How do you display your collection?

I think a shelf with a shallow routed groove is the best and cheapest option

IoW pottery, mostly Joe Lester, but all in his "Lester style" of decoration.

deffo need to arrange this lot out , one day .................

I struggle when displaying pottery in a cabinet and find it far easier to have singles or small groups dotted about. I also find that when I put pottery in a cabinet it tends to remain the same for many months but the pieces that I display on window sills, shelves etc tend to get replaced more quickly

Here are some pics of my display of 60s Poole Delphis ware.

Basically, I had to make something that would ensure my stuff didn't get smashed when an earthquake hits, which happens quite often here. I screwed some 20mm plywood boards, which I painted white, to the wall and made pins from coils of stainless steel wire.

The lighter items (5" plates) are fixed with smaller gauge stuff - 1.6mm dia - but the larger plates (14" dia) have thicker wire - 2.5mm. Once the Poole item is on the board, teh wire isn't very noticeable. i have included a shot of the shape 361 dishes to show the wire in place ready for the dishes (last photo).

I drilled the plywood with a bit slightly smaller than the wire dia and then used pliers to force the wire into the hole. It ends up that I can only just rotate the inserted wire with my fingers once it's in, which means I can remove plates whenever I want by rotating the wire 90 degrees, but the plates are always secured firmly in place... touch wood.

cycladelic wrote:Here are some pics of my display of 60s Poole Delphis ware.

Basically, I had to make something that would ensure my stuff didn't get smashed when an earthquake hits, which happens quite often here. I screwed some 20mm plywood boards, which I painted white, to the wall and made pins from coils of stainless steel wire.

The lighter items (5" plates) are fixed with smaller gauge stuff - 1.6mm dia - but the larger plates (14" dia) have thicker wire - 2.5mm. Once the Poole item is on the board, teh wire isn't very noticeable. i have included a shot of the shape 361 dishes to show the wire in place ready for the dishes (last photo).

I drilled the plywood with a bit slightly smaller than the wire dia and then used pliers to force the wire into the hole. It ends up that I can only just rotate the inserted wire with my fingers once it's in, which means I can remove plates whenever I want by rotating the wire 90 degrees, but the plates are always secured firmly in place... touch wood.

 Didn't quite absorb all the technical blokey stuff, but blimey - fantastic display!!!

xx

cycladelic, are you a millionaire with staff? Who does the dusting? I struggle with my two Poole pieces  

xx

I hope the wire is coated in plastic? Bare wire can cause damage to the glaze

dantheman wrote:I hope the wire is coated in plastic? Bare wire can cause damage to the glaze

I did toy with the idea of sliding some plastic sheathing over the wire, but it seems to be okay to me. The wire is stainless, so it won't rust. Basically, each Poole piece is sat on two pieces of wire, while the heavier 14" plates are sat on three pieces. I'll monitor it and see how things are after a while.

skay wrote:cycladelic, are you a millionaire with staff?  Who does the dusting?  I struggle with my two Poole pieces  

xx

It gets done on a need-to basis. The wall-mounted plates aren't too bad... it's the shelves and vases. But I don't have too many of those... yet.

Still, I prefer the pieces not being behind glass, even though it does create a bit more housework.

Cheers

my glass cabinets get dirty in a month

Here are some of the vases - 9" and 6" tall - gathering dust as I type:

Would you like to come in the spare room to see my Gouda?... it needs a good dusting.

finally, i've got lights for my Ikea cabinets, and God, weren't they a pain to install (still need to tidy away the wires).  I would probably need the same number of cabinets again to take the rest of my collection which is in the loft.

The irony about getting the lights is, I have an auctioneer coming round on Thursday to value my collection for sale - i feel like the time is right (emotionally) to move on with other collecting interests.  But will wait on his valuation before committing to sell it all. I am, however, testing the waters with a few minor pieces that i can bare to part with.

if you really want to move on why not sell your best piece? After that the rest will seem easy to part with

bistoboy wrote:finally, i've got lights for my Ikea cabinets, and God, weren't they a pain to install (still need to tidy away the wires).  I would probably need the same number of cabinets again to take the rest of my collection which is in the loft.

The irony about getting the lights is, I have an auctioneer coming round on Thursday to value my collection for sale - i feel like the time is right (emotionally) to move on with other collecting interests.  But will wait on his valuation before committing to sell it all. I am, however, testing the waters with a few minor pieces that i can bare to part with.

The lights I found Easy to install , it's the blink'n little bulbs that do my nut in , buy them in bulk as they don't last forever , as for auctioning off your pieces , I think that's a good thing , start afresh on something new it's good for you , it's like a breath of fresh air so it is , you learn a little more as well  

I was rather busy last week with a 'little' construction project.

Many months ago, I bought a couple of large teak glazed book cases, which I planned to convert into a display bed surround for some of my collection. But I've been waiting to get some bedside cabinets (for the right price - from auction) before I could start.

So, I managed to get them a few weeks ago and was ready to start.

I've removed the base 'plinth'? then cut and removed part of the lower section, which had cupboard doors.
Here it is with one done and one still to go.


Then, with the other done, I cut up another smaller one I already had to get the wood to join the two sections into one. Now it looks like it always was one unit.




The last few days I've been moving some of my collection in. I've still got to add a couple of shelves into the middle section. But it's already taking shape.

The only trouble I've discovered is. When large pieces of pottery are put into a large display case - they look small  

Well, that's one project thankfully now done. In total, this teak display surround has cost about £20 for the materials  plus about the same for the bedside cabinets.

Great job (just hope it's well fixed - would be a helluva shock landing on your head one night!)

Glad you like.

Skip - Yeh, that would be one hell of a wake up.
But they are solid. Even without securing they sit stable on the side cabinets and have an overhang lip on both outer edges. But they are also screwed to the wall.

The girlfriend was a little unsure about a shelf of pottery above her head (even though she trusts my work) - so a sat on the connecting shelf. After that she was perfectly happy to sleep under it.

Naomi - Have to say I'd be with hubby on that. Trouble with those type of cupboards is, there is so much wood in the doors, it obscures much of what's inside. And even half price I'd call that dear - charity shops ain't what they used to be - they are getting as dear as regular shops.

Naomi - keep an eye on your local Auction House. These old teak glazed bookcases are not very popular and I'm picking them up for around £6-£10. Some even have mirrored backs and glass shelves. Even proper display case often go fairly cheaply. And everything goes a lot cheaper than I find in charity shops.

If you don't mind 'brown furniture' then you can furnish an entire house for peanuts from an Auction House.