Best Contemporary Craft Stations for Sale

In a today's market, sometimes the only way for a company to get noticed is to give people some eye-candy. Results show that if a company hires good artists to create their ads, design their websites, and create their logos, the company as a whole gets recognized much faster and produces more sales. With so many companies looking for great artists, designers and craftspeople everywhere are looking for the perfect things to help them get their work done. So for professionals, beginners, architects, painters, students, or just people with limited space, there is nothing more helpful than a quality compact craft station!

Where better to start than the basics for a beginner? If you're a regular joe whose perhaps considering a transition into the world of art, there is no better place to start than with a craft station like the Ultima Fold-A-Way Table by Studio Designs for your artistic needs. Beginner tables like this are great for  anyone in need of a great crafts table. It also makes a great solution for anyone with back problems, as it can easily double as an angled writing desk so users can actually use the backrests of those office chairs rather than just dreaming of it. Equipped with all the basics needed for any beginner artist or draftsperson, this table comes with the brilliant added bonus of the ability to fold flat for easy storage, making it perfect for students or anyone with limited space! 

For something a little more flexible in design, the Mayline Ranger Split-Top Table is a fantastic option. This product not only provides an angled drafting table for artistic or academic use, but it also provides a small flat side table built right in! These split-top tables are wonderful choices because they provide an unmoving flat place to set objects that might slide down or break if set on the angled desk. The side table can support a small flatscreen TV for the multitasking artist or nice adjustable monitor arms for computers for students, architects, or web designers. As an extra plus, this table also provides a small drawer for additional storage. For anyone in need of versatile tables or home executive desks, this little beauty is never a bad choice!

Looking for a table just for artists? The Cascade Magnetic Table by Studio Designs is a wonderfully functional table for anyone, but it was definitely designed with the artistic in mind! Complete with a tempered glass safety top, molded slide pencil drawers for storage, bays for books, paper, or magazines, and  four removable art trays for pens, pencils, brushes, erasers, rulers and anything else you've got, you cant go wrong with this table. Designed for the studio, this table also features a magnetic tabletop with magnets included so you dong have to worry about your artwork sliding all over the desk while you work. 

For designers or architects that spend a lot of time refining their work, lighted drafting tables like the Ranger Steel Drafting Lighted Table by Mayline, have great crafting applications, so they are a must. These lighted tables are usually equipped with glass tops that provide a backlight source so that artists can see the work on the page beneath the page on top that they are actually working on. Tables with these special lights allow artists to trace their preliminary work so that it can be altered or refined. For architects and engineers, it allows them to see what all the blueprints or different aspects of a room or building might look like when put together, making tables are priceless additions to any studio.

And finally, the creme de la creme! For the ultimate in craft stations, the Catalina Split Top Workcenter simply cannot be topped! These stylish tables are perfect for studios or even as office desks because of their highly professional look. The Catalina Split Top featured a gorgeous tempered blue safety glass desktop as well as a powdered steel frame for durability. Not only that, this table is also extremely versatile, with flat table space and glass desks that can be easily angled for artistic use or lighted from beneath for drafting purposes. Just add yourself a few stylish modern desk chairs, and your workspace is ready to go!

Antique furniture has mass appeal because of the variety of pieces that exist in the market place. It can be found in second-hand and charity stores, antique specialty shops, and antique stores. Great pieces can even be found online. Many people also enjoy passing furniture down in a family to keep well-loved pieces in a family.

Easy Antique Furniture Restoration

While antique furniture is appealing and much sought after, it can also have a down side. As the years pass, furniture is used and normal wear and tear on a piece can often diminish the beauty and appeal of the furniture. Various things can take place as a piece is used through the years. A finish can become scratched from use and hardware can often become lost as drawers and doors are opened and closed for years and years. People who love antiques also love to accomplish what is often called a "sympathetic restoration". This term simply means that they want to make any restoration gentle and not destroy the integrity or authenticity of the antique.

Typically an antique is not completely refinished if the authenticity is to be kept as it was. Instead, a gentle cleaning with a non-abrasive cleaner will be used to remove grime and dirt and the natural age marks will be left as they are. For example, if a drawer has rubbed a spot on the front of a chest as it was used through the years and most people will simply consider this natural and leave it. However, if the piece is deeply scratched and unattractive, a light matching stain might be used to blend the scratch into the shade of the piece of wood. Furniture oil and a soft cloth can often be used to bring back a natural sheen to an antique piece. Complete refinishing is not normally considered the best choice.

Easy Antique Furniture Restoration

Missing hardware can often be acquired for a hardware restoration source that will specialize in replications of original hardware. If this is not possible, replacements need to match the original size as much as possible to fit into the original holes for pulls and knobs. Plugged holes often show up as a huge distraction on an antique piece.

Easy Antique Furniture Restoration

The primary key to preserving and respecting older furniture is to keep it in a climate controlled environment. Various temperature changes can cause wood to swell and contract. When this takes place, joints can tighten or loosen up and become ill fitting. An environment that prevents this from happening is much easier on older furniture.

It is also helpful to gently clean all antiques with a soft cotton cloth, while rubbing with the grain of the wood. This keeps the natural grain of the wood from experiencing scratching as dust and grime is removed. Moving with the grain of the wood keeps any small scratches flowing with the wood grain instead of against it.

Gentle restoration is a very good way to keep antiques a part of the world for generations to come.