About the service
Bring me the box of shards and I start the way I always start: I count the pieces, write them into a short inventory together with you, and lay them out on felt until the shape of the cup or the vase comes back out of the pile. Only after that layout do I say what I honestly think — this one will come together, that one is hopeless and not worth your money, and here a fragment is gone for good, so the gap will have to be filled. Then I wash and degrease every edge, because dust and old kitchen grease keep any compound from taking hold, and I assemble the body on a suitable compound with tape and clamps, letting each stage cure fully before the next one goes on.
Where shards are missing I build the gap up with a modelling mass and bring the form back along the neighbouring profile, then sand the seam flush with the wall. After that the line is emphasised with a gold or silver finish, so the break reads as a deliberate scar and the piece becomes a quiet story standing on a shelf. If you do not want a scar at all, I do the modest version instead: a discreet seam, toned to the glaze, as close to invisible as the material allows. Curing is slow, so I give honest dates rather than flattering ones, and I send photographs before and after.
One thing I tell everyone before the work starts, and I will not soften it: the restored object becomes decorative. You do not eat or drink from it, it never goes into a dishwasher or a microwave, and nothing hot is poured into it — the composition of the seam is not intended for contact with food. The filled losses and the seam itself will stay visible; that is an honest property of the method, not a defect. If the piece carries museum or collectors' value, I do not touch it and send you to a specialist restorer. All work with compounds is done with the room ventilated.
— Intake of shards by inventory, dry layout and an honest verdict: what will assemble and what is hopeless
— Washing and degreasing of every edge before a single drop of compound
— Assembly on a suitable compound, with clamping and full curing between stages
— Missing fragments filled with mass, the form brought back, the seam sanded flush
— Gold or silver finish along the line, or a modest, nearly invisible seam if you prefer no scar
— A stand, photographs before and after, and one recommendation: leave the piece on the shelf
— Cracks you tell me about in advance are accepted without a guarantee
Where shards are missing I build the gap up with a modelling mass and bring the form back along the neighbouring profile, then sand the seam flush with the wall. After that the line is emphasised with a gold or silver finish, so the break reads as a deliberate scar and the piece becomes a quiet story standing on a shelf. If you do not want a scar at all, I do the modest version instead: a discreet seam, toned to the glaze, as close to invisible as the material allows. Curing is slow, so I give honest dates rather than flattering ones, and I send photographs before and after.
One thing I tell everyone before the work starts, and I will not soften it: the restored object becomes decorative. You do not eat or drink from it, it never goes into a dishwasher or a microwave, and nothing hot is poured into it — the composition of the seam is not intended for contact with food. The filled losses and the seam itself will stay visible; that is an honest property of the method, not a defect. If the piece carries museum or collectors' value, I do not touch it and send you to a specialist restorer. All work with compounds is done with the room ventilated.
— Intake of shards by inventory, dry layout and an honest verdict: what will assemble and what is hopeless
— Washing and degreasing of every edge before a single drop of compound
— Assembly on a suitable compound, with clamping and full curing between stages
— Missing fragments filled with mass, the form brought back, the seam sanded flush
— Gold or silver finish along the line, or a modest, nearly invisible seam if you prefer no scar
— A stand, photographs before and after, and one recommendation: leave the piece on the shelf
— Cracks you tell me about in advance are accepted without a guarantee
