Kintsugi

Repair Request

Coming Soon

Tell us about the piece that broke. Describe the break, the metal you have in mind, and how you live with it, and we will write back with an assessment, a quote, and the next steps for getting it here.

In the studio

A repair takes the steps the piece asks for.

These are the core stages, the ones every repair passes through. A piece with many breaks or losses takes more: steps are added as the ware needs them, and each one cures in the muro before the next begins. That is why a repair is measured in months rather than days.

  1. 01

    Setup

    The pieces are sorted, cleaned, and laid out in their order.

  2. 02

    Mugi

    A first urushi layer, mixed with flour, holds the break together.

  3. 03

    Sabi

    Sabi fills the gaps where fragments were lost.

  4. 04

    Eurushi

    A finer coat of urushi levels the seam.

  5. 05

    Kuroroiro

    Black urushi, the ground the metal will sit on.

  6. 06

    Fun maki

    Metal is dusted over lacquer still wet, then cured.

  7. 07

    Final clean up

    Burnished, cleaned, and packed for its return.

Seven core stages · more added per piece · every step photographed and timed

An Example

What follows is a preview of the things the studio likes to know before taking on a repair — how the piece broke, what you would like done, and how you live with it. Nothing here can be filled in or sent yet; when the form opens, this is the ground the conversation will start from.

01

The Piece

What it is, and how it came apart.

Choose every one that applies. A piece can crack and lose a fragment at the same time.

02

Size and Use

Centimeters or inches, grams or ounces, whichever you reach for. Just say which.

The weight tells us what return shipping will cost.

03

Where It Goes Back To

The mended piece ships within the United States only.

04

Four Photographs

The whole piece, its other side, the wall at the rim, and the break with its fragments taped. Up to ten per view, if you need them.

The whole piece0/10

Straight on, in one frame.

Its other side0/10

Turn it around and take the same view again.

Rim and wall0/10

Shot edge-on at the rim, so we can read the thickness of the wall.

The break, taped0/10

Fragments taped back in place, close enough to see each edge.

05

What It Has Been Through

Where the piece comes from, and why it matters to you.

What we ask you to know *
  • A photograph is not the piece itself. Any figure we quote after reading this is an opening estimate; the work is priced in the hand, once every crack and loss has been seen up close.
  • Urushi is laid in layers and each one has to cure before the next can go down. Most repairs take three to six months. An involved piece can take a year.
  • A mended vessel is still food safe. The microwave, the oven, the dishwasher and direct heat are not its friends any more.
  • We work in Napa, where the ground moves and the hills burn. There is a real chance a piece is damaged further while it is with us. If that happens we call you first and decide the way forward together.
  • The studio photographs its work. Your piece and its history may appear in our social media and in other studio material.