How to Store Your Previously Thrown Pottery Pieces

Learning how to throw pottery can be good fun, but what do you do with all of the pottery that you have made? Well, if your pottery collection is getting a bit too large for your home, it may be time for you to consider renting a storage unit, like Liberty Self Storage. Here, you will learn how to pack and store your pottery to keep it in pristine condition until you find a more permanent place for it.

Clean With a Gentle Touch

Before you pack up your pottery for storage, clean it. Any dirt that remains on the pottery could cause discoloration.

Unglazed Pottery – Use a dry cloth to gently dust the surface as best you can. If you find stains that won't come off with a dry cloth, use a tiny bit of soapy water on a cloth to wipe it clean. Then, let it sit to dry; but don't dry it in the sun or it could crack.

Glazed Pottery – Mix a few drops of liquid dish soap with lukewarm water. Dip a clean cloth in the mixture and wring it out well. Use the cloth to gently wipe the surface clean. Set out to dry.

Wrap the Pottery Properly

Your first instinct may be to grab some old newspapers and start wrapping. This is one of the worst things you can do. The inks in the newspaper will transfer onto the pottery after being stored a while. Instead, use a sheet of acid-free tissue paper to wrap the pottery inside and out.

After you have lined the pottery with the tissue paper, use bubble wrap to fill the inside of the pots and wrap around the outside.

Box the Pottery

Before you begin filling boxes with the wrapped pottery, line the sides and bottom of the box with at least one layer of bubble wrap. Set the pottery inside the box gently and stuff tissue paper or bubble wrap between each piece to ensure that it doesn't tumble around while you are transporting it.

Before closing the box, lay a sheet or two of bubble wrap on top to ensure that the contents are snug inside and will not jostle free while you move it.

Store the Pottery

Pottery should be stored in a climate-controlled setting. Find a storage facility that offers climate-controlled units. Humidity and high or low temperatures are terrible to pottery and will cause each piece to crack, cause the glazing to crack, or even cause the entire piece to fracture.

Climate-controlled storage facilities maintain a steady level of humidity and a regulated temperature that will ensure that your pottery remains in the same condition that it is in when you put it in storage.

Using these tips will help you find more room to continue to create even more beautiful pottery while keeping your already-made pieces in perfect condition.

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