New Shoes

I decided, while set up at a show in Greenville, SC, that I needed some ways to visually isolate and accentuate the pots on my booth. There's a rule of thumb to the display game that I've always followed: Never (or very rarely) display a pot directly on a shelf or table. The way I've followed this guideline in the past is to use Plexiglas risers. That's worked out well, but those plexi risers get terribly scratched and their transparency actually lends to the layers and layers of pottery busy-ness that makes it hard for the human eye to isolate and view one piece of pottery at a time.

The first week of July was spent fabricating new birch boxes. The boxes are made in sets of 3 that sleeve inside each other so as to not take up too much van space while traveling to and from shows. These boxes are painted the same Lancaster White as my display and thus, completely disappear on the display.

Additionally, I made four sets of bi-fold panels that will completely isolate the sections between my shelves. These I painted bright colors in sharp contrast to the natural and subtle colors of my pottery palette.

Finally, from all the squares and rectangles of birch plywood left over from the boxes and panels, I painted up "coasters" for pots to sit on -- either directly on the shelves, or raised up on the plexiglas stands I have.

I also sold my Flatiron mandolin so I could replace the canopy that was hail damaged at the Springfield show. Though I'd always kept my old Crafthut looking clean and new, the actual new one does look slick.

The overall appearance is a psychological and visual boost to the art fair booth.