How do you store your art? 2 2

[GotSuperPowers?]

Pictures and buy links please, but how do you store your art collection?  Do you do something different for large or small pieces?

I know folks use safes and portfolios, and that @ESeffinga is going to have a masterful storage set up, but I'd love to see how folks keep their art in general.  I was keeping mine in large metal flat files but want a different, more accessible, solution.  I have a collection in the hundreds of pieces, so that is a factor for me too.

I'd love something like this, but my wife, love her to bits, objects to the price:

https://www.cb2.com/inline-brass-filing-cabinet/s515913

Also, anyone in the Cleveland area interested in two large metal flat files, message me!

[Twanj]

No experience with this, but maybe someone else has. $129

 

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/alex-drawer-unit-on-casters-white-40196241/

[DjMartini]

I have not bought a storage unit for mine yet as I currently use a portfolio but I searched and found this one on Amazon. Similar to the IKEA one but seems to be not as wide for about $97.00:

https://www.amazon.com/Winsome-10519-Halifax-Storage-Organization/dp/B006WYUQDY/ref=sr_1_2?crid=385U4S93A0W1N&dchild=1&keywords=art+storage&qid=1599758066&rnid=2941120011&s=office-products&sprefix=art++storage%2Caps%2C542&sr=1-2

 

 

 

[Will_K]

I use a combination of Itoyas and hardsided art cases.  Hardsided art cases will stand up.  They're also hard to find these days.  I guess digital art has killed the need for them.  Also,if you have a lot of them, they take up a lot of floor space.  You can tier them if you have some deep wire shelving. 

These might be helpful.

https://www.cgccomics.com/boards/topic/451576-storage-suggestions

https://www.cgccomics.com/boards/topic/389997-storing-prints

https://www.cgccomics.com/boards/topic/461872-need-help-storing-original-art

https://www.cgccomics.com/boards/topic/440803-q-re-oa-storage

https://www.cgccomics.com/boards/topic/461872-need-help-storing-original-art

https://www.cgccomics.com/boards/topic/416180-new-art-storage-day

 

[JadeGiant]

I like the look of the wood unit Simon. Is it just the aesthetic that you prefer over the metal flat files? Functionally they look to be similar but I could be missing something. 

[GotSuperPowers?]

2 minutes ago, JadeGiant said:

I like the look of the wood unit Simon. Is it just the aesthetic that you prefer over the metal flat files? Functionally they look to be similar but I could be missing something. 

Yes, aesthetics, but also space.  The flat files are extremely wide so I'm very limited on where I can put them. The Ikea draws above, for example, could go in to a closet if not outside in a room generally.

[GotSuperPowers?]

5 minutes ago, Will_K said:

I use a combination of Itoyas and hardsided art cases.  Hardsided art cases will stand up.  They're also hard to find these days.  I guess digital art has killed the need for them.  Also,if you have a lot of them, they take up a lot of floor space.  You can tier them if you have some deep wire shelving. 

These might be helpful.

https://www.cgccomics.com/boards/topic/451576-storage-suggestions

https://www.cgccomics.com/boards/topic/389997-storing-prints

https://www.cgccomics.com/boards/topic/461872-need-help-storing-original-art

https://www.cgccomics.com/boards/topic/440803-q-re-oa-storage

https://www.cgccomics.com/boards/topic/461872-need-help-storing-original-art

https://www.cgccomics.com/boards/topic/416180-new-art-storage-day

 

Ha!  You mean to say I've started a new topic on something that has already been talked about a lot?  Next you'll be saying there is a thread about Coollinesart.

[GotSuperPowers?]

24 minutes ago, Twanj said:

No experience with this, but maybe someone else has. $129

 

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/alex-drawer-unit-on-casters-white-40196241/

This is definitely the kind of thing I was looking for examples of, thank you!

[vodou]

1 hour ago, GotSuperPowers? said:

...how do you store your art collection?

[ESeffinga]

Most metal flat files are gigantic, and eat up an acre of floor space. Not practical unless sanded, painted nicely and turned into something like a coffee table in the living room.

The part about that which always gave me pause when I briefly considered it was, what happens if someone accidentally overturns a drink of the top of the coffee table? 

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I don’t have a lot of great suggestions on that front. I’m the guy that doesn’t care to have a lot of stored art anymore, and my collection has evolved to such big pieces they are forced to be stored on the walls. Hahaha.

My take is this, look around. Watch places like craigslist in your area long term. 
 

FWIW, that cabinet You lined to, IMO is not bad at all. Think about how much you spend on the stuff that goes in it. That’s “nothing”. 
 

But watch for letterpress cabinets. Spool cabinets. Smaller map files and blueprint files, etc. I’ve seen some beautiful things done with those. But it also depends on how handy you are. If you can’t do the work yourself, having someone else do it will make that linked cabinet look dirt cheap.
 

 

 

[Rick2you2]

Try looking for blueprint drawers. They are by no means as pretty as the piece you highlighted, but they will hold large items, like blueprints, and they can be had for a few hundred dollars and up. Safeco is a well known manufacturer. As for me, I just stack Itoya’s on an old TV table, although they do NOT all fit, and that will eventually be a problem.

[ESeffinga]

For instance, I found a lovely looking oak flat file in the home of a retired architect a few hours from me. It’s not too big, like the large metal ones, and it is tall enough to fit a ton of art in. Price, $3000.

[Rick2you2]

1 hour ago, ESeffinga said:

For instance, I found a lovely looking oak flat file in the home of a retired architect a few hours from me. It’s not too big, like the large metal ones, and it is tall enough to fit a ton of art in. Price, $3000.

You should be able to do better with time. A lot of plans these days are only digital. No need for storing the blueprints; no need for cabinets.

[Will_K]

40 minutes ago, Rick2you2 said:

You should be able to do better with time. A lot of plans these days are only digital. No need for storing the blueprints; no need for cabinets.

I agree.  But I think the people that still have flat files or are selling them believe they're worth a lot of $$$.  The probable reasoning is that they're desirable as some kind of retro or industrial design furniture.  They're really hulking monstrosities designed for one purpose, containing large flat objects.  They're heavy, take up a lot of room, not otherwise functional and not nice to look at.  You pull open a drawer and all you see is a wide flat void???  Totally messes up the feng shui !!!    Just buy an apothecary cabinet and get it over with.  Nice pretty room.

Edited September 11, 2020 by Will_K

[delekkerste]

17 hours ago, DjMartini said:

I have not bought a storage unit for mine yet as I currently use a portfolio but I searched and found this one on Amazon. Similar to the IKEA one but seems to be not as wide for about $97.00:

https://www.amazon.com/Winsome-10519-Halifax-Storage-Organization/dp/B006WYUQDY/ref=sr_1_2?crid=385U4S93A0W1N&dchild=1&keywords=art+storage&qid=1599758066&rnid=2941120011&s=office-products&sprefix=art++storage%2Caps%2C542&sr=1-2

According to the stated dimensions, the interior of the drawers wouldn't fit 11 x 17" art...

18 hours ago, Twanj said:

No experience with this, but maybe someone else has. $129

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/alex-drawer-unit-on-casters-white-40196241/

LOL, we actually have one of these - my printer sits on top of it and it's filled with printer supplies and other home office-related junk. Never thought about its potential usage for flat file storage.  I guess the thing that would give me pause is that the carved-out notches that serve as handles to pull out the drawers are open all the time, so children's hands, dust, vermin and other externalities are not blocked out.  There's no fire protection, of course, though, most of us don't have that now anyway. 

[ESeffinga]

14 hours ago, Rick2you2 said:

You should be able to do better with time. A lot of plans these days are only digital. No need for storing the blueprints; no need for cabinets.

Crappy ones, of course. The one I was referencing is gorgeous, not as massive, and a 3 stack tower. Beautifully finished, and wouldn’t look out of place in a living room or library of a high end home. 

Ballpark for the run of the mill wood flat files run $300-800 depending on condition, location and the type of file, from what I’ve seen over the years. 

 

[dichotomy]

Does anyone condition the room that they keep their art in? I’ve just moved from a New England stone basement to West Coast upstairs, west facing bedroom (aka much more temp variation during 24 hour cycle). 
 

Recent events have me seriously considering a fire rated safe...

Edited September 11, 2020 by dichotomy

[NelsonAI]

If you are concerned about California wildfires, a "fire proof" safe probably wouldn't help.  If the fire is that serious, after a few hours, the safe itself will act like an oven and heat up all contents inside.  They are also super heavy so you may need to reinforce the floors.

Home safes are fine if the fire is put out quickly.

 

[Will_K]

Only tangentially related... but since this is a CGC board.  Apparently slabbed comics that are stored in fire resistant safes can become damaged.  The fire proofing leaches into the air in the safe and can damage the paper and/or staples.  Not sure how different media will react.

[ESeffinga]

When we redid the air system in our house a number of years back, one of the things I insisted on was a whole house humidifier to help keep things balanced out. Especially in the winter when the heat is on, and the air gets hella dry without it.