Fly tying Areas

Randy wrote:
I'm planning on "remodeling" my 10x10 spare bedroom to set up my Fly tying
room. I think I want to put all of my materials on pegboard on one wall . I
was thinking of using one of the sliding closet doors for a bench top. What
do you do and how is "your Room" set up.
A big concern would be installing the proper lighting.
What works and doesn't work???

The pegboard concept always sounds cool and makes for a great visual,
but the major concern here is properly protecting your materials if
they're constantly exposed. Even the cleanest homes in the coldest
clients are subject to moths, beetles and other insects that LOVE to eat
away at anything that was once living. Another concern for open storage
is sunlight... if light is constantly striking your materials, even for
short periods of the day, they will begin to bleach out their color,
become dry and brittle. Then there's dust, cobwebs, and other things to
contend with... failing packaging to name one.

One of the best methods of storage for most fly tying materials is for
them to be laid flat in airtight clear plastic bins, so you can label
them by category, but still see them from the outside. You might want
to consider taking one wall in your room (preferably the one that the
sun never strikes) and building an open shelving unit along the wall
that is custom fitted to a plastic storage bin of your choosing from the
local "X-Mart", and then if you're still considering pegboard for
anything, hang a smaller section of pegboard for storage of some of your
synthetic materials, like flash, fishair, and maybe even things like
threads and chenille. But keep in mind, you'll still have to contend
with dust and light damage.

You might also want to consider setting up a bulk storage area for
materials in a closet. This is good for things like full bird skins and
large patches of fur, etc. that you'll need to store in much larger
airtight containers. Keeping these in colder, darker areas will help
preserve them and extend their life.

Lighting and comfortable seating are big concerns, as well as having an
efficient work area. If I had it to do all over, and I wail when I
retire, I'd have a "U-shaped" work area to tie in, so I had more table
space around me to use, a neutral colored (that I could slide in a
black, grey or white background) uncrowded area behind where I tie and a
place to put materials I'm using at the time to my left and hang my
tools (and have hook storage) on my right. You might want to consider
putting down a sheet of linoleum or get a chair pad for under your tying
area, because hooks and materials drop and they're easier to find on a
hard surface, and it makes rolling a chair back and forth much easier.

For lighting, if you can set up something that allows you to raise and
lower a lighting fixture over your head and slightly behind you, that
would provide good ambient light... but you may want to think of
something like an OTT Light or a swing-arm light with a magnifier for
your work surface. The type of lighting you use affects the color of
your materials, as does the background you tie against.

That's about all I've got...

Larry