sketchbook storage

Sketchbook Storage Solutions

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Featured image from Apartment Therapy

Recently, Sketchbook Skool students began posting photos online of something they’re very proud of—the number of sketchbooks they’ve filled since they started taking klasses with us. The artwork was amazing, and you can really see how their art has evolved and grown.

And the amount of sketchbooks keeps growing, too. Once you start drawing, it’s addictive—it brings so much joy to each day, and it’s a great coping skill for when life becomes challenging. So you keep drawing, and those sketchbooks keep piling up.

Sometimes they live in bookshelves mixed in with old magazines and coffee table books. Other times, they get stuck between photo albums and scrapbooks, only to be rediscovered when you pack up boxes to move or get ready for a spring garage sale. You could scan them, but that’s not why you spent all the time, effort, and money on good paper and a favorite pen!

5 Ways to organize your sketchbook storage

So here are 5 handy tips for storing and organizing your sketchbooks so you can revisit them, and show them off to friends and family, for years to come. And keep making art!

1. Make space. Dedicate one or more bookshelves to your sketchbooks. Over time, you may need not just a few shelves, but a whole bookcase. It’s fantastic to have them accessible in one spot so you can easily flip through them or locate a particular book. Keep your sketchbooks dust free with glass sliding doors in front of the bookshelf.

2. Find space. Do you live in a small apartment or work in a very small study? Create bookshelves with the help of simple hardware in unused spaces like under steps, along headboards, or above door and window frames. Check out Apartment Therapy for ideas and inspiration.

3. Archive. Use Washi Tape or masking tape and Sharpie markers to date the spines of your sketchbooks. This way you can track your progress throughout time, and find old drawings or records of certain trips more easily.

4. Color code. If you keep themed sketchbooks, code them with stickers or a dot of paint (for example, green for traveling, blue for animal drawings, red for portraits, yellow for urban sketching, etc.) so you can easily track down that portrait of your mom’s dog or the landscape from your last birding adventure.

4. Display. Are there certain sketchbooks you want to keep out in the open as a reminder to draw, or as a beautiful display? There are some unique ways to add a museum-like display to everyday furniture. With this window-turned-coffeetable, you can display your sketchbooks all together, some open to a favorite page or two, without the fear of coffee-cup rings or spills.

Do you have a sketchbook collection? We want to see it! Send a photo to Morgan@sketchbookskool.com, or post it online with the hashtag #mysketchbookssincesbs so we can find it.

2 mins

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