Every batch has a shelf

Out of seventy pieces, somewhere between five and ten come out of the kiln with something wrong. Most of it is small. Sorting them is the first job on the morning we open the kiln, before coffee, while the pieces are still too warm to hold for long.

Three piles

Firsts are what we're proud of. They match their siblings closely enough that we'd photograph any of them.

Seconds work perfectly but look different from what we promised. A glaze run that froze down one side. A rim a few millimetres out of round. A pinhole in the glaze the size of a pencil tip. A colour that came out darker than the rest of the batch.

Reclaim is anything with a crack, a sharp edge, or a flaw that could let water into the clay. These get smashed and go into the bucket by the back door. We don't sell them at any price.

The ring test

Before a piece becomes a second, I tap it with a fingernail and listen. A sound piece rings clearly. A piece with a hidden crack sounds dull, like a flowerpot. It's a very old test and it's never let us down.

Why 30% off

We used to price each second individually. It took forever and felt like haggling with ourselves. Now every second is 30% off, listed on Friday at 10:00, final sale. Most are gone by lunchtime.

Why people buy them

Some people buy seconds because they're cheaper. More and more buy them because they like the flaw. One customer has bought every glaze-run cup since Batch 7. She says they look like they're melting, and she's right.

If you want one, set an alarm for Friday at ten. We don't hold seconds and we don't take reservations for them. It wouldn't be fair to the people who turn up on time.