Hello everyone,
I have started to accumulate a lot of pots and ive reached the point where i need to have them sorted in an orderly fashion or else ill run out of space (for more ;-))…
So now id love to hear or see how you guys have your pots sorted/stacked/organized.
Have you sorted them by colour/glaze? Size/shape? By potters? Or just stacked as they come in? How many do you stack on top of each other max.?
Curious and looking forward to a bit of inspiration.
Have a great weekend!
Steven
Here you can see he uses wooden slats to stack his pots, one on top of the other. IDK if you are already doing this, it just popped into my mind.. best of luck
Thanks a lot for the link. Ill definitely watch it.
Yeah i do already use wooden sticks to keep them apart.
@CMP how do you organize your pot collection?
I don’t have one !
I use mica pots because of the cold temperatures here in winter, the price point, the weight and honestly I like the look.
None of my trees are at the level of Ryan’s or even in the same stratosphere so I just don’t get into designer pots..
I love the dark unglazed pottery look that mica pots give and honestly because they are so tough I just toss them all in a plastic tub.
Right now I order what I need before repot season and probably only have a few pots left due to size or shape..
Nice pots require a nice tree or they make great candy dishes !
For me a samurai sword or a guitar with provenance is worth it, but a pot ??? IDK…
But to each their own as we are all drawn to and inspired by different things, concepts and ideas.
Party on !
I have a lot of pots. I use sticks between them and have to re-organize every so often as I tend to pull them apart and make a mess of how they are organized. you need to be able to see them to use them. store them on shelves in such a manner that you can look at them and find the right one for the tree when you go to repot. I think trying to sort by color, or by potter, or any systematic way is difficult and probably too time consuming to be of value. My view is you need a lot of pots. You also need to pay attention to what you pot in. If the plan is to store a tree that is liable to freeze, the pot needs to be freeze/thaw stable. If you plan on selling the tree soon, pot in something you don’t care you lose in the sale. lots of things to consider but basically you need to be able to see them easily when you need to make a choice.
Thanks @CASWI for your input.
Yeah i was also thinking that it might be too much of a hassle to have ver detailed “systematic” approach. How many pots do you stack on top of each other max.?
depends on weight but maybe three. sometimes I put them inside each other but they are not as visible when I am looking for one that will work for the tree. I probably have 200 pots that have nothing in them at any one time and even then I don’t have the right pot for the tree. I used to be able to get good vintage Japanese pots at sales when someone died at decent prices but no longer. there are certain pots that are really useful and others rarely work with much of anything but are cool pots.
I live near Sara Rayner. her pots sell for a lot of money used and are a good investment if you find any out there used for reasonable prices. her vintage pots are interesting as they are very clunky. she hates them but I like them.
I am not much of an organizer. I feel good that I have my spices alphabetical. that is the extent of my organizing. be on the look out for good deals on pots though as they are only getting more expensive. used pots are a great find.
Cheryl A Sykora, CIH,CSP,CHMM
Senior Industrial Hygienist
Principal
Legend Technical Services, Inc.
88 Empire Drive
St Paul, MN 55103
651-221-4085
612-619-6547 (cell preferred)
I have about 50 right now… i was able to buy 16 pots last week from someone whose husband had been doing bonsai for 30 years. It was quite the treasure trove of pots i got there… i live in europe and havent come across a Sara Rayner pot. But ill still keep a lookout for them 
Thanks for your help!
I see them in European show books so you will. sounds like you have already figured out how to pot shop to get the most for your money. I envy your not living in the U.S. Sara’s pots are remarkably consistent in quality and are freeze thaw stable but shatter when they hit hard surfaces. lots of good Europeans though. Jon Kulek and Horst Hanselreiter to illustrate a couple. Nau last name escapes me in Oregon is really good and won two of the categories in the ABS pot competition. more on the affordable side also. more and more really good potters out there. I think I like collecting pots almost as much as I like growing bonsai.
I think bonsai is really bringing the world together and I think Ryan Neil is one of the best bonsai professionals that I have encountered. figured you were European by the way you spell organisation with an s. not the norm in the U.S.
Cheryl A Sykora, CIH,CSP,CHMM
Senior Industrial Hygienist
Principal
Legend Technical Services, Inc.
88 Empire Drive
St Paul, MN 55103
651-221-4085
612-619-6547 (cell preferred)
I believe the ceramicist you are thinking of is Nao Tokutake. His wife makes beautiful small pots with drawings/decoration on them.
[I organize by pot shape - round, rectangular, oval, etc.]
yes. beautiful pots and affordable. I like their collaboration work also. organization like you describe is probably what I do as I don’t put a lot of thought into anything but the “Physics” of the stack. I find that a pot can enhance the look of even a mediocre tree and value good quality pots. My only criticism of Nao is that he has gone to very muted coloring in his pots. I am prone to the vibrancy of color of a Roy Minari but that certainly doesn’t work with most trees.
thanks for the email.
Cheryl A Sykora, CIH,CSP,CHMM
Senior Industrial Hygienist
Principal
Legend Technical Services, Inc.
88 Empire Drive
St Paul, MN 55103
651-221-4085
612-619-6547 (cell preferred)
I have learned that no mater how many bonsai pots you have you never have the perfect pot for the tree you want to repot. Over the years I have bought all kinds of pots from vintage production pots from China to hand made pots by top US artists. While on business trips to China I have bought many Pots and had them shipped home to the US. My co-workers say “We cannot let Dave go shopping without adult supervision”. I would buy anything with an unusual shape or color and many for the pots for their pedigree. Ceramic artists make some amazing pots and are usually worth the price. I expect you could buy new Pots from artists and immediately sell them for more money as used.
I have too many pots to remember them all, from the pots in which Big Box stores use to collector pots from signed Chinese, Japanese and US by artists. I have taken pictures of my pots and chops and put them in an Excel spreadsheet with information like L, W, H shape, color and more, with the hope of sorting by key characteristics. Most importantly the spreadsheet shows where the pot is stored. I have many pots stored in produce boxes in my warehouse. The boxes are marked with a letter (A to BC) (the pots have a row number). When I want a pot for a repot I start thinking about which pot to use. I will select some pot options and place them near the tree. By repotting time I use the option I like best. First choice often changes with the seasons. I also keep pots under my nursery benches to gain patina while they wait for their next tree.
If you are still reading and interested in identifying pots. I have an Excel spread sheet of Bonsai pot chops. Many of them collected from books and the internet and I have added chops from my own collection. In addition to the chop pics, the chops are typed into Chinese, Pinyin and English pronunciation. My hope was to be able to look at chops on pots and search by a typed text as to weather the chop was in my system. Unfortunately reading the Chinese chop and getting it into a typed form has been beyond my linguistic capability. I am hoping Ai will be able to read the chop pic and search for a match.
Thank you all for your inputs! They are much appreciated!
Any chance you could share some pictures of your collections? For inspiration?
@Dave28227 that sounds like one hell of a collwction you got there! What kind of boxes do you use and how do you stack the pots in them exactly?