There are many concerns surrounding crackled glazes on functional dish-ware. Namely that bacteria can grow in the cracks, cracks can cause leaching of harmful chemicals used in the glaze, and cracks make the ware far more breakable.

Realistically, as long as these dishes are not used for long-term storage of food, there should be no issue with bacteria. Especially since most of my work is designed to be used for beverages, there is no threat of bacteria getting into your drink and making you sick.

I mix all of my own glazes and can confirm that there are no harmful materials that will leach from the glaze into your food/drink.

Crackling undeniably reduces the strength of a ceramic piece. Therefore, it is important to handle these works with care. Crackled ceramics should only be washed by hand. I also recommend to not use these in the microwave.

Although many potters now consider crackling and crazing in glazes to be a defect, crackling can also be a beautiful surface decoration. In China, Korea, and Japan, craquelure is very highly valued in ceramic pieces and especially sought after by tea lovers.

As crackled tea ware is used, the dark tannins from the tea accumulate in the cracks of the glaze and darken. This slow, natural change is referred to affectionately as “raising” the tea-ware. The more a piece is used, the more beautiful it becomes. The changes seen in the tea-ware are symbolic of changes observed in nature.