SPACE²

Beside the concept of how pottery is packed and shipped, I have to admit, I am always curious about how and where collector’s store their collections. Part of this interest is the fact that I have seen collections that have hundreds, even thousands of pots wondering just where are all those empty wood boxes? I suspect for most, having a handful of pots doesn’t really lead to taking up large portions of living space but when you get to several hundred or many multiples of that amount, I suspect some clever storage options are needed. Coupled with the ceramic occupation is that many decide to display all of their collections leading to the necessity of have space to have pottery out and more space for the wood storage boxes (space²). Our display/ storage strategy is simple, rotate the collection with only a small group of pots out at any given moment which can make a smaller collection seem more grand in scale.     

In one visit to NYC and seeing a rather fine collection, the exterior of the apartment walls, mostly windows were fitted with cabinet style shelves, this concealed the boxes and allowed for display on the tops of the running surfaces. I was later informed that there was actually an adjoining apartment that served as more storage and display areas, must be nice!     

Illustrated is a recent encounter of one collector’s answer to storage, between a hallway and a bedroom, which has become a sitting room of sorts, the walls have recessed, open shelves making for perfect storage of boxed pottery. Composed of a range of types, sizes and forms, the shelves are just out of the way as you move past them but perfect for holding quite a few pieces all with their hakogaki facing away from the lighting and any sun that finds its way there. I am sure there are quite a few options for storage, some unique, many redundant at least in concept but all a necessary consideration for every Japanese pottery collector.  

“The more storage you have, the more stuff you accumulate.”  Alexis Stewart