No matter how big or how small your shelf is, eventually you're going to run out of space...

Let's talk about that, shall we?

There is really only one simple reason any shelf ever fills up, and that is that there are more pieces on the shelf than there is room to keep them all.

But what are the deeper reasons shelf spaces fill up?

The answer almost always is that we, as lovers of creation, love creating more, and more, and more. We put off moving our pieces through the process so we can make more, and more, and more. We put off sanding, firing, and glazing so we can make more, and more, and more.

We get it. Working clay is fun and fulfilling. But here's the truth…

You need to move your pieces through the process if you want to have more space. You need to get them off of your shelf and onto the firing tables.

Use a full shelf as motivation to get sanding and glazing your pieces! That being said, there are a few things you can do if you want to fit more pieces onto your shelf...

Pottery shelf full of work-in-progress pieces

LEVEL UP YOUR MEMBERSHIP!

The bigger your membership level, the bigger your shelf. Each level in membership doesn't cost all that much more, but comes with lots of extra shelf space. Purple level comes with the biggest jump to a full, deeper, taller shelf.

Upgraded pottery shelf with more space at The Clay Hole

RENT A CLAY CUBBY

New bags of clay can be major space hogs, especially on smaller shelves. The Clay Hole rents clay cubbies for $10/month. It gives you a place to store up to two full bags of clay…

Clay cubbies available for rent at The Clay Hole

ORDER AN ORGANIZER SHELF TO PUT WITHIN YOUR SHELF

There are endless options on Amazon for small shelves made to go inside of cabinets. Feel free to bring your favorite and use it on your shelf. We don't care how high you stack as long as you stay within your space. This one might do the trick. Be sure to measure your space…

Adjustable organizer shelf that fits inside pottery shelf

STACK YOUR WORK…

If your work is bisqued or dry, you can stack it. Play your own little game of pottery Tetris to free up some space…

Bisqued bowls stacked to save shelf space

Hopefully this helps.

We have learned that it actually doesn't matter how big your shelf is. Any potter who procrastinates sanding, glazing, and firing is always going to fill their shelves up. That's okay, we do it too. Hopefully this helped.

Dan Pearce
Founder | The Clay Hole