Blog

I try to only write blog posts when I feel there is important information to share.  Typically, when I start to see the same emailed questions repeatedly, that tells me there is some confusion out there that needs to be cleared up!  Over the last few months, I have had multiple customers email with concerns that their fermenting crock lid either did or did not have a notch in it. 

I'm not sure where people are getting their information, but there seems to be some sources out there that are arguing both sides - you absolutely must have a notch in the lid, or you absolutely do not want a notch!  The truth is, it really depends on the crock.  So today, I would like to address why some crocks have notches in their lids and some don't!

Small Crock = no notch, Large Crock = notch

In general, smaller crocks do not have notches in the lids, and you don't want them to.  Only large crocks with deep wells and heavy lids should have a notch in the lid. 

Light Weight Lids don't need a notch

Smaller crocks, with lighter weight lids and a shallower well do not need a notch in the lid.  Because the lid is lighter weight, when gases need to escape they simply push up on the lid enough for the gas to bubble out.  A heavier lid can't push up so easily, so a notch was added to allow the gas to escape. 

Shallow airlock wells don't work with notched lids

In addition, when there is a notch in the lid, the water level in the airlock well has to be kept above that notch in order to maintain the airlock.  When the well is shallower, a notch in the lid can make it very difficult to keep enough water in the well to maintain the airlock without overfilling the well so that water gets into the ferment. 

Our crocks are designed to ensure that their first priority is to be functional fermenting crocks, and sometimes that means there are different features for each one!  Our artisans have tested the features of their crocks to ensure that they only add a notch to the lid when it is needed.
 
Hopefully that helps you understand a little better why some fermenting crock lids have notches and some don't!  It's not a universal feature that should be included on every crock!

We do our best to keep our prices reasonable so that as many people as possible can have access to quality, handmade products.  But inflation continues to increase our costs across the board.  We are seeing our manufacturer’s prices increase 10-20%, as well as freight fees up 50% with each shipment.  That’s not to mention the continually rising cost to ship goods here in the United States. 

Due to all of these factors, we will once again be increasing prices at the beginning of April.  As a courtesy to our loyal customers, we are giving you a heads up in advance if you want to order before then!

Our hearts and minds are with the people of Ukraine right now, as they have been since the invasion on February 24.  It is heartbreaking to see the devastation in this neighboring country.  Our facility in Poland is located in Nowy Sacz, just 3 hours from the border with Ukraine.  This is also where the majority of our family lives.  There are currently refugees in their town and the community is doing everything they can to help ease their suffering.  We speak with our family there every day and the fear and worry are evident.  Poland knows well what foreign occupation feels like and the Polish people sympathize with Ukraine’s plight.   This situation hits close to home for us as we hope for an end to the violence that will both limit the loss of life and restore independence to Ukraine.

There are many organizations that are offering support to the Ukrainian people right now, and we encourage you to research and support those that feel right to you.

It feels strange to be continuing on with our lives, while others are fleeing for theirs.  But this is the world we find ourselves in, and as a small family company we have to keep moving forward to stay in business.  We have more updates coming in the days ahead, so stay tuned.  But if you aren't in the right headspace for these updates, we understand!

As we all know, the pandemic has been difficult for many small businesses.  As a result of these struggles, the ceramic studio that makes our Artisan line of Fermenting Crocks has permanently closed.  We stocked up before they shut down, but our stock is beginning to run out. 

We have already sold out of the 5L Lavender and Red Mushroom Crocks and have therefore removed them from the website.  We also ran out of the Artisan Garlic Crocks and Rumtopf Crocks.  Our stock of the 5L Leaves and Brown Mushroom design are also getting low.  We do have stock remaining of all design of the 2.5L Artisan Crocks, but once they sell we won't be able to restock.

We are sad to see this studio go as they offered unique decorative designs that we haven't seen anywhere else.  We hope to find more decorative fermenting crock options for our customers soon, but in the meantime be sure to grab your favorite design before they are gone!

Like so many businesses, we continue to struggle with keeping items in stock.  The global shipping industry has never fully recovered from the pandemic shutdowns, on top of issues with production itself.  Despite all these new challenges, we are happy to say that another fully loaded container has left our facility in Poland!

We typically estimate 4-6 weeks for the transatlantic journey to our location in Illinois, but with all the delays in the industry right now, it's really hard to guess when the items will make it to us!  We estimate that the shipment will arrive in mid to late November, hopefully before the Black Friday rush!

We know many items are out of stock right now, and everyone is anxious to know when they can order their favorite items again. The good news is that items are on their way, so we will still have them in time for the holidays!  And with our typical 1-2 day processing times, we will be sure to get items shipped as soon as possible once they are back in stock. However, once these products sell we won't be restocking for several months, so be sure to order as soon as they are restocked!

As always, your best way to stay informed is to sign up for restocking notifications on the individual product pages.  We always send out those emails first before notifying anyone else that we have restocked the website.  Now go find those must have products right now and sign up to be notified when your favorite items are available again! (Seriously do it now, because you know if you don't you will forget!)

Back in 2017, Boleslawiec stopped making the popular Olive Green glaze - and we've been asking for it to return every since!  The past year has been full of surprises, and with our last shipment most of the surprises were not the happy kind.  But we knew when our order for more 5L Olive Green Boleslawiec Fermenting Crocks was finally fulfilled it would all be worth it!

Of course, we could only order a limited quantity to start and based on past popularity these will likely sell quickly!  If we these sell fast, we hope to increase our order next time to convince Boleslawiec that the 5L Olive Green Fermenting Crocks should be back permanently!