Tsugu Tsugu’s Original Kintsugi Kit: the TSUGUKIT!
We are proud to present you Tsugu Tsugu's kintsugi kit: the TSUGUKIT !
The TSUGUKIT was created by Yuki Matano, the founder of Tsugu Tsugu, under the supervision of Katsuya Shibata, a lacquer artisan with over 30 years of experience with kintsugi. It is the result of several long months of hard work.
The kit has been designed to suit the needs of beginners and intermediate learners alike. It contains all the essential ingredients to get started with traditional kintsugi repair. Fully food safe, all the ingredients are provided in a compact and stylish black paper box. The kit also contains an instruction manual in Japanese and English. The manual covers the repair of breakage, chips and cracks, detailing each step of the repair process.
After its release, the TSUGUKIT quickly rose to the top of rankings on various e-commerce platforms in Japan, such as Rakuten and Amazon JP.
Here are a few of our notable accomplishments with the TSUGUKIT :
- A feature in Hanako (Magazine)
- A feature on J-Wave (Radio show)
- #1 in the Rakuten’s ranking of the Hand Craft/Craft/Fabric category
- #1 in the Rakuten’s ranking of the Ceramic Arts / Clay category
Content of the Kit
Our kit contains the following ingredients:
Raw urushi (30 g), wood/polishing powder (approx. 8 ml), black/bengal red powder (approx. 3 ml), fine-point brush, plastic spatula, bamboo spatula, one pallet, one dropper, waterproof sandpaper, sandpaper, masking tape, a pair of rubber gloves (Japanese M size), and a kintsugi manual.
Depending on the kit you pick, the type and quantity of finishing powders vary:
1. Starter: 0.1 g of Gold Powder, 1 silk ball
2. Traditional: 0.3 g of Gold Powder, 0.5 g of Silver Powder, 2 silk balls
3. Gold Only: 0.5 g of Gold Powder, 1 silk ball
What Object Can You Repair with the Kit ?
The materials you risk the most to run out of are the finishing powders. Since each repair project is unique, it is complicated to say without seeing the object if x or y quantity of gold powder will be enough to cover all the scars of your object.
The starter kit should be enough for you to complete one simple repair, that is to say an object with a few small chips or an object broken into 2-3 pieces. However, if you are a beginner, you will most likely use more gold than necessary at the beginning and you may run out of gold during your project. To be safe, we would recommend going for 0.3 g gold if you have a broken object to repair.
With 0.3 g, we estimate that you should be able to repair 5-10 plates that are broken into 2-3 pieces.
The TSUGUKIT only contains food safe ingredients so restored items can be used to serve food and drinks. Please not that they cannot be used in a dishwasher, an oven or a microwave.
What Damages Can be Repaired with Kintsugi?
With kintsugi, you can repair ceramic and glass objects that have been damaged. Please note that performing kintsugi on glass requires advanced skills.
Kintsugi can be used to repair with the following damages:
＜Cracks＞
If you simply perform kintsugi on a crack, the finished product might not be strong enough. We recommend that you break the item apart if you can and put the pieces back together with kintsugi.
＜Chips＞
Both minor and major chips can be repaired!
＜Breakage＞
Objects broken into several pieces can be repaired with kintsugi.
What a Finished Pottery will look like after Kintsugi
The difficulty of performing kintsugi will depend on how badly the pottery has been damaged. However, in theory, you should be able to repair anything – even items that you may think are beyond repair.
In the TSUGUKIT, the kintsugi kit we have created, complex steps are broken down into simple steps to follow. The instruction manual contains images and is provided in Japanese and English. For extra visual reference, you can also watch our Youtube Tutorials.
Committed to Delivering Quality
After learning about kintsugi and being fascinated by it, Yuki Matano, the founder of Tsugu Tsugu, attended multiple kintsugi classes and obtained a traditional kintsugi diploma. Through the process of learning the art of kintsugi, she became determined to spread the joys of kintsugi in Japan and abroad to as many people as possible.
Matano used to be a beginner who did not know the difference between traditional kintsugi and modern kintsugi and she took many detours in her journey to master the art of kintsugi. Today, she made it her mission to make pass down kintsugi techniques and make kintsugi as accessible as possible.
Tsugu Tsugu's original kintsugi kit, the TSUGUKIT, was actually created based on Matano's learning experience that led her from complete novice to professional kintsugi artist. It is possible to find a lot of different kintsugi kits online nowadays, but very few take into account the difficulties complete beginners face when they start kintsugi. In the TSUGUKIT, the kintsugi repair process is broken down into 5 easy steps so that everyone could get started with kintsugi with ease.
The TSUGUKIT contains all the essential ingredients for kintsugi, and everything is provided into a stylish, compact black box, for an easy and classy storage.
If you are considering starting your kintsugi journey, please consider starting with the TSUGUKIT, you will not regret it !
Kintsugi Tutorials
How to care for a repaired item using Kintsugi
Objects repaired with kintsugi should be treated with the same care as lacquered items. Here are a few guidelines to follow:
1. Repaired items using kintsugi are considered lacquer-ware. They should be hand-washed and you should never scrub harshly the part that has been repaired.
2. You should never put the item in a microwave, in a dishwasher, in an oven, or over direct fire.
3. You should avoid soaking the repaired part in water for a long time.
4. You can use items restored with traditional kintsugi to serve hot food and hot drinks but please avoid exposing them to sudden changes in temperature.