Famiware Ocean Square Dinnerware Set for 4

On a cupboard shelf between meals, the twelve pieces of this set stack close. The square plates and bowls settle into a neat column, taking less room than round ones do. The weight of the whole stack is noticeable when you lift it. This is not thin porcelain but fired stoneware.

Stoneware does two things well and one thing badly. It holds heat and it does not absorb. What it does badly is survive a drop. A rim chip shows pale clay, and the stack stays at two pieces high to keep the unglazed foot from marking the plate below.