Bead Storage

[rulada]

Нашла, нашла! Пару лет назад наткнулась на советы этой известной американской бисероплетчицы, сохранила ссылочку, но где?
А сегодня нашла!
http://www.robinatkins.com/tips.html

Советов там много, перенесу сюда только совет по хранению бисера.

Bead Storage Ideas

Are you a container junky? I am. I just love little boxes, little round screw-together stacks of clear plastic containers, tubes, watch maker’s storage boxes, and just about any box within a box. However, over the years, I’ve had to curb my container passion in the interest of available storage space. If you're accumulating beads and wondering where and how to store them, you might be interested to read about the evolution of my storage system over the past 16 years:

Compartmentalized storage boxes were my first choice, and I still use them for a few of my larger, specialty beads.  But for smaller beads and seed beads I found them frustrating because inevitably the beads would slide under or over the dividers, getting mixed together.  Also it was difficult to get the beads out when I wanted to reorganize the compartments (which was often). So then I tried various tubes, but decided as my stash grew (and grew) that they take up too much space.  Also, I wanted all of the containers to be the same size (is this a Virgo trait???), and therefore had to buy them with money I'd prefer to spend on beads.

Finally I hit on the start of my current (and long standing) method of storage.  I bought 2" x 3.5" zip lock bags, and to my surprise, filled 300 of them in no time at all.  Also to my surprise, those 300 bags filled with beads, took up much less space than the tubes or storage boxes, and were much easier to use.  I sorted them by color into pint size freezer zip lock bags.  After a while, I discovered that the 2" x 3.5" bags, which were only 2 mils thick, frequently split their little seams, or if they got folded, developed a horizontal split.  The many beads spilled in the bottom of my freezer bags finally dictated a new tactic.  I bought 1000 (good price break) 2" x 3.5" zip lock bags, this time of 4 mil thickness.  Finally I've got it!   They don't split or have any of the problems of the 2 mil bags. So for the past six years, 4 mil bags are my saviors!

For my seed beads (all sizes and shapes), I organize them (in 4 mil bags) by color in Rubbermaid "servin'savers", the 7-cup size.  These great containers (available at grocery stores and places like Fred Meyers) are only 11" x 6.5" x 2.5".  They easily hold 60 to 75 of the little bead-filled zips!  Turn the covered container upside down, and I can easily see what's inside.  I have about 2 dozen of them, each with a different color grouping of seed beads. I also have several this size and a couple smaller ones for my "project boxes."  It's a struggle to put the beads in my project boxes back into the main system (as I'm sure most of you know), but I try to do it at least once a year.

As for my other beads,  I have quite a large selection of pressed glass beads (too many for the 7-cup Rubbermaid containers) so those I again store in 2" x 3.5" 4 mil zip lock bags, one style/color per bag.  But then, I group similar colors together into the pint sized freezer zips.  Then I put color families of freezer zips together and store them in larger (11" x 16" x 6" high) Rubbermaid containers.  Again by holding the container up and looking at the bottom, I can see what's inside, though I also have them labeled by color.  One exception to my color organizing is flowers and leaves.  I have all of them together (mixed colors) in one of the Rubbermaid containers.

That's most of my beads.  But some - my special lampwork beads, African trade beads, and a few very tiny, special pressed glass beads - I store differently.  I am fortunate to have found a beautiful old dental cabinet with many wonderful shallow drawers.  I keep most of my lampwork beads in plastic trays in these drawers, where I can look at them often without the distortion of looking through plastic bags. The precious little pressed glass beads, organized by color (of course) are in fancy jars that I found in antique stores, on top of the cabinet, where I can always see and love them.  Most of my African trade beads are on strands.  I'd like to hang them some day, displayed so I can see them all the time.  But for now they're in 11" x 16" x 6" Rubbermaid storage boxes, tied up in bundles by color.  By the way, I also store my fabrics in the same size Rubbermaid containers, and my buttons as well.  One last category of stuff - metal beads and findings.  These I put in the small 4 mil bags, and then group them by type of thing in my old compartmentalized plastic storage boxes.

When I read this, I'm almost embarrassed by the number of beads I have.  But then, I've been making my living with beads since 1988, and feel that having a decent palette to work from has contributed a lot to my artistic process. No doubt about it, I LOVE my beads!  All of the above containers fit into a relatively small shelf space, as they are easily stackable.  This system has worked well for me for a good many years now.  I recommend it. In fact, you can even purchase small 4 mil bags right here on Robin's favorite hard-to-find beading supplies page.