u/Extreme-Song-8143

I bought a handmade ceramic mug from a pottery stall at a market. Last week, I used it for the first time to drink tea. Afterward, I noticed fine a hairline circle shape crazing across the glaze.
The cup itself doesn’t appear to be physically cracked or broken, it’s the glazed surface that has these fine lines. I can kind of feel it with my fingertips that something is uneven.

Materials used: It says the white glaze contains Snowdonia quartz and Anglesey tin, the black glaze contains Snowdonia black basalt and local iron oxide, and the copper-red glaze contains Anglesey copper.

I was told by the maker that it was safe for oven, dishwasher, microwave, freezer.

I contacted the maker over a week ago to ask whether the glaze is normal, and I’ve been trying to get a response but have been ignored, so I’m currently unable to get confirmation from the maker if this is expected.

Would anyone be able to advise if this is normal to have crazing after only one use and would it be fine to continue using it?

EDIT: I’ve now noticed that there are also fine hairline lines appearing on the glazed area at the underside/base of the mug as well, even though I haven’t used it for several days…

Thanks!

I’m currently based in London working in finance. I’ve been there for almost 8 years and overall my life is actually… good. Stable job, good pay, international environment, comfortable life, friends here, etc.

Recently I received an offer from another firm in Hong Kong with roughly a 40% base salary increase. On paper, it’s a strong opportunity:
- major pay increase
- lower taxes
- exposure to Asian markets
- potentially faster career growth

But the move feels much bigger than “just changing jobs.”

I’m married, thinking about kids in the next few years as I’m 34F, and my parents are approaching their 60s. Moving to Asia suddenly makes distance feel very real. At the same time, I’m still in my 30s and part of me feels like this might be the best/last window to try something international before life gets more rooted.

What makes this difficult is that I’m not unhappy where I am now. If I hated my current job, the decision would probably be easy.

The other thing I keep wondering is: at what point does relocation actually make sense financially/emotionally for mid-career people? Especially when it’s not a “life changing” 2x salary increase, but still a substantial jump.

I think if I were 25 and single I’d go immediately. If I already had children, I probably wouldn’t. But being somewhere in-between makes it strangely hard.

Curious if anyone else relocated internationally in their 30s while already having a stable/good life. Did you regret going? Or regret staying?

Advise needed! Is this crazing on a handmade mug normal?

Would you relocate in your 30s?