lighting for my dye studio

It looks like we're going to do some work to our garage to make it into a better dye studio. That's where I do all my handpainting, and now that daylight hours in Washington are shrinking to about four in a day, the first order of business is better lighting, with or without other improvements.

I went to Home Depot today to look at what they have. The cheapest option would be one of those 4" panel work lights with two long skinny bulbs. They're typically fluorescent, but they also come in daylight versions. I wasn't sure which of the many available bulbs would work best; it might take some experimenting to figure it out.

Another option, which I liked better, was halogen work lights. We already have a dual work light with a stand; those lights have 500 watt bulbs, which I find blinding. I think two lights with lower wattages (150w, maybe), one at each end of my table, might work.

Tonight, I stumbled onto Ott-Lites. Now this looks like the ticket--designed for handwork, intended to show true colors at night. The bulbs appear to be far more energy efficient than halogen bulbs, which is a big plus. I like the Craft Plus floor lamp the best, since it's got the highest wattage and seems to provide the most coverage. The catch? It's $170 plus shipping. Joann's is currently out of stock, but if this baby is eligible for their 50% coupons, I'm going to snap one up when they're available again. I should check the local store, too, just in case.