Getting Started with Kintsugi Today

There is no shortage of information about kintsugi.

Kintsugi refers to the traditional Japanese practice of ceramic repair using urushi (Japanese lacquer) and related lacquer techniques. Historically, kintsugi developed within the wider tradition of Japanese lacquerware and urushi craftsmanship.

Today, many repair kits and workshops use alternative materials such as epoxy resins and metallic powders to create repairs inspired by the visual appearance traditionally associated with kintsugi. While these approaches can be enjoyable and accessible, they involve different materials, techniques and objectives.

Understanding that distinction is important because the advice in this article is intended for those interested in learning urushi-based kintsugi and the craft traditions from which it emerged.

A beginner can spend hours watching videos, comparing kits, researching materials, and debating which approach to take. In some cases, people spend more time researching kintsugi than actually practising it.

If you are just getting started, I would like to offer something different.

This is not a technical tutorial.

It is not a guide to mixing specific quantities of materials or a detailed explanation of every stage of the repair process.

Instead, it is the roadmap I wish someone had given me when I started.

If you are looking for detailed demonstrations and technical instruction, there are already some excellent video resources available online (here my favourites: YouTube1 and YouTube2).

This article is intended to help you make decisions before you begin.

Step 1: Decide What You Actually Want

Many beginners start by asking:

“Which kit should I buy?”

In my opinion, this is usually the wrong first question.

A more useful question is:

“What is it that actually attracts me to kintsugi?”

For some people, it is primarily the visual appearance of the repair itself. They may simply wish to enjoy a creative activity inspired by the aesthetic of kintsugi and complete a repair in a single afternoon using epoxy.

For others, the attraction lies in the craft tradition itself: learning about urushi, understanding how lacquer repairs are built up over time, and developing practical skills through repeated practice.

Neither approach is inherently right or wrong, but they involve very different materials, expectations and learning journeys.

You may discover that what interests you most is a creative activity inspired by kintsugi. Equally, you may discover that what interests you is kintsugi itself as part of the wider tradition of Japanese lacquerware and urushi craftsmanship.

Understanding which path genuinely interests you is one of the most important decisions you can make before you begin.

The clearer you are about your destination, the easier it becomes to choose an appropriate path.

Step 2: Don’t Repair Anything Important First

One of the most common mistakes beginners make is selecting an object they care about too much.

A treasured family heirloom is rarely the ideal first project.

Your first repair should be something you are comfortable making mistakes on.

A charity shop plate, a damaged cup, a broken bowl that would otherwise have been discarded.

Mistakes are not evidence that you are doing something wrong. They are an expected part of learning.

Your first repair is unlikely to be your best repair. In fact, that is part of the appeal.

Kintsugi is not a craft that rewards impatience. Much of the satisfaction comes from the process itself: learning how materials behave, making mistakes, solving problems and gradually improving with each repair.

Personally, some of the greatest satisfaction I find in kintsugi has little to do with the final gold or silver finish. In many cases, the part I enjoy most is preparing the repair beneath it: refining joins, improving alignment, shaping fills and trying to create the best possible surface before any metal powder is applied.

The gold or silver may be the most visible part of a repair, but it is the work underneath that determines its quality. For me, there is a quiet satisfaction in knowing that the foundations have been executed to the best of my ability, even if much of that work is ultimately hidden from view.

If your sole objective is to achieve a ‘cool’ result as quickly as possible, you may find the experience frustrating. The people who tend to enjoy kintsugi most are often those who learn to appreciate the process as much as the finished object.

Step 3: Start with Urushitsugi

Many people discover kintsugi through photographs of bright gold repair lines.

The gold is beautiful but it is also one of the least important things for a beginner to focus on.

I generally recommend starting with Urushitsugi.

This means concentrating on the repair itself rather than decorative finishes.

Learn how to join pieces accurately.

Learn how to make and shape fills.

Learn how urushi behaves.

Learn how to sand.

Learn patience.

The quality of a repair is determined long before any metal powder is applied.

A poorly aligned repair remains poorly aligned regardless of how much gold is placed on top of it.

The fundamentals come first.

Everything else builds upon them.

Step 4: Buy Less Than You Think You Need

Beginners are often surprised by how little is required to begin learning.

It is easy to assume that progress depends upon acquiring more tools, more colours, more powders and more equipment.

In reality, a modest collection of materials is enough to learn the core skills.

In fact, I believe most beginners should not spend more than £40 assembling their first Urushitsugi kit.

The goal of a first kit is not to own everything.

The goal is to begin learning.

For a more detailed discussion, see my article:

Why You Shouldn’t Spend More Than £40 on Your First ‘Kintsugi Kit’.

Step 5: Complete Several Repairs

This is perhaps the most important section of this article.

The first repair teaches you something.

The second repair teaches you more.

By the third or fourth repair, you will often begin noticing mistakes and opportunities for improvement that were completely invisible when you started.

What seemed difficult during the first repair may begin to feel routine, while entirely new challenges emerge in its place.

Skill develops through repetition, observation, mistakes, adjustments and experience.

A beginner who completes five repairs will usually learn far more than a beginner who spends the same time researching a perfect repair.

Progress rarely arrives all at once. It accumulates gradually.

Each repair provides feedback.

Perhaps a join was misaligned by a few millimetres. Perhaps a fill shrank unexpectedly. Perhaps a surface required more sanding than anticipated.

These are not failures. They are information. The next repair can be improved by focusing specifically on the weaknesses identified in the previous one.

Step 6: Add Materials With Purpose

Once you have completed several repairs, you will begin to understand where additional materials might genuinely help.

Perhaps a particular repair would benefit from silver powder.

Perhaps a coloured urushi would be useful.

Perhaps a specialist tool would improve efficiency.

These become informed decisions rather than speculative purchases.

You are no longer buying materials because they happened to be included in a kit.

You are buying them because you understand why you need them.

That distinction matters.

Final Thoughts

Many beginners assume that kintsugi begins with buying the right kit.

I would suggest that it begins somewhere else.

It begins with deciding what you hope to learn.

It begins with accepting that mistakes are part of the process.

It begins with completing repairs, observing the results and improving over time.

The goal is not perfection, the goal is progress.

If there is one idea I would like you to take away from this article, it is this:

Buy less than you think you need.

Repair more than you think you should.

The learning will follow.

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