Welcome to the December edition of the Subscriber Q&A! I’m answering your questions about where I store my craft supplies, how I knew I was ready to come back online & the parenting advice that clicked for me. Paid subscribers can submit questions for next month through the link at the bottom of this post.

Yes! I have many dedicated spaces now.

First, I have the art house which is outbuilding in our yard. It has electricity and cold water but no HVAC and it sits right behind the garden. It’s for “outside crafts” which mostly means anything garden related or messy. This past year that meant it was for starting seeds, natural dyeing, flower drying, wreath making and flower pressing. I store a ton of stuff out there including my easel and oil paints (didn’t do much with those in 2025), my knitting dry mats and my pottery supplies. In 2026, I plan on my pottery practice taking center stage in the art house. It’s a dream come true to have this space, obviously.

I often get asked about the furniture in the art house — it’s all Ikea. I have two kitchen islands similar to this, and then something similar to this (mine is longer; I bought it in 2007). I also use this rolling cart and narrow Ivar shelving.

In our house I do small crafts (like knitting and cross-stitch) on the couch and big crafts (like sewing or watercolor or oil pastels) at our large dining table. All of my craft supplies are tucked into cabinets and drawers and they come out only when I want to work on something. This is a change from our San Diego house where I had a large office/workspace in the house and I kept everything ready to go all times.