Downsizing for expansion. Wait... what?

This is a moving story. Or more accurately a story about moving. But for me is also moving.

Recently, I’ve been absent. Because I made a big decision and in turn made it happen. Please allow me to explain.

One day, not so long ago, I was sitting at my desk in one of my four rooms pouring over an abused Vestax 07 that was slowly being turned into a pristine illustration that became one-third of my Vestax Trinity print. But something made me stop, put down the callipers, and look around.

Gazing down the long studio to the spacious period front office, the deepening layer of dust settling on the plethora of unused chairs shimmered in the cascading sunlight.

Surveying the rest of my creative kingdom, a trip up the old, twisty, and nowhere near up to building regulation attic stairs revealed two rooms of assorted untouched junk and stored memories. It was the place where good intentions went to die.

In that moment it became clear that I had 75% too much space and an equally redundant amount of once important but now extraneous stuff.?

And I have become lost in it. My desk was an island escape in an ocean of wasted space, where I buried my head in building something new and not have to deal with the past. And it was all becoming an anchor.

Something had to change.?I realised I needed to move if I was to move on.

So I did. After a significant footprint reduction, I’m now stepping over things in a much smaller place while I optimise my workflows, but still able to do everything I could do before.?

And I couldn’t be happier.?

Small enough

I was inspired by a trip even further north than my gaff to see my friend Michael Williams at his Eclectic Coffee Roasters nano roastery in Consett, Country Durham.

While he has ample space to roast, grind, and despatch his lovely coffee, his front office is little more than a large cupboard. But I immediately felt very comfortable, safe even. I knew right then that downsizing was the absolutely right thing to do.

I did wonder if I could reduce my current footprint enough and still function. And then I remembered that I built skratchworx and DJWORX in just 92 square feet. I had a desk, two full DJ setups, all my vinyl, a complete studio photography setup, and my library of books. And it was also our laundry.?

If I’m honest, I was happier there than in the subsequent 1200sq ft gallery-like mill space and subsequent 800 sq ft four-room offices in historic Haworth. These places projected a professional image and had people visit from all over the world. But they were never quite right.?

Now I’m a 240 sq ft attic space and I reckon that I can only stand up straight in two-thirds of that. It feels snug and safe and is warm all year round. Eleven chairs have become two, my vinyl collection is one-third of what it was, and despite going through everything I still haven’t found the keys to the antique metal cabinet in the pic. Arse.

Importantly, the brutality with which I reduced my footprint has offloaded the physical and emotional baggage that I’d hung onto for far too long. I feel freer every day. I want to go to the mill and grow The Worxlab.

I’m now entirely focused on my creative business. The sole purpose of the exercise (other than rent reduction because I’m now a poor impoverished artist) was to leave the past behind and build the future.

Despite all the physical space, I didn’t feel like I could grow in it. Now, however, I have all the mental space I need. I can finally focus on new things in a new space.

Lessons learned

I feel like I’ve underestimated the size of what I just achieved. But I definitely have some important takeaways from this very necessary exercise:

• If it goes into storage, it’s probably never getting used again. Just deal with it today rather than face a cumulative problem in a few years.
• You don’t need more space. You need less stuff.?
• Hire people to move you. I’d still be recovering if I hadn’t.
• On a deeper note, if you’re unhappy, ask yourself why. And then make changes.?

I’m back and building. Expect to see more of me around these and other parts too. It’s not like I can find a corner to hide in anymore.?