Sunday, August 23, 2009

Longaberger Pottery – Facts You Should Know

At Longaberger, the American spirit thrives! We see it everyday, when we walk the basketmaking floor at our basket factory, where we’re working hard to create the finest-quality hand-made baskets or when we hear from our Independent Home Consultants who are living the Longaberger Dream.

We all come from different walks of life, however, we have something huge in common —a love for things that are uniquely American and your appreciation for the American worker and their craftsmanship. Together, we’re doing our part at Longaberger to rebuild America and supporting the American Dream.

Below, highlights some important facts about Longaberger Pottery that you might not know. View our product line Today.

Longaberger Pottery

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, longlasting 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 For 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.
• Variations in design, color, and texture help ensure that each piece is unique in character and a true one-of-a-kind Longaberger collectible.
• Longaberger Pottery, like our hand-made baskets, are made to be used, cherished, and handed down.

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