Question:
I have my grandmothers full set of Redwing Lotus Concord dinnerware. I have 3 questions for you. 1. Are the dishes dishwasher safe? The dark side of the cups and bowls appears to be some type of metallic or raiku-like finish so I wanted to check with an expert. 2. A lot of the dishes have crackled with age. Are they safe to eat off of? If not is there any process to re-glaze thank you

Answer: I’m afraid I wont’ be much help with your questions. My "expertise", such as it is, involves collecting Red Wing dinnerware and knowing a fair amount about the various dinnerware lines. I’m not an expert on using dinnerware for its intended purpose.

Lotus dinnerware was made long before dishwashers were commonplace in American homes, so Red Wing made no claims regarding use in dishwashers. My standard response to this question is to run a couple of damaged pieces through a few dishwasher cycles and see what effect it has, if any. My family used Red Wing’s Charstone Blue dinnerware and washed it in a dishwasher for many years, but your experience with Lotus may vary from ours.

I would not routinely use dinnerware with crazing and cracks in the glaze. Using them for special events is probably OK but I would not use them for everyday use. That holds true for any dinnerware, in my opinion. Besides the potential for leaching of chemicals into the food, the dishes will also soil more readily and be difficult to thoroughly clean.

I am not aware of any process to reglaze your Lotus pieces. If such a process exists, it would most likely cost considerably more than the value of the dinnerware.

Larry