Haand Oil Cruet

In my quest to find the perfect cruet, I have used many, many bad ones. Some dripped (messy!), some used plastic that started to fall apart (concerning!), and some accelerated the oil going rancid (eww!). The key to a good oil cruet is the spout- it should pour smoothly, and according to the American and Italian Olive Oil Councils, it should close to keep out bugs and oxygen which will shorten the shelf life of oil. We import our stainless steel spouts from Italy and pair them with natural cork. The fit should be tight on the spouts because over time, the cork will take the shape of the cruet’s opening. The first few times you fill the cruet, you will need to give the spout a little extra oomph as you put it in. Designed for olive oil, these handmade ceramic cruets work great for any shelf-stable liquids- vinegar, soy sauce, garum, chili oil, etc.

Dimensions: 3" W x 5.5" H, 12 oz

Artisan Information: Thoughtful storytellers bridging the past and future with expert craftsmanship. Haand was started in 2012 by Mark Warren and Chris Pence, friends who met in high school in Jacksonville, Florida circa 1999. Always an artist and tinkerer, Mark attended the Penland School of Crafts on a two-year fellowship after college. There he was exposed to a variety of media and learned from the excellent teachers, mentors and highly skilled craftspeople at Penland and in the surrounding community of the Blue Ridge Mountains. He was introduced to ceramics and slip casting while in a class taught by Tom Spleth. Chris, who had been a potter since high school, went on to study business and accounting in college and graduate school, eventually working for a large corporate accounting firm but continued to pursue his love of pottery. In 2012, as Chris decided to leave corporate accounting and Mark completed his Penland Fellowship, the time felt right to take the opportunity to work together and Haand was born. The first year, the business was run out of a decrepit farm house with no potable water and mercurial electricity. Mark and Chris hustled at gift shows and craft fairs, bidding for contracts to manufacture niche products. They fought for every sale to keep their heads above water. These met challenges ultimately gave them an income to move to a small warehouse in Eli Whitney, NC. Sales improved every year and eventually they were able to hire employees. Haand would not be where it is today without the hard work and sacrifice of those early and current employees. Haand now employs a staff of 20 and operates out of a 13,000 square foot former hosiery mill in downtown Burlington, NC.