It only seems fitting...

for the last week of the pottery sale to post the interesting facts:

Vitrified Pottery
Features:
• Vitrified, non-porous body created from special raw materials and extreme firing temperatures.
• High quality glazes.
• Exclusive ball and petal motif and embossed weave pattern.
• Available in décor-friendly colors.
Benefits:
• Vitreous pottery is stronger than typical stoneware so it resists chipping, cracking, and crazing better. It is safe for the dishwasher, oven, microwave, and freezer.
• High quality glazes provide a beautiful yet durable finish that makes clean up a breeze.
• Trademark designs and logos symbolize our commitment to high quality, long-lasting pieces that coordinate with both Pottery and Fabric pieces.
• Pottery colors coordinate perfectly with any decorating style for everyday use, and can be dressed up for formal entertaining. It allows customers to mix and match with the comfort of knowing that their pottery complements each piece and adds a splash of color.
Care:
• For baked-on goods, allow the pottery to soak in hot, soapy water and clean with a non-abrasive scouring pad.
• Using metal utensils, such as beaters or whisks, can cause black / gray marks (called metal marks) to form on the surface of the pottery because the crystals in our glaze are harder than the metal in the utensils. To remove these marks, use a non-abrasive cleaner such as Bar Keeper’s Friend or Zud.
• Even though our pottery goes through an extra foot polishing step, scratches may still occur due to stacking or use. These marks will show as a white line that contrasts with the glaze color.
• Do not use Longaberger Pottery on top of the stove, under the broiler, or over an open flame. Avoid extreme temperature changes; pottery pieces can safely be taken from the refrigerator and placed directly into a preheated oven or from the freezer to a cold oven for heating.
Good Things to Know:
• Most pottery pieces are hand finished to remove mold seams, giving them that hand-touched, quality finish.
• Place your pottery in the freezer or oven prior to serving to keep cold foods cold or hot foods hot.
• Solid Color Pottery requires more glaze to be applied to achieve the rich color and is fired on its foot (free from glaze) to avoid sticking to the kiln shelf during firing.
• Pottery that has been heated up to temperatures of 400º F can be safely placed directly into Longaberger Baskets. Pottery that is 300º F or less can be safely placed into baskets with liners. Hot pottery should not be placed directly into a plastic protector.
• Your Longaberger pottery is oven safe, which means it can go from room temperature to a hot oven or from a refrigerator to a cold oven. It is not oven proof, which allows for an item to go from freezer to hot oven and withstand extreme temperature changes quickly. • Unglazed areas are completely food safe as all Longaberger Pottery pieces are fully vitrified. There is no porosity in the fired clay body, so there is no place for bacteria to grow, even in unglazed areas.
• Pottery making is similar to basket making in two critical ways: there are variations in the raw materials since they’re obtained from nature, and many of the processes used to make the pottery are still done by hand. This means that no two pieces of pottery are exactly alike. Subtle yet appealing.
• Variations in design, color, and texture help ensure that each piece is unique in character and a true one-of-akind Longaberger collectible.
• Longaberger Pottery, like our hand-made baskets, are made to be used, cherished, and handed down.
• All Longaberger Pottery made by our Chinese supply partners will have a blue and white CCIB sticker on the package. To receive this China Commodities Inspection Bureau approval, our suppliers must:
1. Have their factories inspected and certified to be lead-free, and
2. Perform regular lead-release testing on the product they will import to the USA ; in this way, we insure that our suppliers’ suppliers continue to meet our safety requirements. Longaberger Product Quality monitors our suppliers’ test results and performs additional spot checks of the pottery in the CFC as well. All Longaberger Pottery meets and exceeds all FDA safety requirements, as well as the more stringent California Prop 65 standards.
Note:
Woven Traditions Pottery made prior to 2006 in the USA contained “pin-marks”, the points where the plate is supported during the glaze coat firing. They have been ground for safety, but cannot be removed completely without destroying the plate. During 2006, all Woven Traditions pottery transitioned to unglazed feet with no pinmarks.


High Quality Stoneware
Features:
• Longaberger offers only the finest Stoneware Pottery and is fired at high temperatures to achieve a bisque quality and to assure durability.
• Although it is fired to a lower temperature than vitrified pottery, the clay body has a 2-4% absorption rate anywhere that it is not covered by glaze.
• The lower firing temperature allows a much broader glaze color palette, allowing fresh, new hand painted decorations that are not possible for vitrified pottery. The composition of stoneware allows for highly detailed and brightly colored designs.
• Our stoneware is safe for use in the microwave and dishwasher.
Good Things to Know:
• After the first firing, the bisque is decorated to exact Longaberger design specifications and colors.
• A second firing process seals in the color and then a third firing takes place with glazing applied to finish the stoneware pottery
• Each piece is quality controlled and inspected at the factory origin.
• Our Stoneware accessories are lead free and comply with FDA and Prop 65 rules and regulations.
• The backstamp on each item distinguishes whether or not the item is vitrified pottery or high quality stoneware. The High Quality Stoneware backstamp states that the item is microwave and dishwasher safe, while the Vitrified Backstamp states that the item is oven, microwave, dishwasher, and freezer safe.
Care:
Why can’t I use my high quality stoneware in the oven?
Even though Longaberger’s Stoneware has been fired to a low absorption rate, some water from dishwashing can still be absorbed through the unglazed surfaces of the pottery in an oven, it will expand, causing stresses within the pottery. Over time these stresses can lead to premature cracking, chipping, or crazing.