A Quality Check Before the Spode Christmas Sale: Bone China, Platters, and a Mason Jar Question

It was mid-October, and I was doing a final inspection on a shipment of Spode Christmas platters before our Spode Christmas sale went live. Around 1,200 pieces—maybe 1,300, I'd have to check the packing slip—had just been delivered, and the team was ready to start photographing them.

I'm a quality and brand compliance manager at Spode. That means I review products before they reach customers—roughly 200 different SKUs each year, give or take. I'm the person who holds up the photoshoot because a platter has a tiny black speck on the rim. Yes, that's my job.

Why I Check Bone China Like a Detective

It's tempting to think a platter either looks good or it doesn't. But after years of reviewing bone china, I've learned to look past the pattern. A crisp Christmas tree print can hide a hairline crack in the glaze, or a foot ring that isn't perfectly flat. If a plate rocks on the table, nobody cares how pretty the tree is.

That morning, I found something. Not a crack, but a small cluster of tiny black specks near the rim of one platter. Probably kiln debris. It was small enough that most people wouldn't notice, but enough to pull the piece out of the first-quality bin.

The Mason Jar Question

And then, mid-inspection, a customer service rep appeared with a question that made me stop: “Can I use a mason jar for a candle?”

“I'm making a holiday gift and saw a DIY where they pour wax into a mason jar. Is that okay?”

This is the kind of question that sounds simple. The internet is full of DIY tutorials showing you how to pour wax into a mason jar, stick in a wick, and call it a present. But a mason jar isn't designed to handle heat from a live flame. The glass can shatter if it heats unevenly, and then you've got a mess—or worse, a fire.

To be fair, mason jars are sturdy. They're used for canning, storing, all sorts of things. But a candle isn't just storage. The flame changes the physics. That's why we make ceramic candle holders out of materials that can take the heat.

A Bigger Problem: Warped Platters

The question also reminded me of something I'd been wrestling with all week. Most buyers focus on the pattern and the price. They don't think about glaze consistency, whether the base is flat, or whether the gold rim will survive a dishwasher cycle. Those are the details that determine if a piece becomes a family heirloom or gets banished to the back of the cupboard.

Later that morning, we found a slightly warped platter. Not visibly, but when placed on a flat surface, it had a gentle rock. We put a straight edge across the base and saw a faint gap—maybe half a millimeter. That's within many industry tolerances, but not what I want to see on a Spode Christmas platter. Or a holiday figurine. Or any bone china item we ship.

Dodged a bullet, honestly. If we'd shipped that batch without a second look, customers would have started opening boxes a week later and found a plate that wobbles. In the middle of a sale, that's the last thing you want.

We set the warped pieces aside and downgraded them to seconds. Not enough to hurt stock, but enough to remind everyone that seasonal demand doesn't lower standards. I asked our supplier to add a warp tolerance measurement to the spec sheet. And for the mason jar question, I wrote a short note for our team: recommend a proper candle holder. Don't improvise with a drinking glass.

The Takeaway

That morning was a good reminder of two things. First, bone china quality is about details you can't see in a product photo—flatness, glaze quality, how the piece behaves over time. The Christmas tree pattern is beautiful, but the reason it stays beautiful is the porcelain underneath.

Second, a little customer education goes a long way. An informed customer asks better questions and makes better decisions. So if you're wondering whether to use a mason jar for a candle? Please don't. Get a proper holder. And if you're buying bone china, ask about the details that matter—not just the pattern.

This might not be the answer you expect from a quality manager. But after a morning like that, it's the one I believe.