Ware Carts can add a lot of storage space to your studio and are great for holding in-progress work. If you get a model on wheels, it will make your studio even more flexible and allow you to maximize space.
There are six ware carts made for ceramic studios, but you can also use wire shelving and even bakery carts. This post will cover every type of ware cart I’ve seen in ceramic studios, along with recommended picks. In truth, any of these will be quality additions to your studio. You’ll just need to select the cart that works for your space, and budget.
The Brent Ware Cart: our top pick for a ware cart / mobile shelving in a ceramic studio.
Top Pick: Brent Ware Cart
The Brent Ware Cart is my favorite ware cart for a few reasons. It has the typical Brent overbuilt / bombproof construction; it’s tall; and it’s made with round steel pipe. As ware carts are designed to move, the round sides are comfortable to grab and roll. It’s a small difference, but a detail that really makes this cart stand out. The center top bar is also less conspicuous, and I like the rounded look. Brent makes a few other carts, including a mobile shelf cart, if you want to go for a matching look too.
This cart ships flat and assembles by bolting together the cross bars and adding plywood shelves. It comes with 4” locking casters, and measures 35 inches wide, 24 inches deep, and 72 3/4” tall. The shelves are 24” x 32” and it can hold up to 9 full shelves, or you can use it with a combination of 12 x 32” half shelves.
The Brent Ware Cart typically retails for around $700 plus $150 for the shelves, or you can cut plywood yourself to make the 32” wide shelving.
Budget Pick: Wire Shelving on Wheels
Seville Classics 2’ x 4’ x 6’ tall heavy duty wheeled wire shelving.
Ceramic-specific ware carts retail for between $425 and $700 plus shelves, but for less than half that you can get heavy duty wire shelving on wheels. The wire shelving is not ideal for greenware that is too wet, but you can use boards to store wet pieces on it. And it is great for pieces that are leather hard, for drying tiles, or for any other sort of storage.
For wire shelving used as a ware cart, I’d go for 24” deep shelving such as the Seville Classics 24” x 48” x 72” tall unit with 3 inch casters. The whole unit is rated to hold 500 lbs. This is lower than the 750 to 1000 lbs that a ceramic ware cart will hold, but should be plenty for most studios.
Ultra-Budget Pick: Amazon Basics Wire Shelving on Wheels
For a mobile wire shelving unit that is perfect for smaller studios, you can’t beat the $60 Amazon Basics mobile wire shelving. It’s got 5 shelves, measures 14” deep x 30” wide x 64.75” tall. It’s not as strong or big as a ceramic ware cart but it should hold up under individual / light duty use. Just don’t expect these to survive in an academic or community studio with heavy use.
Budget Pick: Bakery Carts
The Gridmann Bakery Cart with locking casters.
Bakery carts are another option for ceramic studios. They aren’t as sturdy or designed for the weight of clay or plaster, but can work for light-duty purposes. They are also cheaper and are often easy to find used. They tend to be smaller, built around the size of an 18” x 26” sheet pan. You’ll need to cut your own plywood shelves or with the narrow width, you can also make shelves with drywall.
Bakery carts are especially popular with tile makers as they really expand your storage area and they work with homemade, drywall shelves.
There are many option, but a solid one is the Gridmann Bakery Cart, which retails for around $150 plus the cost of shelves. In many ways, bakery work is pretty similar to ceramics so maybe these carts would be an ideal option for your studio.
These are just a few of the options for a studio. The post continues below with information on every ware cart on the market.
A Note on Plywood Shelves: Most ware carts have the option of adding precut shelves. You can also make your own with 3/4” interior-grade plywood. Cut it yourself with a plunge saw or table saw, or have a lumber yard cut it for you. You could use 1/2” plywood, but that will bend or warp over time. 3/4” plywood is a better investment as it is more likely to stay flat. It’s worth it to get the best grade of plywood you can afford, you’ll be happy you did years down the road.
If you get a narrow cart, such as a bakery cart, you can also make shelves out of drywall. Just be sure to cover the edges with duct tape or gummed paper packing tape, so that you won’t get drywall crumbs all over your studio.
Table of Contents
Top Pick: Brent Ware Cart
Budget Pick: Mobile Wire Shelving and Bakery Carts
Runner up: Bailey Ware Truck
North Star Ware Cart
Axner Ware Cart
Laguna Ware Cart
Debcor Ware Cart
Bakery Carts
Summary
Runner Up: Bailey Ware Cart
The Bailey Ware Cart, pictured here with the 13 shelf option.
The Bailey Ware Cart is another great option that is about the same size as the Brent Ware Cart but has more shelves and is cheaper. Made of square steel bars and angle iron, it measures 24” deep x 34 1/2” wide x 74 1/4” tall. It has 6” casters and is available with 13 or 26 shelves. The 13 shelf unit retails for around $500 while the 26 shelf unit is around $650. The 26 shelf unit has a 2.5” spacing and is great for studios that do a lot of tile work, whereas the 5” spacing on the 13 shelf unit should work for most studios.
The Bailey Cart has a boxy shape, is easy to roll, and will be a piece of studio furniture that will last for decades. I have used these in a variety of studios and really like them, especially for tile work. When considering this unit, do note the top bars in the front and back. You will either have to use the top shelf for shorter ware, or as is more common, not use the top shelf or two.
Other Ware Cart options:
North Star Ware Truck
The North Star Ware Truck has easy-to-change shelf supports.
The North Star Ware Truck is characterized by it’s flexible shelf supports that hook in place without any tools. It’s a flexible, easy to use design. (You’ll have to gauge how often you need to change the set up of your ware cart to know if this makes sense to you.)
The entire unit is 39” wide, 24” deep and 67” tall and has 6” locking casters. It’s a bit shorter than most ware carts. It can hold up to 22 shelves, but it comes standard with 8 brackets, which gives you 4 shelves in addition to the bottom shelf. This package typically costs around $700.
This is a well thought out cart and is a great option if you want something shorter. Personally, I’d go with a taller cart like the Brent or the Bailey, but the North Star is one of the more flexible options.
Axner Ware Cart
The Axner Ware Cart is almost square, with shelves measure 32” x 36” inches.
The Axner Ware Cart is the biggest cart reviewed here. 36” wide, 32” deep, and 84” tall, this boxy behemoth will hold more ware than you’ll know what to do with. It has the potential for 11 shelves and is listed at a 1000 lb max load with 6” casters. Truthfully, this is the one ware cart I’ve never used in person. But it’s big! A deeper version of the Bailey ware cart in a way, that I’m sure is made with good quality from Axner / Laguna. At $500, it’s a good deal.
Halve shelves are listed at $10 each, it would be $220 for all 22. You could probably cut your own for cheaper.
Laguna Ware Cart
The Laguna Ware Cart in the distinctive Laguna teal paint job.
The Laguna Ware Cart has a center support column that can accommodate 18 half shelves. A distinctive design, it is easy to load even on the top shelf. The drawback is that it’s harder to grab and roll this cart, and you can occasionally catch yourself on the protruding shelf supports.
The cart measures 24” deep x 38” wide x 58” tall with 4” casters, with the shelves measure 12 x 36”. The cart retails for $425 and includes six shelves. It’s a good deal, but it is a shorter shelf and it’s just harder to grab and move this cart when you want to.
Debcor Ware Truck
The Debcor Ware Truck
The Debcor Ware Truck is the shortest option for ceramic ware carts, measuring 24” deep x 32” wide x 54” tall with 4” locking casters. The half shelves measure 12” x 28”, or 24” x 28” for full shelves. Like the Laguna Ware Cart, the Debcor Truck has a top cross bar that doesn’t interfere with loading ware. Although it’s shorter, this could potentially be a great option if you use the top layer for loading tall work.
This cart retails for $575 with 12 plywood half shelves. The cart can accommodate 8 full shelves or 16 half shelves, so you may want to cut a few extra.
Summary
Shelving on wheels just makes every studio better, and a quality ware cart is an investment that will last for decades while maximizing studio space. This post has covered every ceramic-specific option I’m aware of, along with wire shelving and bakery carts. The Brent Ware Cart is my favorite, followed closely by the Bailey Ware Cart, but truthfully, any ware cart is a better option that immobile shelving or no shelving at all.
What do you use for mobile shelving in your studio? Let us know in the comments.
