FAQs

Your Stoneware clay piece has been fired to a high temperature (over 1200 degrees to be precise) so will easily withstand the temperature of your dishwasher and microwave. However, we advise placing your handmade ceramics on the top shelf of the dishwasher to give them a gentler wash. Avoiding quick temperature changes (i.e. filling very cold stoneware from the fridge for example with boiling hot water) will help to avoid thermal shock and prolong the life of your ceramics.

Stoneware and Earthenware are different clay types. Stoneware is traditionally fired to a higher temperature and typically considered more hardwearing than earthenware although you will find many functional pieces made from both types of clay.

All our handmade ceramics are made on a potter’s wheel by Faye in her home studio in Herefordshire. Products are made in small batches at a time. Once the product has been thrown into shape, it is left to dry until it is leather hard (usually around 24hrs).

Once leather hard the base is trimmed to make it tidier and smoother and then stamped with our logo. Any detailing or wording is done at this stage. Once the product is how we want it to look, it can be left to thoroughly dry out (up to a week) before it is bisque fired.

Bisque firing withdraws the majority of water from the clay and the clay starts to fuse together. Bisque firing is usually to around 900 degrees. Once bisque fired the clay can no longer be recycled and reused. The product is now ready for the glaze (colour) to be added.

Glazes come in a liquid form but dry to a powdered like texture once applied to bisqueware. The glazed bisqueware is now ready for its second and final firing. This time the kiln will fire to around 1250 degrees to vitrify (remove all moisture and make waterproof) the clay. The glaze powder melts to a glassy liquid and sticks to the vitrified clay.

Once cooled the product is now a fully functional piece. The entire process can take anything from 2-4 weeks to complete a batch of work. Hence the price of handmade products.

We are conscious of our environment impact and take measures in all aspects of the business to minimise our impact on the planet. We create in small batches to avoid having overstock left hanging around. All left over clay from the making process is recycled into new products.

Faye uses a traditional kick-wheel powered entirely by leg power to produce her pieces and all her work is fired in an Eco kiln, reducing electricity usage throughout the making process.

Packaging is plastic free to include the use of paper tapes, biodegradable corn starch packing peanuts, plastic-free stickers and cardboard bubble wrap; making everything re-usable or recyclable.

All our glazes are lead-free and food safe, even those used on products that you wouldn’t use for food/drink i.e. match pots.

Monday – Friday is our business opening days. Once you place your order, we will dispatch the following business day (sometimes the same day if you order early in the day). Orders placed on a Saturday or Sunday will be dispatched on a Monday.

We typically use a 48hr tracked service with Royal Mail although there is an express delivery option available at checkout for which we use a next day delivery service with DPD.

For more information, please see our Delivery page.

We have recently added a local collection option to the checkout, for those living/working in Hereford who wish to collect their order.

Collection is from our Office based at The Shell Store, Rotherwas, HR2 6SR.

Collection is during normal business hours Monday-Friday 10am – 4pm however, please contact us to check when your order will be ready for collection.

All our coloured tip matches are safety matches to comply with EU regulations so will not light by striking the outside of the match pot alone. Every pack of matches comes with a self-adhesive striking pad. You can peel the backing paper off the pad and stick to the base or back of the pot. Your matches can then be lit by striking them against the striking pad.

The refill section of the website has all the match tip colours we stock available to purchase. The most cost effective and hassle free way to refill your match pot is to subscribe to a match refill service. This will allow you to mix and match your match colours and automatically have them delivered through your letter box every quarter. If the refill service is not for you, single packs of matches are also available to purchase through the refill section of the website.

Beeswax candles are healthy to burn in your home. They are hypo-allergenic, and can actually improve air quality! They burn with little to no smoke or scent and clean the air when lit. Made from a renewable resource, beeswax is also biodegradable, making it a healthy choice for the environment too.

Beeswax has a higher burn point than other types of waxes. This results in the burn time being significantly longer. Burning beeswax produces negative ions that don't cover up odours but actually clean the air of odours, pollens, smoke, dust, dust mites, and other allergens and hazards. This is the ONLY wax with this magical quality.

Although not fragranced beeswax candles have a wonderful natural and subtle honey scent.

The refill section has all our beeswax candles in stock, you can purchase just one candle or multiple. Orders in multiples of 2 will come as candles strung together, stock allowing.