Crate and Barrel made in China

Over the holidays I had to go to the emergency room due to an injury sustained doing nothing more than holding one of these Crate and Barrel casserole dishes. It was used to make stuffed mushrooms on Christmas Eve, it cooled to room temperature, it was washed by hand in lukewarm water and placed on a dry rack to dry. When I picked it up to store, several hours later, the left handle suddenly broke in my hand and the dish fell into my left thumb. It resulted in a lot of pain and three stitches. Not what I expected from stoneware but then again, anything shaped like a spear can hurt you. When the handle broke it created a spear shaped edged to what was left and OUCH! Perhaps a freak accident but completely the result of a shoddy product.This item should have never fallen apart this way but it was the second dish of this set to just break for no apparent reason. I threw out the third and last remaining dish.

The first one broke in half and was less of a hazard when it did. None of these dishes got used much. The set is dishwasher, microwave, oven and freezer safe. Since I received the set they had not been dropped or sustained any sort of impact. Maybe something happened in shipping. Maybe it's where they come from and the way they were manufactured, Made in China. I don't buy things made in China but this set was a gift. I do feel badly about that because I know the gift giver would hate that the gift was not a quality product. But I know for a fact they will never see this entry.

I am posting this because stores like Crate and Barrel never post negative reviews on their web sites. Since this casserole set is tres cute and sort of retro looking I know they will be popular among a certain group that reads this blog. Just be careful and beware of products made in China. Even our vet went on a tirade about giving animals anything made in China and boycotts made in China items. Sadly Crate and Barrel is almost exclusively made in China.