Moving studio into my Horse Trailer!!

Lorraine Chandler · #1 2009-03-08, 5:18pm

YEP! You read it right! I am moving my torch and kiln into my horse trailer. I have nowhere else to go right now and it is free.

And so the horse trailer saga begins....

I am hoping it might help others to build a small temporary studio also. We shall see how it goes.. Of course we have already run into a snag with the ventilation..We are working on that now.

Here is a sneek peek.

Lorraine

bead crazy · #2 2009-03-08, 5:59pm

You have windows why can't you have your vent go up to the window. Put the duct out a cut out of plywood and put it in the window. Then it does not have to be permenant . Looks like a awesome idea. What a nice trailer,

Lorraine Chandler · #3 2009-03-08, 6:30pm

Thanks Lori, we are having trouble with our squirrel cage blowers..one is way too big for the bench area and the other is probably going to be a little too much CFm but may be just right, but it needs to be wired up for 3 speeds so DH will do that tomorrow.

We have so many windows to vent out of, I am glad for that. I think it wil be really cute when done and mobile too.

Lorraine

ladymeme123 · #4 2009-03-08, 6:30pm

Nice Trailer! The idea has definately crossed my mind. Can't wait to see it finished.

Michelle

MerryFool · #5 2009-03-08, 8:49pm

Looks really interesting Lorraine...I can't wait to see how it turns out for you.

Anne Ricketts · #6 2009-03-09, 4:43am

Awesome idea! I see those all over the place here for sale but I didn't think it would be wide or tall enough! Can't wait to see what it looks like finished!

Bright-eyed Beads · #7 2009-03-09, 6:23am

Why does it have to be temporary!!! That looks like a brilliant solution and good enough to be permanent. Can't wait to see the finished product,

Cheers

Jenny

cakelady · #8 2009-03-09, 6:35am

Sounds like an awesome idea. I have way less space in my little corner in the garage. I would make it permanant. Glass on wheels, is great idea.

NMLinda · #9 2009-03-09, 7:14am

Hi Lorraine!

Great idea! Look forward to seeing more pics!!

Linda

Lorraine Chandler · #10 2009-03-09, 10:26am

Thanks everybody, you guys have made my day!! This decision came from something bad happening in our lives...DH got laid off.

So now we can't build or buy my little studio shed. But out of the ashes rises a phoenix...LOL

He has been applying for jobs in a different county so we may move. best idea was the horse trailer all around.

Linda, one day I would hope to meet you in person!

Cakelady, thanks so much..Glass on Wheels..cute!
Jenny, you made my day! When and if we get moved I may just trade this trailer in on one that has the living quarters so it can be a really complete mobile studio and guest quarters too!!

Anne, this trailer is extra tall and is 6'6" wide. The work area is 6'6" by 7' and the mangers are 30" deep. The little hallway is narrow and goes into the carpeted changing room that is 6'6" by 7 feet. It has a little less space because of the bullet nose front, but still plenty of room for my poochy to stay in when I am torching. The changing room has an RV screen door on it. It is a top of the line trailer and we almost have it paid off.!

Michelle, I hope this gives you some workable ideas too.
Merryfool, Hopefully we will get it finished in the next two weeks...I have a lot of frit blends to make up and test!!!

So we need to get this finished.

This blower was just too large and powerful. We have a smaller one DH is wiring up today. I used a utility shelf for my bench and gave me a narrow storage shelf under it for metal cooking trays/pans to hold all of my tools etc.

The kiln fit perfectly in one of the mangers and the other manger is going to hold the A/C unit. Marble on the craigslist metal shelves I found , so I can just turn around and stretch out my canes and twisties and lay them there.

More pics coming later..
Lorraine

jazz's glass · #11 2009-03-09, 12:58pm

She's gonna be a travelin torcher he he.

I like the idea . . .

Kym · #12 2009-03-09, 1:51pm

I will be watching this with great interest since DH and I plan to travel around Australia for 5 years and I am having a little studio in the rear of the fifthwheeler. So this will be my idea thread to adapt that space.
We are having the studio space lined with aluminium sheeting on the floor and walls as a scooter will be tied in there while on the move and it should stop the small burn marks accumulating.
Its an exercise in space management for sure! I also won't be able to have marble as the weight considerations are a huge part of it. Less weight, more glass cargo for me.
I think its a wonderful idea just to have yours though. I am sharing my space with the laundrey etc at the moment. Not ideal.

Cheers
Kym

Salado Flameworks · #13 2009-03-09, 7:25pm

You are brilliant! What a great idea.

Peg

Lorraine Chandler · #14 2009-03-09, 7:35pm

Thank you so much.

But I can only take a little credit for this one...there have been people on LE and elsewhere converting RV's, Travel trailers and the one that got my attention was a post/thread? that showed a studio set up in a utility trailer. They did such a wonderful job I decided I could do it in my horse trailer.

Thanks for the Kudos and I am passing them along to those that paved the way before me..

Although I have not seen one done yet in an actual horse trailer..so hence this thread.

Lorraine

Lorraine Chandler · #15 2009-03-10, 6:02pm

Hi there,

Thanks and let me know if you have any questions...I will be happy to share info.

Sorry, removed the "trailer" blog link. But I am blogging about the new shed as it gets built.

Lorraine

NMLinda · #16 2009-03-11, 7:16am

Looks like it's starting to take shape, Lorraine! I love the marble tops to your shelving. Looks like it will be great for laying stringer, as you mention.

That's one impressive squirrel cage blower you and your DH are working to install! Looking forward to seeing how your vent hood turns out.

I'm enjoying your progress pics on your blog. Best wishes to your DH on finding a new job. In the meantime, he's doing a beautiful, professional job on your trailer.

Be fun to meet you someday!

Linda

BlueBetween · #17 2009-03-14, 9:19pm

This looks great already, what a clever idea!

DayDream Beads · #18 2009-03-14, 9:50pm

What a terrific idea. Instant studio, I love it.

maren · #19 2009-03-15, 3:12am

Kym,

having alumin(i)um near my torch scares me (other than that my kiln is made from it - but that will be far enough away). Especially in an enclosed space. The idea of a metal fire scares me more than the idea of a propane blow-up.

Bright-eyed Beads · #20 2009-03-15, 4:48am

Metal fire???? Ok a bit naive but I have never heard of that and my understanding is that those kind of fires start from cutting metal and friction rather then naked flame,

Cheers

Jenny

Kym · #21 2009-03-15, 5:40am

New to me too.......I wouldn't have thought a fixed torch would be a problem, its only little hot bits of glass that I am protecting the floor etc from.
Weight is a real problem so very thin sheet steel could be an option if Aluminium is not OK....
Anybody else have an opinion.I would like to hear

Ta
Kym

Lorraine Chandler · #22 2009-03-17, 11:11pm

You would need one powerful flame such as oxy acetylene and be torching directly on that flooring to get it to flash. That is all it would probably do..is flash. No one is going to do that....even if a whole flaming glass rod landed on the floor and rolled around it probably wouldn't do anything except break.

Edited to add: My whole horse trailer is aluminum. Top, bottom, sides, floor...all of it. That is what Featherlites are known for.

Lorraine

Kym · #23 2009-03-17, 11:27pm

That looks way too neat. Promise we get a pic two weeks after you work in there! LOL.
I am soooo jealous

It is such a great idea!!! I am thinking if I could do it cheaply, I should just look for a cheap little van and do it now, then just transfer everything when we are setting up the big van for travel....at least then I would have some experience and now what would work for me and what wouldn't...erg temptation....well after the hosp bills are paid tho'

Kym

NMLinda · #24 2009-03-18, 7:19am

It's really taking shape, Lorraine! Did you leave a spot for DH to hang out with you when you torch? It looks so cozy in there already, it's hard to imagine wanting to come out!

Linda

Lorraine Chandler · #25 2009-03-18, 9:28am

Kym, I want pics if you do the van thingy??? That's a good idea to do the Van first, get all of the bugs worked out before you do a more permanent set-up in the RV.

Too Neat you say???

I can fix that!! LOL I promise pictures after I mess it up.

Linda, I will take some pics of the dressing room. It is a perfect little area. I used the trailer for camping and the RV screen door kept the bugs out and let us stay inside a cute little cozy room when it rained.

DH likes to visit and there is room for my doggie to stay in the nice cozy carpeted dressing room. DH actually has his own glass stash and torches when the urge hits him. He usually makes spacers for me. He likes that.

Lorraine

mewsicmama · #26 2009-03-18, 12:51pm

I am really enjoying this thread Lorraine! What a terrific idea, and that is a BEAUTIFUL trailer. What kind of horses do you have? We have a 31 foot travel trailer, but if we ever get to move to a rural area I want to slap a camper on the truck and get a horse trailer so we can really have fun. I miss having large animals.

I'm still waiting for hubby to clear a space for me in the garage but he has a ruptured disc so it won't be happening right away.

Thanks for sharing this exciting time with us. Best of luck to your hubby - this economy stinks!

Lorraine Chandler · #27 2009-03-18, 5:32pm

The economy is pretty bad right now. But thank goodness I was born in the fifties to a hardworking hunting fishing pioneer stock family. We know what to do and how to do it if goes from bad to worse.

I have owned horses off and on since I was 20. I liked em' hot. Arabs and Saddlebreds, and a few poorly gelded stallions ( not my doing) ....they were always a fun ride.

No one else wanted them so I always ended up with those. I always loved them and did very well with them. Endurance was my thing.

My DH of 8 years is afraid of horses but he bought the trailer anyway. He seems to be more comfortable with the coldbloods. Maybe renaissance with the neat costumes and White knights..I love those faires!!

We never got to move to the country..The housing market dropped. So we wait. If I never get to have horses again it's okay. I really love making glass and it fills the void. I would hate having to worry about feeding them. I would only buy them now if I had enough land in hay I had all I wanted and half to sell off. Don't think that is going to happen anytime soon.

Thanks for the wonderful compliments everyone. We are now working on getting electricity to the trailer from the garage. will have to set it up every time I torch but that is okay.

Lorraine

mewsicmama · #28 2009-03-18, 9:05pm

The horse I used to have was a standardbred mare - as much as I hate to admit it she was pretty barn sour at times, and I would laugh when people would see her racking like crazy trying to get me to loosen the reins, and compliment me on how pretty she was. I always rode her bareback or just with a pad. When she started getting real ornery there were times I was just working at staying on. I thought I was going to be moving to Utah and she had some age on her, so I gave her to a young teenager who was the only person in her family who didn't have a horse. Went and saw here 1 and 2 years later and she looked terrific. I will never regret rehoming her even though I didn't move to Utah as originally thought. The link below my signature goes to my friends site. She is the sister of my BFF up in Washington State. I was lucky enough to get to ride Cazar - bareback and with a halter only. It was like riding a recliner! They had an extremely popular horse, Hostal, who passed away right around the time their Mom passed.

Geneva · #29 2009-03-19, 4:51am

Great website, Beautiful horses. Had them growing up and as a young adult. Miss the now.
Geneva

Lorraine Chandler · #30 2009-03-19, 8:27pm

Here is a new pic... Its getting there guys.....

Lorraine