I've had this recurring problem in my studio for a few years. The shelves where I keep my finished inventory were regularly overflowing their capacity. This is how they looked a few weeks ago, right before I embarked on a stretch of three consecutive weekend shows. This is how many pots it takes to do three shows:

This week I saw an opportunity to fix this. I am in between the second and third of the three consecutive shows. Therefore all remaining pots are currently packed in boxes. The shelves are never going to be emptier than this.

I do not have any floor space to add more furniture. I knew I would be replacing the shelves with something more capacious, rather than adding more furniture. I've known for a long time there was a big inefficiency in the old shelving. Can you see that two of the sections are 12 inches deep, and one of them in 19 inches deep? That's because the two 12 inch sections were purchased long before I renovated my studio in 2013. Back then, this was all the shelving I needed to store finished pots. When I moved these shelves into the renovated studio, that's when I bought the third, 19 inch deep section. At the time, it felt like an excessive and luxurious amount of space. 

Five years later, things have changed. I explored many possible shelving options as a replacement, but ultimately chose to go back to budget-friendly IKEA. The old shelving was from IKEA, and I was hoping to simply replace all the 12 inch shelves with 19 inch shelves. Unfortunately, IKEA has redesigned this shelving system a little, enough that a shelf-switch-out was not possible. Then I decided, in the interest of visual continuity, and because this shelving is very affordable, that I would replace all three sections. 

I have the same number of shelves, but now they are all 18.5 inches deep. On a 12 inch shelf, I could fit two rows of mugs, stacked two high. On an 18 inch shelf, I can fit three rows of mugs. Same with chopstick bowls, I should be able to fit three rows per shelf now. Big difference. The old shelving unit had 8,460 square inches of horizontal space. The new one has 11,100 square inches. That's 31% more space. This should be enough for doing three consecutive shows. Possibly four. Will I outgrow these too? I honestly don't think so. I've done four shows in a row a few times, and I don't see the benefit of scheduling my time that way. I plan to stick with maximum three in a row going forward. 

There was one thing I didn't like about the slatted shelves. The spaces in between the slats were sometimes problematic for narrow-bottom pots, such as mugs and small bowls. I've think I've improved that situation too, with a heavy plastic shelf liner, also from IKEA. And note that the entire unit is secured to the cinder block wall with concrete anchors. Could you imagine if the whole thing tipped over while full of pots?

When I get back from this weekend's show, I'll take a few days off, then start filling up the new shelves.
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Whenever anybody expresses doubt that I make pottery as my full-time job, I show them my arm muscles. 

​Particularly my Popeye-ish forearms.

I'm not completely comfortable with the effect this has had on my body. I admit to being self-conscious at times. And now that I am producing instructional videos, I am seeing myself center clay from an onlooker's perspective. Whoa, is that what I look like? 

There are times when I think about what my life will be like after I retire from pottery. No, I don't plan to do this full-time into my golden years. At some point, I'd like to enjoy a less physically demanding life, while I still have the energy to appreciate it. One of the things I'm looking forward to is having normal-sized arms again. Like I said, I'm not crazy about the look, and buying shirts now isn't easy. T-shirts are designed with such skinny arms these days! And forget about woven shirts. My shoulders, neck, and torso are way out of proportion for those. 

For now I have to live with them. I guess I could beat somebody up if I had to. Or at least make people think I could.