Three savvy ways to give new life to old ceramics and create prized pottery
DON’T stress if you’ve smashed your favourite mug or plate, create a treasured item from the pieces instead.
Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing cracked ceramics.
The hobby is growing in popularity and it saves on buying new items after a breakage.
Here’s everything that you need to know…
BEAUTIFULLY BROKEN: Mend crockery, from a vase to a saucer, using kintsugi-style techniques.
The process simply involves sticking the items back together with a gold or silver coloured adhesive.
You’ll need all the large pieces but can leave the very small bits.
Andy Ellis from home goods firm Posh UK is a kintsugi enthusiast.
He says: “The practice reminds us no matter what happens, we are beautiful because of what we have been through and the ways we have fixed ourselves.”
FRACTURED FIT: Clean your ceramic pieces and get a rough idea of how you’re going to fit them back together.
To fix the pieces back together, you traditionally use ‘liquid gold’ which you make by mixing gold powder with glue.
You can buy a kintsugi starter kit from around £10 from Amazon, which features glue and gold, plus brushes.
If you have some sizeable gaps from missing pieces, you may need to use some putty to fill the gaps.
Before you start applying the glue, Andy recommends using masking tape on the internal side of your piece while applying adhesive to the cracks.
Andy adds: “Always seal the ceramic afterwards. Sometimes, a clear glaze or varnish has the best results.”
NEW LIFE: But do check if the products you are using can be used with food or drink.
You can take specialist kintsugi classes too, but there are plenty of free online video tutorials on YouTube.
Andy says: “You’re going to make mistakes with kintsugi, but that’s okay. Remember that they only make your ceramics more beautiful.”
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