Taking time to count the pots...

Despite all my best intentions, I rarely take the time to take note of how many pots I have when I'm setting up or tearing down a show. My typical set-up routine--despite plenty of time--always has me arranging (and pricing that last batch of work from the kiln) up until opening time. And at the end of the show, there's just always a need to tear down as quickly as possible. And then the pottery lives in its crates until the next show. 

All of this means, that while I have a notion of which pots have completely run out, I rarely remember which pots and what colors by the time I'm back in the studio. And when the next show rolls around, I'm convinced that I'll never have enough work to fill my shelves, so I'm anxious and stressed.

After my last big show last year, I schlepped all of my crates into the house and inventoried. It took forever. The good part of it was that I ended up having a mini-home show for my friends, which was great.

I have come up with a new scheme, to help with this issue. This year, I've started taking a photo of all my shelves at the end of the show. It's pretty effective...not quite as good as a list, but WAY faster.