Emma Bridgewater mug handles keep dropping off!

[Ilovecleaning]

Earlier posts on the same subject are a bit old now.
I love EB mugs and have bought 14/15 but I’m now down to about 7. The handles simply drop off. At £25 each I think this is ridiculous.
I emailed EB pointing out the weakness, making it clear I was not seeking recompense but telling them I am no longer collecting them.

I received a reply explaining their quality control. Not much help.
if anyone else has had the same experience please contribute to the thread and I shall advise EB to have a look at your responses.
Many thanks.

@Calliopespa I’ve contacted them directly and managed to get a refund but I will not buy anything from them again.

ANOTHER sodding casualty this week. No injuries, thankfully.

She’s a rip off of Brixton Pottery - buy that instead it’s much classier.

Half of my mugs' handles have broken off. Many were wedding presents and are no longer available to replace. I have bought more but yes, more handles have broken off them too. I have about 10 with no handle. Many are also very crazed

This is so odd. I’ve about 20 of her mugs. Never had this happen with any of them - and no glaze crackling on any of them either. So so odd

It is clearly something in the way some people are handling them. Not saying that is acceptable either, but, like you, I have had no handle issues with my many EB mugs.

I don't hang mine by the handle, and, since reading this thread, don't stack on top of each other in a drawer in case downward pressure on the handle is the issue.

I have had some crazing issues - especially on plates and along the bottom internal edge of the mugs - and do put them in the dishwasher because, frankly, if they can't go in there, then for me they become decorative only and it isn't sufficiently fine china to spend money on as an objet d'art or special occasions table setting!

It would be super helpful if Bridgewater chimed in to let us know what we are doing wrong, as some buyers seem to have practices that are exacerbating the problems.

.

I don't hang them or stack them in the cupboard and I have lost so many handles!

I just store mine (not stacked) right way up in a cupboard and have had the handles break unexpectedly. EB seriously need to acknowledge the issue. I won’t use them any more as I don’t want to risk scalding myself.

Yeah. I dishwash mine too so it can’t be that…
Ive found mine to be bombproof - the only issues I’ve had are when my child has dropped them on the stone kitchen floor…!
Im not saying this isn’t an issue for some people - it clearly is - I’m just saying that I’ve had no issues. Some of my mugs are really old. Some are a few years old and some are quite recent.

I have a mix too.

No handles off here, but quite a bit of crazing. I use a 65 degree wash cycle for them. Maybe too hot?

I had one years ago, a Halloween one and I adored it but it only lasted about a year before it had big chips in it and I was gutted. When you pay so much, you expect better quality. My Ikea mugs have lasted years in comparison.

My parents had a Sainsburys thing that got left in the garden by builders, knocked off the wall they were building, buried and re-emerged many frosts later. Still no crazing or broken handle! Think it cost about £1.50.

I’d be gutted too. I bought a whole dinner service from John Lewis and that all chipped so I absolutely know how infuriating this is. None of my EB stuff has done this - have you spoken to customer services? I wonder whether they had a cheaper batch of clay for a long period of time?

Mine all lost handles, some of the longest survivors also got crazed, Clearly very shoddily made, which is a shame since they are expensive as well as pretty.

I have lots of older earthenware constantly in use, in and out of the same dishwasher, indestructible unless I drop them. So I've written Bridgewater stuff off as a scam with clever publicity, and won't waste any more money on it.

Burleigh is good.

I've got one about thirty years old, with just a chip. I suspect they were better made then - has EB moved manufacture away from the UK?

Really disappointed that EB haven’t given a satisfactory answer to this. I’m now down to 2 of 18 mugs I’ve bought over the years and the vast majority of the lost ones are due to handles falling off spontaneously. There’s been no special care instructions ( like don’t put them in the dishwasher, hang on mug racks (!) or store right side up (!!)
Ive got loads of cheapo mugs that have lasted longer from elsewhere. Just really disappointed as I love the designs, and am genuinely sad to have lost so many. Not buying any more EB now.

The handle has just broken off my EB pint mug, second time this has happened with this size of mug. Thankfully not whilst full of boiling hot peppermint tea. Hand washed, stored upright in cupboard, never stacked or microwaved. It’s four years old so out of their two year warranty. It also crazed very quickly.
My standard size ten year old EB mug has been fine, no crazing, seems robust, routinely stacked and microwaved. That said, several friends have had handles break on their standard size mugs who take much better care of them. They have also had crazing issues.
I won’t buy again.

Cornishware for me from now on.

This happened to me recently for a third time. It's actually really dangerous - this most recent incident involved a full cup of hot tea and a near-miss scalding. (Also, I was luckily sitting next to and not on a brand new leather armchair). It's not just the issue of the price / loss of the knackered mugs - what are you supposed to do when you've got a cupboard full of them that you no longer dare use!

Handles have fallen off several of my EB mugs and all the plates I have bought (1st quality) have crazing all over them.

started collecting EB 25 years ago and the quality has gone downhill so badly since then.

I also preferred EB when they had a few iconic pieces (polka , black toast, starry skies etc) but they seem to introduce a new pattern every other day and they just don’t have the same appeal.

I only buy from eBay now if they are over 20 years old.

It happened again yesterday. I was about to make a Lemsip for my 16 year old and the handle came right off! It was one of the smaller baby mugs. Thank god it didn’t happen whilst she was holding a cup of what is essentially boiling water.

Another one fell off today and the mug smashed all over our stone floor. I think I only have about four EB mugs left now.

What temperature dishwasher cycle do you use?

I have not yet had this happen, but I do get erratic crazing, especially inside the mug, that doesn't happen with other brands.

No handles breaking though, and I have old ones, quite old ones and (nervously!) a handful of new ones.

The fact it seems to happen more than once to some people makes me feel we could get to the bottom of why.

Why are you all still using them?!