I guess you could say I like to collect a few things. I have a collection of vintage ice cream scoops. I have a few vintage salt and pepper shakes. And recently, I’ve been slowly buying beautiful ceramics. Well, a few of them have broken. The bowl you see pictured was broken by Amelia who excitedly ran into it when someone knocked on the door. (It was on the floor because I was unpacking from a shoot.) The spoons were broken because I didn’t realize the bag was on the bed and when I threw off the covers because I was exhausted, well, they went flying. I always have something that needs repair. I always promise myself that I’m going to glue things back together and I often times do but this time I wanted to try something different.It’s the Japanese art of repair. Think of it like a beautiful rendition of gluing things back together. The philosophy behind kintsugi is about seeing the breakage and repair as part of the object’s history—embracing it rather than hiding it.

I feel like there could be some sort of analogy drawn out of this DIY and applied to life and I’m especially hormational today so I’ll stop while I’m ahead!jiro dreams sushi stream Traditionally kintsugi involved mixing a lacquer (gold, silver, copper) with a binding rice flour. order sushi online milanoIt sounds simple, but nailing does that ratio is incredibly difficult. jogos online de fazer sushiFor some, repairs can take up to two months!giochi gratis online ristorante sushi We ain’t got that type of time on A Cozy Kitchen, so I made some shortcuts. juegos online de sushi

Here’s what you’ll need: 1. Gold Liquid Gildingjuegos online de sushi 3. Thin paint brushesjiro dreams of sushi german 4. Your broken ceramics I found it easiest to do the painting process first. I gently went around the edges of the two broken pieces and then pushed them together. Doing this made it so the paint pushed out a bit, creating a thin line. I allowed both pieces to dry completely, about 10 minutes. Next, I dabbed a bit of E600 (feel free to use your paint brush if you like) and pushed the pieces together once more. I found that a little went a long way AND that if I used too much, it would make the gilding all clumpy (you can notice one of the scoopers has some lumps, well, it’s from too much glue!) I held the pieces with the glue together for about a minute and then allowed the object to dry, untouched, for about 2 hours.

It couldn’t be simpler. Obviously, the technique varies slightly depending on the pieces you’re putting back together. Remember that the gold line doesn’t have to be perfect. At first I was bummed because a bit of the gold liquid gilding sort of ran out and the line wasn’t absolutely perfect, but that’s the point. And I sort of think that the bowl looks prettier with the gold cracks; it has character now, it’s been through it.Did you know that the Dutch craze for blue and white ceramics was, at least in part, the result of piracy? In 1603, the Santa Catarina, a Portuguese merchant ship, was seized by the Dutch East India Company off the coast of Singapore with over 100,000 pieces of Chinese porcelain on board. Even though Holland was at war with Portugal at the time, there’s no doubt that this was an act of piracy – the crew were vouchsafed their lives in return for handing over the loot. When this cargo was sold in Amsterdam, it caused a great sensation, and blue and white ceramics became the hottest trend in town, not just for the aristocracy, but for everyone.

Although the potters in Delft originally copied the Chinese designs due to the huge popularity of the originals from that ship, they began incorporating Dutch motifs and original designs through the 1600s, and Defltware became the most popular and biggest selling makers of ceramics from 1600 to 1800. The style is still popular today and it’s possible to visit the factory of Royal Delft to see ceramics being the made the same way they have been for over 400 years. Although I don’t consider myself a true collector, I do have a small number of Dutch tiles from the 17th Century. My favourite are those with white tiles and minimal blue decorations – you can tell they are originals by the small indentations in the corners, where they used to prop them up in the urns. There is a lovely antique shop in the square at Delft where I bought a few of these lovely pieces. My love of ceramics also takes in a lot of contemporary examples, from the Australian to the English to the Scandinavian and Japanese.

Here’s just ten of my favourites. 1) Dutch tiles from the 17th century – I bought these in an antique shop in Delft. My favourite is the little dog, although the cute buildings are pretty great. 2) Staying in Holland, Royal Delft is the brand that keeps on keeping on. Next year, to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the death of medieval painter Jheronimus Bosch, Royal Delft will issue two new plates. 3) Mud Australia – launching in London for the London Design Festival, Mud is an Australian brand founded by Shelley Simpson and it has a refined simplicity in such a wonderful range of colours. 4) Marimekko – I have already waxed lyrical about this brand in my earlier post on Australia’s love affair with Nordic design, however, they really are fantastic – they stand for real design and they just keep getting better. My first article for Indesign magazine back in the day was on Maija Isola and the resurgence of the Poppy print, first famous in the 1960s, and I have loved them ever since.

5) The Forty-Nine Studio are a Sydney based design collective combining art ceramics with pieces for sale. This piece, called Mountain Range, was designed by Harriett Watts, and the process of the series means no two items are alike. 6) Royal Doulton combines classic fine ceramics with contemporary collaborations. If you follow my blog you may be aware that my favourite is the Olio collection newly released with design by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby – robust and refined all at once. Read more on Royal Doulton in my earlier blog post. 7) Jaime Hayon for Kutani Choemon – a beautiful collaboration combining Jaime’s distinctive illustrations with the traditional Japanese ceramics brand. This was launched in 2011 (read my Artichoke article on all of Jaime’s designs at the Milan Furniture Fair that year). 8) Porcelain Bear by Gregory Bonasera and Anthony Raymond focuses on larger items for the home, such as lighting, all made from beautiful, white porcelain. See more in my earlier blog post.