Getting sorted
Apr. 17th, 2020 06:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
offcntrWe've had some unexpectedly nice weather this week, and I've been tired of being indoors, so decided it was time to the van sorted and inventoried. At the end of Holiday Market, all the pottery came home on Christmas Eve and was moved into the shed. Two days later, we went back with an empty van and took out all of our booth, display hardware, carpet and such. I put the carpet, backdrop and lighting boxes away in the shed sometime in January, stored the boxes of St. Vincent de Paul bowls in the van in February and March (because there was no more room in the shed), and then pretty much left it that way until now.
So Thursday afternoon, I move the van out of the car port. Unload the SVdP boxes out onto the driveway. Set up tables in the carport, and haul almost all of the pottery boxes out of the shed.
We start with load-in boxes: these are what goes on the shelves of the booth at set-up. They're sorted by items, and labelled at each end: Soups, Stews, Painted Mugs, etc. There's ten in all, and they were all somewhat depleted from Holiday Market. Since we've fired twice since then, I had to find appropriate restock to put in the correct boxes in the correct order (Painted Mugs, for instance, come out of the box in the order they go on the shelf; fortunately, Denise has the sequence memorized). Meanwhile, Denise records inventory. The goal is to have a complete list of what's in the van, from which, we'll make another list, based on End of Year and firing lists, reflecting what's home in storage.
Once the load-in boxes are finished, they go into the van, and we do restock. We've got a standard set of eleven boxes that fit comfortably in an 8-foot square Saturday Market booth (we'll add half a dozen more for a road show, with a bigger booth). They're needing new work as well; some things were sold out entirely by Christmas.
I take a break in late afternoon to go down to Club Mud to box up all the finished ware left from our March firing, and top off a few boxes for the van when I get home. Restock goes in the van, which leaves space in the shed for the St. Vincent bowls and remaining back stock. Last, I make sure the sandbags are loaded, the curb ramp, signs and journal stands. Put the fabric tops on both EZ-Up canopies (we used them for indoor shows last November and December), and put them in their respective places. Check the supplies of wrapping paper and bags.
The last thing I do is take a couple of hours organizing restock in the shed, putting all the new and old painted and stew mugs together, alpha order by pattern, in their boxes. I'll do likewise with soup bowls after my next firing; I had so many special orders in the last few that what Off Center patterns came out went into the van.
Now everything is finally organized in the pottery. I'm ready for Market to open.
Whenever that happens.
So Thursday afternoon, I move the van out of the car port. Unload the SVdP boxes out onto the driveway. Set up tables in the carport, and haul almost all of the pottery boxes out of the shed.
We start with load-in boxes: these are what goes on the shelves of the booth at set-up. They're sorted by items, and labelled at each end: Soups, Stews, Painted Mugs, etc. There's ten in all, and they were all somewhat depleted from Holiday Market. Since we've fired twice since then, I had to find appropriate restock to put in the correct boxes in the correct order (Painted Mugs, for instance, come out of the box in the order they go on the shelf; fortunately, Denise has the sequence memorized). Meanwhile, Denise records inventory. The goal is to have a complete list of what's in the van, from which, we'll make another list, based on End of Year and firing lists, reflecting what's home in storage.
Once the load-in boxes are finished, they go into the van, and we do restock. We've got a standard set of eleven boxes that fit comfortably in an 8-foot square Saturday Market booth (we'll add half a dozen more for a road show, with a bigger booth). They're needing new work as well; some things were sold out entirely by Christmas.
I take a break in late afternoon to go down to Club Mud to box up all the finished ware left from our March firing, and top off a few boxes for the van when I get home. Restock goes in the van, which leaves space in the shed for the St. Vincent bowls and remaining back stock. Last, I make sure the sandbags are loaded, the curb ramp, signs and journal stands. Put the fabric tops on both EZ-Up canopies (we used them for indoor shows last November and December), and put them in their respective places. Check the supplies of wrapping paper and bags.
The last thing I do is take a couple of hours organizing restock in the shed, putting all the new and old painted and stew mugs together, alpha order by pattern, in their boxes. I'll do likewise with soup bowls after my next firing; I had so many special orders in the last few that what Off Center patterns came out went into the van.
Now everything is finally organized in the pottery. I'm ready for Market to open.
Whenever that happens.