Product Safety for Potters - Online Course

This online course covers everything a maker of functional ceramics needs to know about product safety. It addresses glaze stability, food safety and leaching; making pieces that are safe for the dishwasher, oven, microwave and freezer; frost proofing; stability and waterproofness; candlesticks and electric lamps; and the relevant standards and legislation in the UK, EU and USA.

The emphasis throughout is practical: understanding the principles, making design choices that result in safe, durable pieces, and testing your work in your studio. For those using commercial glazes, this course covers what you need. If you make your own glazes and want a deeper exploration of glaze chemistry, the companion Food Safe and Stable Glazes course goes into glaze chemistry.

I have been making ceramics since 2008, starting with evening classes and then setting up my own studio a couple of years later. With my background in science and engineering, I am drawn to the technical aspects of the craft, but enjoy explaining the technicalities in plain language to those with less technical knowledge.

My first career was in yacht design, where I learned the importance of good functional design, and the importance of ensuring that products are both safe to use and meet the legal requirements. This has carried through to my work in ceramics. I am not a production potter, but I enjoy making functional work that is a pleasure to use because the design is right, as well as ensuring that it is safe and fit for purpose. To me, form (and everything else) follows function in this area.

I’ve been teaching this course since 2020, with the aim of giving you clear, practical, accurate guidance that helps you make safe, durable work with confidence.

By the end of the course you will be able to:

1. Understand the rules and your responsibilities

• Know the key regulations that apply to functional pottery (food contact, consumer safety, electrical safety for lamps, etc.)
• Understand the difference between legal requirements, standards, best practice, and studio myths
• Identify whether your products have to meet specific regulations

2. Design and make safe functional ware

• Understand the features that make pieces safe in use
• Know how to avoid common design hazards (low stability, burn hazards, unsafe handles)
• Understand the available standards, and how they can help you produce good quality products

3. Assess Food Safety & Durability

• Understand what is meant by something being food safe or dinnerware safe
• Learn which glaze components are potentially toxic
• Learn practical studio methods for assessing glaze stability and leaching
• Understand when proper lab testing is recommended (and when it isn’t necessary)
• Recognise safe and unsafe glaze choices for your work

4. Test Your Work in Your Own Studio

Perform functional testing such as:

• thermal stress and heat‑shock tests, e.g. oven and freezer
• dishwasher durability tests
• microwave suitability tests
• cutlery marking and scratch/abrasion resistance
• water absorption and leak testing
• stability and mechanical safety tests

5. Meet Requirements for Selling Your Work

• Understand labelling, documentation, and basic due‑diligence requirements
• Know what Trading Standards require, and Customs if you export
• Produce a compliant product file for your functional ware

6. Work Confidently and Responsibly

• Understand why things happen, so you can have an informed approach to design and trouble shooting
• Have a clear, practical workflow to ensure safe, repeatable, durable products
• Know how to implement prototype testing, quality assurance and quality control
• Feel confident that your pots meet reasonable safety expectations

Why do this course, rather than trying to piece together information from web sites, YouTube, and manufacturers’ data sheets?

• The course covers both the practicalities and the underlying principles. You’ll understand not just what to do, but why – which means you can apply the knowledge to your own materials and designs
• The emphasis is on what you can do in your own studio. Most of the testing covered in the course uses standard studio and kitchen equipment, so you can evaluate your own work without sending it away to a laboratory
• The relevant standards and legislation are explained in plain language, so you know what actually applies to you and what it requires
• I offer personal support throughout, including answering questions about your specific glazes, clays and pieces

The additional course material goes well beyond the videos, so you can explore the areas most relevant to your practice in as much depth as you wish

• Over 9 hours of video talks, divided into 6 modules, with subtitles in your language
• PDFs of all presentations for offline reading
• Additional course material to go into topics in more depth
• Personal support through emailing in questions or joining the monthly Ask me Anything online session (recorded if you can’t attend)
• Access to my tech website, which covers all of my course topics and more
• Course attendance certificate
• 10 weeks from your enrolment date to complete the course

A self‑directed online course with instructor support:

• You can start as soon as your order has been processed
• Six on-demand modules that you can take at your own pace. Each module has:

• • A video talk (about 90 minutes)
  • A downloadable PDF of the presentation
  • Optional material to go into things more deeply

• Ask questions any time by email
• Monthly “Ask Me Anything” live Q&A session (recorded if you can’t attend)
• Premium access to the Tech section of my website
• Suggested practicals you can do test your work
• 10 weeks of access is included, extendable at any time for about the cost of a coffee a month
• Course attendance certificate (PDF)

• Potters making, or intending to make, functional ware – mugs, plates, bowls, oven dishes, plant pots, candlesticks, lamp bases – whether for sale, as gifts, or for their own use
• Makers selling their work, whether full-time or as a side hustle, who want to be confident their pieces are safe and legally compliant
• Ceramicists using commercial glazes who want to understand what they are working with
• Anyone who wants to test their own work rather than simply hoping for the best
• Makers who want to understand the legislation and standards that apply to their functional work, without having to wade through the documents themselves

• Video lectures with subtitles (in English and auto-translated into attendee’s languages)
• Downloadable PDFs in English for offline reading
• Web site is in English
• Email support during the course

1. What is product safety, and why does it matter?: Introduction to product safety, and why it matters for potters. Overview of laws, regulations and standards for the UK, EU and USA, plus some for Australia and New Zealand
2. Glaze stability, food safety and leaching: Basic glaze chemistry and structure; how glazes get attacked by acids and alkalines; tests for glaze stability; tests for metal leaching (both studio and lab). What do we mean by “food safe”? Why the usage of a piece matters. Tying in food safe levels with leaching test results.
3. Food safety in practice; crazing: Acute and repeat dose toxicity; which glaze materials may be toxic and in what amounts; food safety and commercial glazes; liner glazes and other ways of minimising leaching. Crazing – good or bad?; glaze fit, moisture crazing and thermal stress; what to do about it. Cutlery marking and scratching. Staining.
4. Oven, microwave, freezer and dishwasher safe: Thermal stresses; rigid versus flexible pots; crack development and how to avoid it. The issues and testing for ovenware; on the hob; microwaves; freezer; and dishwasher.
5. Strength, stability, flames and electricity: Stability, waterproofness and sealants, strength and the effect of glazes, temperature and burns, lids and handles, candlesticks, electric lamps (introduction)
6. Pots outdoors: Weathering of glazes, rain, water and pollution; freezing, mechanisms, and making pots frost proof.

• How technical is the course? Do I need a science background? No prior scientific knowledge is needed, and the course is primarily a practical one. The technical content is explained in plain language throughout, and the aim is always practical understanding rather than academic depth.
• Will this course tell me if my glaze is food‑safe?
  It will show you how to test and assess glaze stability so you can answer that confidently yourself.
• Does the course cover UK, EU and USA regulations?
  Yes. All three are covered.
• Do I need to be selling my work?
  This course is also for potters making functional ware for personal use or gifts.
• Do I need to use commercial glazes?
  No. The course covers both commercial and studio-mixed glazes, though it does not go into glaze chemistry in detail. If you mix your own glazes and want in-depth coverage of glaze chemistry, the Food Safe and Stable Glazes course covers this.
• Do I need to send work to a lab?
  Often no. I show you how to assess many aspects of safety in your studio. Lab testing is only advised in specific cases, which I explain clearly.
• Can I really test my work at home? Yes, for most things. The course puts a strong emphasis on studio-based testing, and the methods covered use readily available equipment. The tests are generally based on those in official standards, but modified if necessary to suit the equipment people are likely to have to hand. Some things – formal leaching tests, for example – require a laboratory, but the course explains what these involve and when they are actually needed.
• What do I need to test my pieces?
  In addition to standard studio and kitchen equipment, the following are useful:
  • A pressure cooker
  • Methylene blue or a similar dark stain (5 ml is plenty), available on eBay
  • Litmus paper or a pH meter. A meter is only slightly more expensive, and much more accurate. Available on Amazon or eBay
  • 50 g of soda ash / caustic soda / washing soda / soda crystals
  • A digital probe thermometer reading from -20°C to 250°C (e.g. a meat thermometer)
• Will you answer questions about my specific glazes or pieces?
  Yes, definitely. Questions about your own materials and work are very welcome, and can be interesting discussions in the Ask me Anything sessions.
• How much time is needed?
  Around 9 hours as a minimum for the six videos, but if you explore the additional material and carry out some of the suggested tests, you may spend considerably more.
• Do I have lifetime access to the course?
  You have 10 weeks to complete the course. After that, you can regain access at any time by supporting me on Patreon for about the cost of buying me a coffee a month.
• Are there any other costs?
  No, other than any materials needed for testing – most of which you will probably already have, or can source cheaply.
• Is the course suited to those outside the UK?
  Yes. The principles of product safety and functional testing are universal. Most of the world follows ISO standards, including EU and UK standards; the USA and its satellite countries follow ANSI standards. Legislation, though, is country specific. The videos have subtitles available in most languages, though the website and PDFs are in English.

For general questions on my courses, please refer to the general courses FAQ.