Start With the Journey, Not the Stall

Most pottery breakages happen before a customer ever sees your work. A mug that survived the kiln can easily lose a handle to a rattling van boot or a stack of boxes that shifted at a roundabout. So the packing you do in the studio is really the first part of your market display — it protects the stock that makes the stall worth setting up in the first place.

Treat the journey as a rehearsal for the day itself. If boxes are packed in the order you will unpack them, and labelled by stall zone, you will spend your early morning arranging pots rather than excavating the van in the dark.

Wrapping Pots So They Arrive Intact

Recycled paper is your best friend here, but not all of it behaves the same way. A few habits will save you a fortune in chipped rims.

• Newspaper ink can transfer onto unglazed clay, raku and porous surfaces, especially in damp weather. Use plain packing paper, blank newsprint or acid-free tissue where the surface is unfinished.
• Wrap glazed pieces in tissue first and bubble wrap second, so plastic never sits directly against a glossy surface for weeks on end.
• Pad rims, handles and spouts with an extra twist of paper. These take the knocks, and a chipped handle means a piece you cannot sell at full price.
• Never stack plates rim to rim. Stand them on edge, or slide a folded paper pad between each one.
• Keep lids with their pots using a paper band and a scrap of tape — far easier than matching forty lids on a windy Saturday.
• Pack snugly. Air gaps let pots move, and movement is what breaks things. Scrunched paper in the corners does more good than a thick layer underneath.

Choosing Boxes and Crates That Do the Work

Shallow, double-walled cardboard boxes are far kinder to ceramics than a single deep box, because nothing heavy ends up sitting on something delicate. Strong plastic crates lined with foam, folded towels or quilted moving blankets work beautifully for mugs and small bowls, and they stack predictably in the van.

Load the heaviest pieces at the bottom and the lightest on top, then fill the gaps with more scrunched paper. Rubber matting on the van floor stops everything sliding, and please do not stack boxes more than two high — a hard brake at a junction is enough to undo an hour of careful packing. In winter, keep a tarpaulin over the load; condensation damages both glazes and cardboard.

Setting Up a Stall That Invites Browsing

The classic market table is about 75cm high, which is comfortable for most shoppers. Drape your cloth to the floor so the boxes underneath disappear, and aim for three levels of height rather than one flat surface.

• Use risers — crates, wooden blocks, upturned boxes — and cover them with fabric so the eye reads shelves rather than scaffolding.
• Group pieces by glaze or collection instead of scattering them. Customers understand a range much faster when the blues sit together.
• Turn mugs so the handles face outwards, and tilt platters on plate stands. Anything flat on the table is harder to appreciate.
• Leave at least a fifth of the table empty. Breathing space makes handmade work look deliberate and expensive.
• Keep a few interesting pieces in a basket for people to rummage through, then bring out fresh stock from your backup boxes as the day goes on.
• Weight your cloths, take a waterproof cover, and never display near a dripping awning edge.

Guiding the Eye and Showcasing Your Best Sellers

Eye level at the back of the stall is prime territory. Put a single hero piece there on its own riser, well lit, with nothing crowding it. Most shoppers drift to the right as they enter, so the right-hand end of the front table is a sensible home for a strong, mid-priced best seller that people can pick up and hold.

Keep your cheapest items in a basket rather than on the main table, and price everything clearly with handwritten labels facing the customer. If you make functional ware, small cards noting that a piece is food safe and dishwasher friendly remove a hesitation that many shoppers will not voice. And if something has not moved by early afternoon, move it — a change of position often shifts it.

Packaging for the Customer at the Point of Sale

The wrapping you hand over is part of the product. Choose rigid paper bags with handles in at least two sizes, and keep a roll of tissue, tape and a marker to hand so you can wrap quickly without holding up a queue.

• Offer a flat cardboard tray or shallow box for platters, dinner sets and stacked bowls — customers will thank you when they get home.
• Double-bag anything particularly heavy, and mention that it is best carried flat.
• Ask whether the purchase is a gift, and have a little tissue and ribbon ready for those who say yes.
• For bulky pieces, offer to keep them behind the stall until the end of the day rather than making someone carry a vase around the market.
• Hand the bag over with a friendly word about care — a rinse before first use, or avoiding thermal shock — and you will often see that customer again next month.