in this very spot

A while ago on my personal blog I wrote a post about my favorite crafting tools. Well, meet a new favorite to add to the list: the ratchet screwdriver. Technically it’s a construction tool, but I’m giving it special status.

I picked this up on a whim the other day since I knew we’d be needing a Philips head and regular screwdriver at the new studio. What a great invention! The interchangeable tips are magnetized so you have less chance to losing your hardware, and you don’t need to adjust your grip at all when twisting because of the ratchet action. Plus, it reverses when you need to remove a screw.

Let me tell you, this tool came in handy yesterday when I was assembling our shelving for the studio. (Which, by the way, I really should not be doing by myself. It’s dangerous to try to upright a nine-foot-high, four-foot-wide steel shelving unit when you’re alone.)

But this post isn’t about the screwdriver at all. As I was crouched on the floor with my beloved new screwdriver, I glanced down and discovered this sewing needle, sealed into the floor when the wood was recently re-finished. Someone else was sewing in this very same spot where we’ll be sewing for the months (and probably years) to come.

Our building was constructed in the 1920’s and changed owners last year, at which time the top floor was broken into smaller studio spaces. We’re the first tenant in this smaller space, and before the sale the space was used as a printer’s bindery.

Now I simply must ask our landlord about the history of the building.

I’m sure this needle isn’t eighty-plus years old, but wouldn’t it be interesting if once upon a time someone else made children’s clothing in this very same spot?