The Potting Shed

A broken bowl, a mixing card and a small dish of gold powder set out on a kitchen table beside an instruction booklet.

Kintsugi kit or a kintsugi workshop? Cost, time and what you learn from each

A workshop buys you a teacher and a date in the diary, a kit buys you materials, practice bowls and repetition at home. How to decide which suits you.

A tidy work table covered with a cloth, with gloves, a mixing card, a spreader and the pieces of a broken bowl laid out beside an open window.

Kintsugi kit safety: epoxy, gloves, ventilation and keeping it away from children

Why a kintsugi kit is adults only, how to handle two part epoxy and broken pottery safely, how to store the kit and what a repaired piece can be used for.

An open kitchen cupboard shelf with a chipped bowl, a cracked side plate and a broken mug set out on the counter in front of it.

What to repair first with kintsugi: the best and worst candidates in your cupboard

The pieces that make a good first kintsugi project, the ones to leave alone, and what to do if nothing in the house is conveniently broken.

A kitchen table set up for a repair project with a broken bowl, a mixing card, a spreader and two mugs of tea in evening lamplight.

Kintsugi for two: mending something together as a date night or anniversary

Kintsugi splits neatly between two people, one mixing and spreading while the other holds, so here is how to run it as a date night or anniversary evening.

The contents of a kintsugi kit laid out on a table: two tubes of adhesive, a jar of gold powder, a spreader, a mixing card, gloves and two plain white bowls.

What is in a kintsugi kit? Epoxy, gold pigment, practice bowls and what you need to add

Everything in a kintsugi kit and what each part is for, from the two part epoxy and gold effect pigment to the spreader, gloves and two practice bowls.

A white porcelain plate, a chunky stoneware mug and a clear glass tumbler on a work surface, each showing a gold repair seam.

Kintsugi on glass, porcelain and stoneware: how the material changes the repair

Porcelain breaks cleanly and takes a fine gold line, stoneware drinks more adhesive and suits a bolder vein, and glass needs the most careful handling of all.

The fragments of a broken ceramic bowl laid out in order on a tea towel, with one section already rejoined and showing a gold seam.

Kintsugi on a bowl broken into four pieces or more: order of assembly and holding it together

How to plan the order of assembly for a bowl in four pieces or more, hold each join while it sets and rescue a repair when the last piece will not fit.

A gold-repaired bowl, a ball of fresh mozzarella and a jar of infusing gin on a rustic wooden table in January light.

New year, new hobby: makes that actually stick past January

Why most new hobbies die in February, what to look for in a January project, and three makes that hand you a finished result on the very first attempt.

A dark ceramic bowl with a bold gold repair seam standing on a linen cloth next to a small brush and a dish of gold powder.

Epoxy kintsugi vs traditional urushi: the difference, and which a beginner should use

Urushi kintsugi uses tree lacquer and real gold across weeks or months, epoxy kits finish in an evening, and here is what you gain and give up either way.

A broken ceramic bowl laid out in four pieces on a work surface beside a mixing card, a spreader and a small dish of gold powder.

How far does a kintsugi kit go? Bowls, mugs and how many breaks one kit covers

A kintsugi kit is measured by the total length of the breaks, not the number of objects, so here is how to judge what one kit will cover before you start.

A broken ceramic bowl rejoined with bright gold seams sitting beside a folded piece of patterned Japanese fabric on a pale wooden table.

Kintsugi vs kinusaiga: two Japanese crafts that keep getting mixed up

Kintsugi is a gold seamed repair for broken pottery, kinusaiga is a fabric inlay picture with no sewing, and here is how to tell which one you want.

A demijohn of fruit wine, a jar of rum infusing with spices and a gold-repaired bowl on a rustic wooden table in winter light.

Winter projects to start in December: wine, rum and a golden repair

Three makes worth starting in December: country wine that lands in spring, spiced rum ready inside a week, and a kintsugi repair that fills one dark evening.

Brown paper wrapped presents with string and a gift tag on a rustic wooden table beside pine sprigs and a glass of gin.

Last-minute Christmas gifts in the UK that still feel thoughtful

How to buy a late Christmas present that reads as chosen rather than panicked, three kits that work in a hurry, and when it is too late to order.

A broken ceramic bowl mid-repair with bright golden seams, gold powder and a mixing card laid out on a wooden table.

Kintsugi for Christmas: who it suits and how to wrap the idea

Who a kintsugi kit genuinely suits, who it does not, what happens on the night they open it, and how to frame the gift so it lands.

A bowl repaired with golden seams beside a bottle of blue gin and small wrapped parcels on a wooden table.

Advent calendar alternatives for grown-ups

Book advents, reverse calendars, experience slips and one good project instead of 24 small doors, plus how to turn a kit into a countdown.

A kitchen worktop with fresh mozzarella being stretched, small bottles of homemade chilli sauce and a ceramic bowl mended with gold seams.

Gifts for teenagers who like making things (adult supervision included)

Making kits that treat teenagers as capable: which suit which age, where an adult is needed, five non-kit ideas and how to avoid it feeling like homework.

A kitchen table with a jar of gin infusing, a bowl of fresh curds draining in cloth and a golden-repaired ceramic bowl set out for an evening of making.

Gifts for couples who have everything: something to do, not own

What makes a gift work for two people, three making kits that divide neatly into jobs, five non-kit ideas and how to stop a present becoming a chore.

An old ceramic tea bowl repaired with fine golden seams resting on a dark wooden surface in soft daylight.

The history of kintsugi: from a broken tea bowl to a global craft

Where kintsugi came from, how much of the shogun's tea bowl story is true, what traditional lacquer repair involved and how the craft went global.

A kitchen table set up for an evening of making, with gin botanicals in small dishes, a bowl mid golden repair and fresh cheese draining in cloth.

Experience gifts you can do at home: no booking, no travel

Why experience vouchers go unused, what makes a good at-home experience gift, three that are worth giving and how to wrap something that is mostly a promise.

A kintsugi repaired ceramic bowl with golden seams beside sealed adhesive tubes and a small pot of gold pigment powder.

Does a kintsugi kit go off? Epoxy shelf life and storing an unopened kit

A kintsugi kit has no best before date because nothing in it spoils. How to store the sealed epoxy and the pigment, and why mixed epoxy cannot be saved.