I thought I would wait and give a review that wasnt an out of the box review, hope this helps. I was afraid to purchase the dishes because had said they were cracking after a week. Though the other reviews out-weighed her remarks, it was still in the back of my mind. I ordered my dishes on Monday. They came that Friday by 5 pm. They were packed very well, but still a small/salad plate was broken and a bowl was flawed. I got on the website and easily found my way to an instant chat with a nice person from Utah. He said theyd ship replacement dishes out right away, which I received 3 days later. A big Thank You to Great Offer Stock for fabulous customer service and standing behind the products they sell! The dishes are beautiful and well made. They are not the cumbersome Pfaltzgraff stoneware that is so heavy. They are an elegant medium weight thats perfectly balanced. I have worked with ceramics my entire life and both plates are stilted when they are fired in the kiln. This means that there is glaze on the bottom rim of the plates. (They cant do that with the bowls or cups) Most dishes are bare on the bottom rim; it rests on the kiln shelf when being fired. If it were glazed, it would fuse with the kiln shelf. The glaze also helps the dishes slide without scratching.The bottom rim of these plates wont get that filthy look after years of use, a very nice feature.The color is that of Waterfords Kings Gate damask table cloth. It is very elegant and not the starched white that most dishes are. It looked fabulous for Thanksgiving. The salad bowls are huge. They remind me of the fettuccini alfredo dishes they use at Italian restaurants. Theyre great for pasta and salad, not cereal or ice cream. I took the advice of allysoncross and bought the cereal bowls, which is stellar advice. They round out the set nicely. Everyday ware they are doing very well. I had a cup with coffee on the end table and my teenage son knocked it off. It fell 26 to the oak floor and bounced. My heart skipped two beats but, the cup landed unscathed! How awesome is that? Not carpeting, a solid oak floor
I am buying two more sets. Wonderfully made dishes! You can purchase with no worries. My wish is that Red Vanilla makes more serving pieces!