“We came into a broken world. And we're the cleanup crew.” - Kanye West
It’s something that no one wants to face…
I dropped and broke my favourite mug.
There I was.
Relaxing one Saturday afternoon. Feet up. Sipping a chuck back cappuccino with my favourite mug: The Reindeer.
A beautifully designed and all-round unique mug by Sami Rinne Design.
And, well you can guess the next part.
It fell to the floor and smashed all over my stone floor. However, here’s the thing. I wasn’t overly upset. I was actually secretly excited.
“Why!?” I hear you cry.
See, here’s the thing:
I knew that this mug’s life wasn’t over. Far from it. It’s only going to get better. And that’s where I want to introduce you to Kintsugi (also know as Kintsukori) comes in.
Now before I go any further let’s first establish what Kintsugi (Kintsukori is):
What Does Kintsukori mean?
“Kintsukuroi (“golden mend”) is the Japanese art of mending broken pottery using lacquer resin laced with gold or silver. As well as a nifty form of repair, kintsukuroi has a deeper philosophical significance.” - Becoming Who You Are
So, sure.
It would be easy for me to just buy another new mug.
But, why would I? When I know a little wear and tear (i.e full on breakages) adds to the history and character of my mug. (Plus, I love practicing Kintsugi).
So follow along and learn how to repair your mug with gold.
Basically, Kintsugi combines both philosophy (appreciating imperfection) as well as practicality (mending broken pottery). Kintsugi allows you to mock up a resin (typically in Gold, but you can get them in other colours too) to paste the broken parts back together.
For this.
All you will need is a Kintsugi kit.
This kit basically comes with everything you need for what I’m about to show you next (with step by step instructions - it does come with its own user instruction manual too, that I definitely recommend you give a read).
Step One
Order and get the kit in front of you.
Open it up and have everything you need. You’re going to need a clear open area.
And you’re going to need your favourite mug in front of you (or any other piece of pottery you have broken - that you would like mending).
Plus, make sure to have some protective gloves on too.
Step Two
We’re not reaching for the kit quite yet.
Firstly, start to piece back together with your broken ceramics.
If you have got just two pieces - this is obviously a much easier task than those who have ten. It also helps if they are quite reasonably sized chunks.
It gets a bit harder the smaller the pieces are.
Step Three
Get hold of some epoxy and pour it out onto a clean area, then with the mixing stick provided you want to be mixing some of the powder together.
This will either be gold or other colour, depending on the option you opted for.
Mix this well to have a good even complexion throughout the epoxy.
Step Four
Now, time for application.
Pick up the mixing stick with a bit of the mixture on and start to apply it to the broken edges of your first chosen piece.
Note: you will have seen a brush as well.
Use the brush if you want to create a smoother finish rather than a rustic one. Then apply the two pieces together.
Step Five
You want to start to wait for the epoxy to get somewhat sticky. This doesn’t take long, so you are going to have to move with haste.
Then wait for a few minutes but before the two broken pieces are fixed together solidly.
The more you apply, generally the longer you’re going to have to wait to some extent.
Step Six
It might not be perfectly smooth right across.
If that's the case, get a hold of your brush and start to touch up areas where you see fit. Usually where you have run out somewhat halfway through.
Step Seven
Now it is a simple case of rinse and repeat.
Once, you have fixed one piece.
Reach for the next.
And the next.
Then before you know it, you have entirely mended your mug again.
It now it looks better than before.
Now once, you’ve got to grips with it.
You might develop a similar urge to myself. And start to purposefully let things… drop to the floor. It might have happened to this bowl too.
On the upside, in case you get too addicted on Kintsugi, you might also want to try: How to Make your own Pottery at Home ,check it out this easy step by step from Porch.
If you are interested in Kintsugi. Then be sure to check out our specific guide above. "The guide to Kintsugi".