If you've just unwrapped something I made, thank you, honestly. And now the slightly unromantic part. Here is how to care for air dry clay pieces like mine, so yours stays in one piece.
Everything in my shop is cold porcelain, a homemade air-dry clay I mix at home in Ontario from cornstarch, glue, vinegar, oil and paper napkins. If you want the full story, I wrote a whole post on what cold porcelain clay is and how I make it. The part that matters for care: it's water-based at heart. It air dries over 2 to 5 days and sets rock hard, I hand-paint it with acrylics or soft pastels, and I finish pieces with resin or polyurethane for shine and durability. That finish does a lot of work. It is not a force field.
The very short version, if you're reading this with the piece already in your hand: keep it dry, keep it out of direct sun, dust it with something soft, and don't let it take a fall. Everything below is just detail.
How to care for air dry clay every day
Pick pieces up by the body, not by the ears, tail, stem or any thin little bit sticking out. Those are the parts I hold my breath over while I'm making them, and they're the parts that snap. Set things down rather than dropping them. Cold porcelain is hard, and hard means it doesn't bounce.
Most pieces are finished with resin or polyurethane, and that finish is what helps them handle ordinary life: hands, dust, a normal room. Unsealed air-dry clay is a much more delicate thing. If you aren't sure which yours is, treat it as unsealed and follow the drier end of the advice below. It costs you nothing, and it's the better habit either way.
Please also keep my pieces away from young children and pets. Small parts can break off, and nothing I make is food safe. That's not fine print, it's the honest limit of a handmade clay piece.
How do you clean air dry clay?
Dust is the only regular maintenance most pieces need. Start dry every time, and only reach for moisture if dry doesn't work.
- Dust gently with a dry soft brush. A clean makeup brush is perfect, or a dry microfibre cloth.
- For carved lines, folds and other little crevices, a soft dry brush beats a cloth. A cloth just skates over the top.
- For a stubborn mark, use a barely damp cloth, wipe lightly, then dry it right away. Barely damp means wrung out until it feels almost dry.
- Don't let water sit in a groove or under a base. Blot it out and let the piece air out for an hour before it goes back on a shelf.
- Never soak a piece or hold it under a running tap.
- Never put it in the dishwasher.
- No harsh cleaners: no bleach, no alcohol wipes, no all-purpose spray, no melamine "magic" sponges. Those are abrasive and take the paint and glaze with them.
And because it comes up: my trinket dishes hold rings, earrings, paperclips and hair ties. Not food, not drinks, nothing that goes in a mouth.
Can air dry clay get wet?
Briefly, yes. For any length of time, no.
Here's the honest version. Cold porcelain starts life as cornstarch and glue mixed with water, and water-based materials stay a little water-sensitive forever. Unsealed air-dry clay left wet will soften, swell and lose its shape. Where a piece has a resin or polyurethane finish, that finish sits as a barrier over the clay, so a splash, a damp cloth or a humid day is nothing to worry about. Where it doesn't, water matters a great deal more. Either way, the words to keep in your head are water-resistant, not waterproof.
So: a wipe is fine. A splash is fine. A sink full of dishes is not. Don't leave a piece on a wet counter, in a bathroom, on the ledge of a steamy shower, or anywhere it might get rained on. And if it does get properly wet, dry it straight away with a soft cloth rather than leaving it to sort itself out.
What about heat, sunlight and humidity?
Heat. No oven, no microwave, no dishwasher, and please not on a car dashboard in July. Resin and polyurethane finishes can soften or go tacky in real heat, and cold porcelain itself doesn't love it either.
Direct sunlight. This is the slow one. A windowsill with full afternoon sun will fade painted colour over months, and soft pastel shading fades faster than acrylic. A bright room is lovely; a sunbeam is not.
Humidity. Air-dry clay and long-term damp don't get along, so a bathroom shelf is the one spot I'd avoid entirely. Damp basements and unheated garages are on the same list. A normal heated room, even a humid summer one, is completely fine.
Where should you keep it?
A desk, a shelf, a bedside table. Out of direct sun, away from radiators and heating vents, and not on the edge where a sleeve or a cat can send it flying. Give it a stable, flat surface. Wobbly shelves and speaker cabinets are how pieces end up on the floor.
If you're putting a piece away for a while rather than displaying it, wrap it loosely in tissue and keep it in a box somewhere dry and room temperature. Don't seal it in a plastic bag in a damp spot, and don't stack anything heavy on top.
Care depends on what you've got
Pieces that travel with you
Keychains, phone hippers and worry stones live a much rougher life. They ride in bags, knock against keys and get handled all day, which is exactly what they're for, but a few habits help. Clip a keychain to the outside of a bag rather than burying it under keys and a water bottle. Take a phone hipper off before your phone goes in a pocket full of coins. Dust travelling pieces every couple of weeks; hands leave more residue than you'd think. And expect gentle wear at the contact points over time. That's use, not damage.
One extra thing for anything that goes out with you: bring it in. A piece left in a car overnight in an Ontario winter, or all afternoon in a car in August, is getting a much harder time than it would on your desk.
Pieces that stay put
Desk buddies, pen holders, trinket dishes and mini photo holders mostly need dusting and a sensible spot. Their main risk is one bad knock, so give them a stable surface and a little clearance. A pen holder is happiest not overloaded: a handful of pens, not a full jar's worth leaning to one side.
Does air dry clay break easily?
Not as easily as people expect, but I want to be straight with you rather than sell you a fantasy. Fully cured cold porcelain is genuinely hard. It isn't crumbly, it isn't soft, and it won't fall apart on your desk. What it is, is brittle. Hard materials chip and snap instead of bending, so a drop onto a tiled floor is a real risk in a way that a knock against a mug is not.
Thickness decides almost everything. A solid, chunky piece like a worry stone will take far more abuse than a thin ear, a tail, a stem or a delicate little handle. Those thin parts are the weak points on any air-dry clay piece, mine included, which is why every handling tip above comes back to the same idea: support the body, respect the thin bits.
What should you do if a piece chips or breaks?
If it arrived damaged, tell me within 48 hours of delivery with photos of the box and the piece. Details are in my refund policy.
If it breaks later, keep every fragment and don't glue it in a panic. A clean break on a solid piece is often repairable; a shattered thin part usually isn't. I'd rather not name an adhesive I haven't tested on your exact piece, so send me a photo and I'll tell you honestly what I'd try and whether it's worth it. You can reach me any time through my contact page.
How should you pack a clay piece to gift it or travel with it?
Wrap the piece in tissue first so nothing rubs the painted surface, then add a soft layer, bubble wrap or a sock or a scarf, and box it with enough padding that it can't slide around. Never let two clay pieces touch inside the same box. If you're flying, carry it on rather than checking it. Everything I've made is in handmade gifts if you're picking something out.
Questions I get asked a lot
Is cold porcelain food safe?
No, and this one isn't negotiable. Nothing I make is food safe, so no serving, no snacks in a trinket dish, no using anything as a coaster for a drink you'll finish. It's a homemade clay sealed with a craft finish, not tableware. A trinket dish is for jewellery, paperclips and hair ties.
Can I keep a piece outside or in the garden?
Please don't. Air-dry clay is an indoor material, and outdoors means rain, dew, frost and hours of direct UV all at once. Ontario weather will beat a sealed cold porcelain piece far faster than a shelf ever will. A covered porch in summer is still a gamble I wouldn't take.
Can I wear or use a piece in the bathroom or shower?
No. The seal handles a splash, but a shower is sustained water and steam, and a bathroom is the most humid room in the house. Take a phone hipper or keychain off before a bath or a shower, and pick a bedroom or desk for anything you'd otherwise be tempted to keep by the sink.
My piece feels slightly tacky. What happened?
Almost always heat. Resin and polyurethane finishes can soften a little when a piece has been sitting somewhere hot, like a sunny windowsill or a closed car. Move it somewhere cool, dry and out of the sun and leave it alone for a day or two. If it's still tacky after that, send me a photo and I'll take a look.
Can I put a candle or a tealight in one of your dishes?
No open flame, please, and no hot wax. Heat is the one thing my finishes really don't tolerate, and a dish that holds earrings beautifully is not built to sit under a burning candle. If you want the look, an LED tealight is genuinely fine.
Can I bake it or fire it to make it stronger?
No. Cold porcelain is air-dry clay, so there's no kiln and no baking anywhere in how it's made, and heat will damage the paint and the seal rather than harden anything. By the time a piece reaches you it has already dried and cured fully. It's as strong as it's going to get.
None of this needs to be fussy. Keep it dry, keep it out of the sun, dust it now and then, and it will look the way it did the day you opened it. If you're ever unsure, message me. I made it, so I probably know. There's more about me and how I work here.