Garnishing

We porcelain makers use the term "garnishing" or "garnishing" to describe the subsequent addition of items that cannot be produced during the moulding manufacturing process. These are usually the handles of cups and mugs, lid knobs and other decorations on a porcelain body.

If it weren't for the "handle", coffee cups would cost "almost" half as much.... The "garnishing" of a handle could easily be viewed in terms of cost, because who knows that the production and attachment of a small handle often requires more effort and craftsmanship than the production of the cup body itself! Even a handle - no matter how small - has to be manufactured separately. In Western Europe, ultra-modern production facilities already manufacture cups and drinking cups complete with handles on fully automated cup lines. Until now, however, these huge fully automated lines or robots have been subject to the speed of our manual production method, even if this is not always "100%" precise.

See also our short video:

After the handle has been produced as a quasi individual part in the casting process, it must be applied to the cup or mug by hand. The "glue" (composite material) is liquid porcelain mass, so-called "slurry", which is applied to the contact points. Carefully, the handle is pressed manually onto the body of the mug and glazed together after drying and cleaning. In hard firing, the parts of an article manufactured in different production processes glow together and then form a uniform and even surface over the glaze. High-quality coffee mugs are neither porous at the connection points between body and handle nor do they show any cracks there! When buying a cup, make sure that the handles are not glued, as is often the case with "cheap factories" from Latin America or Eastern European countries.

Physical stress tests have shown that the stability and durability of a cup handle is definitely not dependent on the manufacturing method "machine" or "handmade". More about this under defects in porcelain.