Kintsugi Workshop for Beginners (in English) | Saint-Germain-des-Prés
About this Event
This workshop is taught in English.
Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken ceramics with gold.
Not to hide the break. To show it.
Where it comes from
The word means "golden joinery". The story goes back to fifteenth-century Japan, where a shogun sent a broken tea bowl away to be mended and got it back held together with crude metal staples. Ugly, and a shame to look at. Japanese craftsmen set out to find a better way, and found one that did the opposite of hiding: they joined the pieces with lacquer and dusted the seam with gold.
What grew out of that is closely tied to wabi-sabi, the Japanese sense of beauty in what is imperfect and impermanent. A crack isn't a flaw to erase. It's part of the object's history, and worth showing. Once you've seen it that way, it's hard not to think about yourself, too.
Traditional roots, modern method
Traditionally Kintsugi is done with urushi, a natural Japanese lacquer that takes weeks to cure and can irritate the skin. In this workshop we work with the modern method: the same principle, the same gold seam, but with contemporary materials that are safe to handle and set quickly.
That's what makes this possible in one session. You start with something broken and leave with it whole.
Good to know: pieces made this way are decorative. Lovely to keep and display, but not intended for daily food use or the dishwasher.
More than a technique
Kintsugi is a craft, but it rarely stays only that. Most people who sign up have something in mind, whether they say it out loud or not. A loss, a change, a stretch of life they came through.
Two hours isn't enough to go into that deeply, and I won't push anyone. What I will do is share what this practice has taught me about breaking and repair, and leave you with something to think about. Some people come for the gold and the technique. Some come for what sits underneath. Both are welcome here.
What you'll do
We start with the background, so you understand what you're doing and why. Then you repair your own piece from start to finish. I'll take you through the technique step by step and you work at your own pace.
This is a beginner's workshop. No experience needed, no artistic talent required. Just curiosity, and enough English to follow along. Much of Kintsugi you learn by watching anyway.
What's included
- All materials
- A ceramic piece to repair, or bring your own
- Guidance in a small group
- Your finished object, to take home
Got something broken at home?
Bring it. A cup, a bowl, a small plate you're attached to. That's often when the workshop really lands. Ideally ceramic broken into a few clean pieces rather than shattered. If you don't have anything, no problem, I bring pieces.
Your teacher
Rachel van der Schaaf, Kintsugi Master & Teacher at Golden Linings in Life (from the Netherlands).
Alongside teaching, she creates her own work: Kintsugi-repaired bowls and vessels, brooches and pins of her own design, interior and lighting pieces, and urns and memorial objects for people carrying loss. Her collection travels with her to Paris and will be on display in the shop all week, so do come and have a look even if you're not joining a workshop.
Instagram: @goldenliningsinlife
Where it takes place
The workshop is held at Pop Up Store "le 8", a boutique éphémère in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Clothing, hats and a small, carefully chosen collection of pieces, mine among them.
You're very welcome to arrive early and have a look around before we start. My Kintsugi collection is on display there all week, so there's plenty to see.
Practical
- Language: English
- Duration: 2 hours
- Price: € 30 per person, materials included (booking fee added at checkout)
- Location: Pop Up Store "le 8", 8 Rue des Ciseaux, 75006 Paris (Saint-Germain-des-Prés)
- Nearest metro: Mabillon or Saint-Germain-des-Prés
- Limited to 8 participants
Small group, calm atmosphere, no rushing.
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
EUR 32.19
