A few years ago I saw some of these cool glass towers or “totems” on Etsy and Pinterest. Then one day I was having my nails done at Carolyn Manchulenko‘s house and she had made a couple of beautiful, elegant and quite whimsical ones…which of course got me inspired.
Our balcony is 55 ft long and it seemed like a great idea for my pot plants, so I made a bunch of them.
Six summers later and most of them are still intact. When they break, I throw them out.
This little red one (above) is the first I ever made – I had the cake plate for ages and used it for one photo I think – and it seemed like a perfect “topper”. Of course that meant it was useless for putting a plant on, but I used it for fruit to attract butterflies.It worked like a hot damn to attract BEES and WASPS.
I learned quickly what NOT to do.
Don’t use a cake plate on the top unless you are making a cake tower!
The pillar on the right is only really useful indoors because the “bowl” on top collects water and is a pain if I use it outside.
Don’t use a bowl on the top
This is another one I use indoors a lot
because of its proportions – it works as a plant stand and also as a lamp stand.
It was useless outside because all of the layers gathered water and went green.
Place plates and bowls facing down so they don’t collect water
I was really pleased how this one turned out and it was always intended to be used indoors.
I love the elegant proportions and the way the 2 mid-section plates are like flower petals
The divided appy platter I used on top works really well as a plant stand.
I feel that these 2 green glass ones belong together. They were two of the last ones I made. You can see I’ve mastered the bases – they are upside down platters and neither collect water or have a lip that can be easily chipped or broken.
All the plates are pretty much flat or upside down and the top is nice and flat for the plant to sit on.
The last one is my all-time favourite. I love how the pattern of the base and the middle vase match, and I find the proportions very elegant.
