  I also love the left extensions to my sewing machine benches.  Overhead track for my gravity feed iron and overhead electrical outlets were money well spent.  And lighting.  I have great lighting! the electrician was skeptical about it, but (as he proudly told me) they still have a bare bulb over their dining room table.  (I'd brag about that!).

Lighting is important.  Being able to clean is important.  The ability to move benches and have the benches at the same height as ALL your machines is important because it gives you flexibility in configuring your work space.  

Love my Miele vacuum cleaner.  Makes cleaning a lot easier!

I am aiming for interior design work.  I meet designers in my shop.  It has to be clean.  And because I love interior design work I want my work space to convey my love for it.  It's important that it be "pretty" as well as functional.  I've worked in -hit-holes and it always bothered me.  That's why I don't work in one now.  

And, thanks to my incredible brother, I have piping that links the pancake compressor under the my workbench in the ground floor garage bay to my shop.  I have 4 overhead connections and two connections for future "spurs".   I knew ZERO about pneumatic tools, but my brother is a "car guy"!  Pneumatics ROCK and I can't remember the last time I willingly picked up my electric stapler.  (my eyes are now set on a pneumatic paint sprayer).  My Juki 1541N7 requires "air" to fire the solenoid that fires the automatic backtack and automatic foot lift, and that's the only reason I bought a compressor... how IGNORANT was I??? lol

[kodydog]

You dug this post deep out of the archives.

It interesting to see where I was in 2013 and where I am now. I sold the house and shop 2 years ago. And I no longer work for someone else. I bought a house closer to town and worked out of a very small garage for 2 years. No heat, no air. We bought the lot next door and built a larger custom detached garage. We moved in last January and I am now as happy as a pig in mud.

You gotta figure, I spend 8 to 10 hours a day in that garage. It needs to be comfortable. Even Rose is surprisingly thrilled about the outcome.