Wednesday, August 27, 2008

deep breath.


funny farm
Originally uploaded by Bridgman Pottery
Hi, my name is Melissa, and I am a perfectionist. (Hi, Melissa).

Yesterday I said that all of the berry bowls were fine. Um, they weren't when I actually unloaded them. Looked fine, but 3-4 (out of 10) had these tiny little hairline cracks radiating from the center hole. And I just about let these send me over the edge.

So let's talk about perfection. A slightly crooked handle, okay. One side of the rim thinner/higher/thicker/ more curved than its opposite side? Er, well, it's handmade. Spotty glaze? Okay, I can reglaze it. Cracks? Those make me want to tear my hair out. Here's why. The glaze is glass, and it provides a protective barrier for all sorts of bacteria. In theory, bacteria can seep into this little bitty crack and contaminate the other food that it touches. So if you drank soup out of this bowl after rinsing something bacteria-laden (say, raw meat), you *could* get e coli (which, honestly, I've had before, and it was really really bad). But this bowl is for rinsing produce. So it should be okay.

Neurosis speaks up again. If I sent this to a retailer and they noticed it, they'd send it back to me (and think less of my wares). And if it escaped their attention, someone bought it, noticed, and returned it, I would be at fault for sending defective wares. Do I wholesale these things? No. Regardless, it's going into my seconds pile.

My solution (maybe, keep your fingers crossed) was to go online and buy a new hole punch. My old one is 6-7 years old and, admittedly, a bit worse for the wear. That is *probably* the cause of the problem. And it took me hours (and a whole summer's worth of duds) to figure it out. We learn as we go.

Thanks for indulging me as I whine about miniscule cracks in something that isn't supposed to be watertight in the first place.
We're half-way there to the long weekend!

6 comments:

calicodaisy said...

I like seconds. You can always save one for me. -- Michele

April said...

Oh dear, I can't even imagine how frustrating that is for you. I hope the new hole punch will solve your problem. (and here here to a long weekend, I could use one too!)

Sarah-potterknitter said...

Arggg! It's so much worse when it's a little problem. Major explosion, fine something went wrong. Little holes and cracks and such are so hard to deal with.

Anonymous said...

Aw, yeah, that would bother me, too. I also have perfectionist problems. It's a big club.

Let me know if you come across any itty bitty hole punches in your shopping. I was making some unglazed votive candle holders a little while back, and I wanted tiny holes. I ended up having to use a cocktail straw and a needle tool (with a lot of clean-up). The spring-loaded punches only seem to come in bigger sizes...

Leila said...

I'm SURE that if you had a seconds sale that they'd fly off the shelves. So at least they don't have to be trashed.

Good luck with the new punch!

bridgmanpottery said...

you all help me to feel so much better!