Caring for handmade pottery

Care for it and cherish it.

Our products are all made from high fire clays; various stoneware clays and also several different porcelains. Some throw well and some are more suited to hand building. All are fired to sufficiently high temperatures that the clay becomes 'vitrified' (transformed into glass, meaning it becomes very strong and hard as well as impermeable to water).

All the glazes used on surfaces likely to come into contract with food (eg plates, interiors of bowls and mugs) are food safe, according to their manufacturers. Actually all my glazes are supposedly food safe, but if more than one glaze is combined (and the precise combination has not itself been tested) it can no longer be guaranteed.  So to be safe, I keep glaze combinations to the outside of functional vessels.

All items can be washed in the dishwasher; the clay and glazes will not degrade from being washed in a dishwasher. HOWEVER we do always recommend gentle hand washing whenever you can, to maximise their lifespan.

In theory all pieces (other than those with metallic lustre decoration, which are clearly identified) are safe to use in the microwave. However repeated heating will weaken the integrity of pottery over time and make it more susceptible to damage. With this in mind for the longest life we recommend avoiding the microwave.

We test all pieces' watertightness before offering them for sale, and pack them very carefully for posting, so if an item breaks or cracks unexpectedly after you have been using it for a while, and you have not been microwaving it, it is most likely because it has taken a knock or small series of knocks as can often occur when loading and unloading the dishwasher. If you do have a breakage, please take photos and contact us as we might be able to help you ascertain the likely cause from the pictures.

Another tip for prolonging the life of functional ceramic objects is to try and avoid thermal shock, for example avoid putting a dish from the freezer straight into a hot oven.