I’m imagining cubes (or cubbies) with a flip-up (or down) door. The door would be the test/sample.
based on an idea from Nomadic Furniture by James Hennessy
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also just came across this cardboard materials shelf build: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XERs4X-rtc8&nohtml5=False
no comment on his video work, but the idea is worth at least a skim
I like the idea of gravity-held bins, especially for scrap–you can see what’s in them, including amounts.
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Ikea “as is” room. Just saying…
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Suggestions for fabric, soft leather, vinyl, and other soft goods:
Basic principle: If it’s soft, don’t let it wrinkle! If it’s hard (like thick leather) don’t let it warp!
Option 1
Hang up fabric, soft leathers, etc. like so:
inside a legal size file cabinet (designed for 12" width paper) or legal sized versions of one of these:
or these
Be sure to hang your fabric/leather/etc. over something that’s thick enough that it creates a soft curve, instead of a hard line that has be ironed out.
Option 2
For fabric only, wrap it around some plastic or acid-free cardboard, pin it to make it stay, and store it on a shelf, thusly:
Option 3
May I suggest that for leather, you either stack it horizontally (flat) or hang it, without folding? Thick, hard leathers will warp and softer leathers will just collapse on bookshelfish arrangements, and they can’t be pinned.
Hanging clothes cubbies work OK and can be cheap, though they sag a bit:
If you hang it, I’d suggest leaving some kind of tab or extra-long edge that you can use a hanger to grip, so that it doesn’t compress and therefore permanently damage the usable part. You can trim the tab or edge off when you’re ready to cut. I use gorilla clips hanging from shower curtain rods. You could use pants hangers as well.
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@jbv I LOVE that! The modular design would be extremely useful as I expand my material collection. I’ll start brainstorming implementation!! Thank you!!
@morganstanfield I hadn’t even thought about soft materials. This is extremely helpful! Thank you! I lovveeee the cart idea. I may have to use that for all my materials. It would be incredibly handy!!
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Also, I’d recommend not cutting your soft goods down to size–keep any hides, long yardage, etc., in the size it comes in and cut by project. You just need a desk and self-healing cutting mat to do the cuts. You’ll waste less material on margins when you do small projects, and if you have projects that are bigger bigger than 12x20, you can just fold up the edges inside the forge and cut in the middle.
For leather, I keep my whole hides mostly rolled up gently, tied with yarn or ribbon so they stay rolled, and then I clip a binder clip to one top edge. I slip a metal shower-curtain ring through the handle of the binder clip and hang the curtain ring over a bar (I have a bunch of spring bars inside a cabinet). To get a hide out, I just unclip the binder clip.
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Oh, good points! Thank you. I was going to ask about leather storage! I’ll remember to keep hides in tact. It’s just things like wood and such that I can’t cut on-site. 
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I went old school, just a $45 purchase in Amazon. The same shelf space I use in my garage. Older picture from first day of setup, but it gives an example of what I ended up with
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I like it.
You could also go about it comic book style. Just make the appropriate size containers and a shelf to store them. Then each material would not needs it own box just a labeled divider.
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Oh, that’s an interesting idea… I’ll let that simmer as I come up with a plan! Thanks
I store all my thin wood/plywood (1/8" & 1/4" “3 & 6 mm” flat) the bigger stuff 1/2" and up standing up on it’s long edge.
All my art paper and frisket/transfer sheets lying flat or hanging.
It appears to me the thin material bows easier standing on it’s edge than the thicker stuff. I do just like elsman18 does in his picture. Flat is my preferred way to store materials.
I did not say it is right just my preferred way.
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Hmmm… Had not taken into consideration the bowing of thinner materials. I’ll keep it in mind. Thanks!
I was about to say the same thing @numosbk, I use a lot of 1/4" ply and if you stand it on edge, no matter how tightly packed, it tends to bow like crazy. Since my apartment’s really small, my current “solution” is this:
I was storing it in my lumber closet with my tools (and bike), but it kept bowing, so I gave up and started stowing it under my couch. Though the good news is if you take it out and stack it flat with weights on top for a day or two, it’ll go back to normal.
For storage of parts in process, right now I’ve just got stacks on my credenza (not the best system):
And the top drawer has become scrap parts storage, though using smaller, shallow boxes to stack the different shapes has helped a lot:
Hope this helps!
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Do you guys remember all them dell monitor cardboard boxes i had? And i broke down like half of em?
Yeah, the monitors they held were 12x20 so ive been using them to store material, and transport it… the boxes have a pretty reinforced handle.
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That’s a great idea @Sawa – I wish I still had my iMac box, probably was about the same size and had a great handle. I’ve been using an Ikea bag (one of those blue ones made of woven tarp plastic) for taking wood to and from the laser – crazy strong and easy to clean out. Though it does take on a campfire smell – a bit of a problem when I’m taking my laundry to the laundromat in the same bag 
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Whoa, that is a lot of Dells, reminds me of my IT days (though we used to buy these awful HP small-form-factor machines instead – the power supply on one actually blew up and shot a piece of an IC chip at my face once). Thanks, I may take you up on that if I ever get this apartment organized a little better – it’s working pretty well, but 400 square feet has had its limits.
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