r/kintsugi

I bought his ceramic art piece years ago, it's flat ofc, but it's been glued to a felt backer. Well, one day it decided to take a dive off the wall and broke and since then haven't been able to hang it up, least of all bc I don't want an ugly bare ceramic gash all across the picture.

I feel the picture lends itself well to kintsugi, but I'm not sure what kind of cheater method I could use to get the effect; not sure if gold, or black (to keep with the stained glass effect), or what would be good to blend a little better. Also open to any other methods you think might make it a little nicer

I was unpacking some boxes and found my late grandma's figure thing was broken and this is my favorite I didn't think I would actually be able to do it I have been practicing my fine motor skills the last couple of year I think it's because of my autism I couldn't even tie my shoes cut a straight line or right legibility till high school but I have been working really hard i didn't buy a kit because they seemed expensive and my dad has a workshop in the garage whith most of what I needed I tried liquid epoxy but I didn't like it because it dried to fast and was harder to remove if I make a mistake so I am using super glue and then going over everything whith epoxy sculpt then I mix yellow paint whith gold Mica power and a bit of clear glue and paint it on. Before the paint drys I dab on Mica powder I'm also using all these tools that kind of look like there from a dentist office to scrape off excess paint or glue I'm not sure if any of this is recommended because I kinda went whith the flow instead of following a tutorial im not finished yet but I should be in the next few days then I can show my mom and I know she will be really proud of me and I'm already super proud of myself I don't know why but if feels like a huge accomplishment it feels like the first time I read my first chapter book on my own when I was 13

This one’s another piece from the Freer Gallery of Art collection at the National Museum of Asian Art at the Smithsonian. Be sure to visit the first link below to zoom in on the photos. 

Edo Period Yatsushiro Dish

• Body: Edo period, 18th century; Kumamoto, Japan. 
• Kintsugi: Unknown. 
• https://asia.si.edu/explore-art-culture/collections/search/edanmdm:fsg_F1904.329/
• https://collections.si.edu/search/record/ark:/65665/ye37dc155d38d8d488ab09a999c1c28ee7c

We’re restoring our floors and have a hearth from an old fireplace still in the room. Unfortunately the hearth is cracked. I’m not sure what material it is but it’s a Victorian terrace in London. My husband has the idea that kintsugi could be a beautiful way of restoring it. How would you recommend we do this?

Please be kind as these are very imperfect but I enjoyed the process a lot and learned so much by failing. I did not build up my layers enough before applying gold but they are set and technically a whole vessel again. Next time I will be much more careful with my taping as I made a big mess. 🤦‍♀️

Idk if this is sacrilegious but I used a nail dremel (bought for shaping gel nails) to file down the parts where I over applied sabi urushi - just gotta make sure to do it outside with a mask as I’m sure it’s bad to breathe in. I got a bit too overzealous with the sanding and that’s why the first pic looks so shallow and not quite like the river of gold I had hoped.

Lastly I ran out of gold powder and left my last piece as just the red urushi and I think it looks nice in a visible mending way. I will be mending all my chipped plates this way as I have a lot of tiny chips that are perfect for this craft.

On to the next one!

Hi everyone! Longtime lurker, first-time poster. :)

I run a small kintsugi studio in Portland, Oregon (Kin & Kuro), and I primarily stick to traditional kintsugi. However, I have a commission request that’s a little outside my usual experience, and I’d love to hear from anyone who’s tackled something similar.

A client has asked me to repair a pair of sentimental ceramic Shabbat candlesticks that were broken in a move. They’d really like to continue using them every week, and he explained to me that unlike a candle that’s lit briefly and blown out, Shabbat candles are traditionally lit just before sunset on Friday evening and allowed to burn out naturally, so the repaired candle cups would be exposed to repeated, fairly long heat cycles over many years.

I usually prefer to use 100% traditional materials, however, the repeated heat exposure around the candle cups has me wondering if a hybrid approach might make more sense? I was thinking maybe using epoxy for the structural joins in place of mugi urushi, then continuing with traditional sabi, urushi layers, etc. But, I'm genuinely unsure.

I’m wondering whether anyone here has repaired candleholders before, and if so:

• Did you stick with a fully traditional approach?
• Did you use a hybrid method?
• Did you make any adaptations to help manage the heat or mechanical stress?

Thank you so much in advance!!

Not much to say about this one. I just like it a lot and it’s possible to go see this in person right now. :)

This piece is from the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and is currently on view in Gallery 224 as part of the Infinite Artistry of Japanese Ceramics exhibition running through August 8, 2027. This specific piece may be rotated out during the span of the exhibition but other kintsugi repaired pieces will be on display as well.

Edo Period Aka-Raku Chawan

• Body: Edo period, 18th century; Japan. 
• Kintsugi: Unknown. Multiple repairs made at different times. 
• https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/63180

This was my third or fourth fully urushi-based kintsugi project, but only my second time applying gold. The first time, I didn't have the technique figured out well, so the result was not that great looking. I'm happier with this one, although there are a couple of minor imperfections. This was keshifun. I didn't do any fungatame, just cleaned it up a little with a tokusa and burnished it.

Hi! I’m looking for guidance from those of you that have broken items shipped to you for repair. I’ve had a few sent to me in the last year and no issue until a couple of days ago…

FedEx is telling me they have determined a package is undeliverable to me. They told me over the phone they marked the item to be disposed of because the object is broken…

To which I almost blacked out for a second and had to dig deep to not let out a scream or throw my phone across the room. How is that their call to make without speaking with the shipper and/or recipient?

I’ve spoken with a customer service rep every day since they put an exception on it, so 3 times now. The package is here in my city so we’re down to the last mile.

I’ve been clear that “yes I am aware it’s broken. I am fixing it for the shipper. Please deliver it to me” and those notes must vaporize because the warehouse sent me a note this morning letting me know they inspected the package and have made the call that it’s not deliverable. So when I called yet again that’s when the rep told me its going to be throw away.

I say all this to ask… have you either had this happen before and were you able to get the package in the end? And more importantly how do you mitigate or prevent this from happening when someone mails you a package with a broken item for repair. Besides insulating well so it doesn’t sound broken, do you have them write notes on the outside or inside of the box? Say any special words at the service counter rep? Are certain carriers better than others in your experience? This particular person is shipping from Canada (I am in the US) and opted to use FedEx. Everything has been fine until now, but trying to communicate and get to a resolution has turned into a good old-fashioned idiot parade.

Ok thanks for listening and I’m all ears for any helpful advice. In the meantime I’m waiting for FedEx to call me (I’m 50/50 that they actually do because my spirits are a bit low due to said idiot parade). I’m also sitting on my porch and I swear if I see a FedEx truck drive by I am going to chase it down and see if that driver can be of any help (can you tell I’m desperate?)

TLDR: what instructions do you give to people shipping you broken items for repair to ensure there are no hiccups along the way?

Incl a pic of a cup I recently repaired and my tuxedo named Nigel (who is wondering why I am so wound up this morning)

Mostly hairline cracks.

First try: UV resin mixed with mica gold powder. The result wasn’t ideal because the glass’s oleophobic coating repelled the resin, and the gold effect wasn’t shiny enough.

Second and final try: Sakura Pen-Touch Gold (0.7 mm) was used to trace the cracks, then left to dry before being topped with a layer of UV resin.

Conclusion: More of an aesthetic enhancement than a structural repair.