Whether you make lots of pysanky and have a permanent workshop set up, or just make a few for Easter and keep all of your supplies in a cardboard box, it is still important to configure your work space to be ergonomic and safe.

(1) Cover your work area with old newspapers, brown paper or a plastic tablecloth. The table should be steady (immobile) and, if more than one person will be making pysanky, there should be adequate elbow room (to avoid jostling).

(2) Make sure there is adequate light in your work space.  Sunlight is best, but, if it’s not readily available, a good lamp will suffice.

(3) Have everything you need close at hand: candle, matches, pencil, styluses, wax, design sheets, paper towels, but not so close that you don’t have adequate room to work. (See detailed list above.)

(4) Have your cooled, room temperature dyes in their labeled jars ready in your work area, preferably arranged from light to dark.

(5) Place your spoons in a container partly filled with clean water, and keep this near your dyes.

(6) Put a layer of paper towels down over your personal work space. You will want to change these towels as they get dirty, stained with wax and dyes.  Do not work directly on newspaper, as the ink may rub off and stain your pysanka.

(7) Set the candle firmly into its holder; make sure it doesn’t wobble and that it won’t fall over.

(8) Set out, in your personal work space, your pencil, styluses, wax and matches.

(9) It is useful to have an egg carton (preferably paper) in your personal work space, so as to have a safe place to keep your eggs when you are not working on them.  I cut the top and flaps off of mine to make it more useful.

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