Kintsugi and Packaging

金継ぎ

An Unlikely, But Beautiful Pair

We’re always searching for really cool designs for custom packaging, and while this one is about the furthest thing from ordinary, we thought it was just amazing!  Have you ever heard of the ancient art of Kintsugi (kin-soogi)?  Well, for those of you that have not, this 400+ year old process is the Japanese method of repairing broken pottery with gold, silver, platinum or copper that honors the artifact’s unique history by emphasizing the breaks, not hiding them.  Seems a bit crazy you say?

We did some research and learned that the art of Kintsugi celebrates each items’ unique history by emphasizing its flaws and breaks, instead of hiding or disguising them. In fact, once a broken ceramic item is repaired using the Kintsugi method, often times, the repaired piece is even more beautiful than the original, giving it a second life and in many cases, a significant increase in value.  It has also been said that Kintsugi has long represented the Japanese philosophy of “wabi-sabi,” which celebrates the beauty in the flawed or imperfect and teaches acceptance and appreciation for the nature of change.

So, we started thinking.  How can we use this ancient art in the packaging industry?  We sat down with our talented design team to create images of Kintsugi that can be used on all types of packaging.  This ancient art, even in paper form, is simply beautiful.  We blended old world pottery colors with gold, silver and copper to create unique, broken patterns repaired using natural forms similar to rivers, waterfalls and landscapes.  These one of a kind patterns are spectacular and are custom to your brand.  They can be used for boxes, inserts, carding, hang tags and more, and are an incredible statement piece.

For more information on creating a brand specific Kintsugi pattern for your product packaging, please call us at 401-943-5040 or visit www.aandhworldwide.com.