The Mess Behind the Magic: Inside My Barn Workspace – Building a Creative Space One Project at a Time
I think sometimes when you see someone’s booth, Etsy shop, or finished photos online, it’s easy to forget about everything happening behind the scenes.
This barn is my behind the scenes.
And after everything that has happened since I closed those store doors in 2021, I’m pretty happy to see this old barn becoming part of the business again.
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The Barn Had Always Been Part of the Plan
I originally built the barn in 2017. It’s 42′ x 70′, and even back then I had a dream for what it could eventually become — part storage space, part workspace, and maybe even a place where I could hold sales someday.
But after closing the store, those plans were the last thing on my mind. For the first couple of years, the barn pretty much just sat. I was exhausted.
After years of running the store and then months of trying to close it down, pack everything, move it, and figure out what came next, I didn’t even want to look at all those boxes. So I didn’t.
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Then I Got a Text
And then one day, a friend sent me a text asking if I was ready to get back into it.
My answer was YES.
That little text was the push I needed.
I opened my first antique booth since closing the store, and now, three years later, I still have the booth. Somewhere along the way, I also found the motivation to start tackling the barn. And believe me, it has been a process.
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Turning the Mess Back Into a Workspace
I’ve gone through boxes, moved things around, gotten rid of things, reorganized inventory, and slowly started creating actual work areas again.
I’m setting up a space where I can clean and tag items going to and from the booth. There’s a dedicated area for taking pictures, because listing vintage online is a whole lot easier when you don’t have to clear a spot every time you need a photo.
I’m working on a shipping area so my supplies are together and ready when something sells. And I’m creating organized storage for the vintage inventory I have listed in my Etsy shop.
It’s still a work in progress.
There are still boxes. There are still piles. And there are definitely days when I move something from one side of the barn to the other because I’m not quite sure where its permanent home should be.
But when I look at the barn now, I don’t just see the mess anymore.
I can finally see what I pictured when I built it back in 2017. A place to store vintage. A place to work. And maybe, eventually, a place to open the doors and have sales again.
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The Mess Behind the Magic
I think sometimes when you see someone’s booth, Etsy shop, or finished photos online, it’s easy to forget about everything happening behind the scenes.
This barn is my behind the scenes.
And after everything that has happened since I closed those store doors in 2021, I’m pretty happy to see this old barn becoming part of the business again.
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It’s Not Pinterest Perfect
There are still shelves that need organizing. Boxes waiting to be unpacked. Projects spread across tables. And probably more than a little dust.
But that’s okay. This isn’t a perfectly styled workspace created for pictures. It’s a working barn filled with vintage inventory, projects in progress, packing supplies, tools, and all the things that go along with running my business.
It’s where things get cleaned, tagged, photographed, packed, shipped, and eventually sent off to the booth or to a new home.
And little by little, it’s becoming the workspace I imagined when I built the barn all those years ago.
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Looking Ahead
There’s still plenty I want to do out here.
I want to continue organizing the vintage inventory so I can actually find what I’m looking for without opening six boxes first. I want better areas for photographing and shipping items, more room for working on projects, and eventually I’d still love to use part of the barn for sales.
For now, I’m just taking it one section at a time. Every business has a behind-the-scenes story. Mine just happens to be inside a 42′ x 70′ barn.
It may not be perfect, but every shelf I organize, every box I unpack, and every workspace I clear gets me a little closer to what I pictured when I built it back in 2017. And I think that’s part of the fun.
If you’d like to browse more of my vintage finds, you can visit my Etsy shops here: Funky Vintiques and Lafayette Antiques. I’m adding new treasures every week, so feel free to check back often!
📍 Find us at:
📌 Sugar Mill Antiques & Vintage Depot
📍 13788 Pacific Circle, Mead, CO
🛍 Booth #58 – Center Aisle, 2nd on the Left
You can also browse our finds in our Etsy store!