Kintsugi

Kintsugi is a Japanese design style that finds beauty and depth in shards and preserve items with sentimental value. As time passes, our items are more likely to get damaged. A small fracture at the plate’s edge, a scratch on the dresser, or an insignificant crack on the wall. For the most part, it doesn’t affect the ability to use the item, but merely annoys with a visual flaw can be enough to drive you crazy. in more severe scenarios, when the item is completely broken, we tend to get rid of it immediately without a second thought- it gets tagged as a useless item that needs to be replaced on the first occasion.

This western perception which says that a flawed item must be replaced, has an opposing approach in Japan. The state that produces some of the highest quality products, unexpectedly has a design approach that respects the item throughout all its life cycles and finds beauty and depth in its breaks.

The translation of Kintsugi from Japanese to English is “golden knitting” and it certainly explains the unique technique well. While gluing a cookery that got damaged, no attempt is made to hide the glue lines, on the contrary, the repairs are emphasized in gold. The flaws becomes an intended aesthetic advantages and tell the item’s story. On top of crockery, kintsugi also fits furniture, doors, windows  and houses.

Saving money while preserving esthetics.

When one plate from a set is broken, people often rush and replace the whole set, including perfectly fine glasses and saucers. When we use kintsugi, the broken plate is decorated and it gives the set new depth and gist- it is not a regular set anymore, but a set with story and purpose. Kintsugi represents Japan’s design philosophy and culture.