Repair and Restoration Studio | Restoration Services: Broken or Chipped Pottery, China, Porcelain and Ceramic | Professional Team With High Quality Results

Made to order pottery and ceramic commision

Pottery and Ceramic Repair and Restoration

Custom Made Commission Pottery

Restoration shipping form

About us

Before and after repair pictures

Repair and Restoration Main

What is in our restoration lab

Basic cementing lesson

More complex repair lesson

Where to source Supplies

Custom-made pottery

Packing and shipping

Customer comments

Repair Video

We offer professional ceramic and pottery repair and restoration services for individuals, collectors, antique shops and museums.

Before and After Page

About our service capabilities: We restore a wide range of materials which include pottery, ceramic, china, terra-cotta, porcelain, clay, stoneware, stone, plaster, resin, wood and other related materials.

Our repair and restoration services include almost any antique, collectible, art objects or picture frames. As you may see from our Before and After example page, the range of repairs we can perform is diverse - it can be on a simple crack, chipped item or a multiple breaks and / or on items with missing pieces. Lakeside Pottery can match the ceramic material and restore the original look and feel. As an option, we have the unique capability, as ceramic artists, of taking an impression of missing pieces, reproducing them from clay and kiln firing the duplicated pieces (instead of a "cold" filler option) to insure uniformity of materials. At times, making a Custom Made replica in our pottery studio is a more cost effective option which you may choose.

Satisfaction guaranteed: We do not require payment until you are 100% satisfied with the end results (we'll e-mail you high resolution pictures for review). Our repair process yields extremely strong bond of broken pieces and repair will not change colors with time. Short video illustrating and example of our work process.

Pricing: The cost of repairing a damaged item depends on the type and extent of the damages taking the following into our calculations:
Is removal of an old repair attempt is required?
How many breaks, cracks or chips?
Are pieces missing? If yes, will we be required to fabricate them?
How large of a surface area needs to be repainted and how many shades of colors are required to match?
What repair type is chosen?
Does the restoration cost make financial sense?
Will it be better, if possible, to create a replica on commission using our Pottery Made to Order services?

Our minimum charge is $90. Most repairs will range from $90 - $280.

Lead time: Most repairs can be completed within 1-3 weeks

How to proceed with using our restoration services:
- E-mail us with a description and some background of the broken item
- Include a few clear pictures of the item and it's damage
- Provide item's dimensions
- Alert us if pieces are missing
- We will reply with a ball park cost estimate giving a few repair options and lead time to completion
- Fill in the Restoration Form (can be typed online), print, sign at the bottom and include in shipment.
- Pack the item and mail it to us to the address below - see shipping instructions
- Once item is restored, we'll e-mail you high resolution pictures for your approval
- We'll email you an invoice that can be paid online or by check, once you are satisfied
- When we are fully paid, we will ship the item back to you following your shipping and insurance instructions

Note: We do not restore functional items such as cooking ware. The repair materials may be effected by excessive contact with liquids and temperature above 150 degree F. We could make repaired items water proof but it will not be food safe.

Related Links:

Lesson 1- Do it Yourself - Basic Example	Ceramic Restoration Shops Tools & Materials
Lesson 2: Do it Yourself - Missing Pieces & Coloring	BEFORE & AFTER Restoration Pictures

Ceramic and Pottery Restoration Steps:

1) Clean up and remove dust, oils and previous gluing attempts when applicable

2) Determine order of cementing / mending pieces and glue in sub-sections using the appropriate adhesive

3) Mend large sections

4) Fill in missing pieces and gaps with appropriate materials (determined on a case by case basis) or furbish missing pieces out of clay (requires kiln firing)

5) Sand surface - round 1

6) Fill sandpaper's scratch lines using fine particles epoxy / resin filler

7) Sand with finer sandpaper

8) Sand with even finer / wet sandpaper

9) Prime repaired surfaces

10) Test for proper ratio of additives-to-color to match light reflection and sheen attributes (glossy, semigloss, mat or anything in between)

11) Match colors, surface texture and antiquing (when applicable)

12) Clean and polish

You may choose some or all steps depending on your budget.

See a short video of a repair process and it's quality

Packing instructions:

Wrap each piece separately in bubble wrap. Place in a sturdy box and allow a 2-5" of foam peanuts or bubble wrap buffer between the broken items and the wall of the box. The larger the item is, a larger buffer is required. We prefer to see you pack it in "double boxes" having the inside box float in the second box with foam peanuts or bubble warp in between the two boxes. Double boxing is much safer way to ship and UPS will allow you to insure it for higher amount if you choose so.

Shipping instructions:
In the box, include filled and signed Restoration Form and a copy of our e-mail correspondence. If you find it difficult packing it yourself, UPS and FedEx can do it for you for an additional fee. We prefer UPS and they include $100 automatic insurance coverage and $2 for every additional $100 insurance coverage. Please ship to the address below (directly to our restorations studio / lab)

Shipping address (see "drop-off" address below):
Lakeside Pottery Restoration Lab
100 Thornwood Road
Stamford, CT 06903

Shipping Cost Calculator

Because we are also an educational facility, we have created some tutorials for those of you that prefer to repair the broken item at home (DIY) using more commercially available materials. See below brief description of the tutorials and links to more detailed information and illustrations.

Where to get the right adhesives, cements, fillers and finishers

1) Cementing / Mending the broken pieces and providing proper structure integrity is the first step. Using our technique and various materials, often, the broken area is stronger than the rest of the repaired object. See link below for a brief DIY tutorial of a simple repair without hiding the repaired seam. Visit the next link to a page that will help you in deciding Which Adhesive is The Best For Pottery or Ceramic Repair and Restoration.

Lesson One: Cementing Broken Plate Example and Tutorial - DIY

2) If pieces are missing, we are able to create the missing pieces impression, create a mold and remake the missing pieces from clay (including kiln firing) to fit precisely. A lower cost option is to use a suitable filler. See link for a brief tutorial of a more comprehensive restoration restoring colors and completely hiding the breakage.

Lesson Two: More Comprehensive Restoration Examples & Tutorial

3) Hiding the repair lines and gaps is done with different techniques on a case by case basis. Color matching, luster, light reflection, texture and aging is duplicated by using one or several additives to the color pigments and specialized tools to restore the original look. With old items with aging characteristics, we are able to add "antiquing" to the restored object.

4) More complete illustration of our restoration lab tools, equipment and materials., The tour includes a large example of equipment and materials that may be needed for repairing and restoring pottery or ceramic objects removing some of the secrecy in this industry. Materials and tools used in our studio

5) Sometimes, the repair cost does not make financial sense. Often, we are able to duplicate and create a replica of the broken item. See our pottery custom made and commission offering in the link below.

Custom Made Pottery Link

Lantern lid- before

Lantern body - before

lanteren restored including restoring japanese rice paper

Lantern - after

Broken antique after the repair all fixed and restored

Antique Moch spouted vase - before and after

Antique ceramic church - before and after

Restoration lab - works in progress

Antique Japanese Salt Box

We work on - Materials:

Art Pottery

Stoneware

Porcelain

China

Bisque

Ceramic

Wood

We work on - Items:

Antiques

Figures

Figurines

Bowls

Bottles

Porcelain Dolls

Platters

Ceramic Lamps

Cups

Teapots

Unusual pieces

Candlesticks

Memorabilia

Plates

Urns

Souvenirs

Tiles

Dolls

Wood sculptures

In the studio - restoring Albero Spinetti's sculpture

Restoration Customer Comments & Reviews
Customer experience with Lakeside Pottery's restoration services

Patty and Morty, you are really incredible! The Santa plate and my violin girl figuring are both whole again, and beautiful. Thank you for your care, amazing response time, and artistic excellence. Ellen

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Thanks so very much!! The dish looks amazing thanks to your talented repair. Thanks again for fixing it so quickly!!
Happy New Year to you and yours!! Chris

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Morty from Lakeside Pottery repaired a small saltbox for me that had strong sentimental value. It had belonged to my parents and had some historical value as it is labelled "Made in Occupied Japan".

The broken off corner piece is now back in place; the paint was perfectly matched. Morty used great care and his considerable skills to restore the box to its former glory. We are completely satisfied with Morty's dedication to his craft and would recommend Lakeside Pottery whole heartedly. Paul and Dorothy

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Restoring a lid to a pot. "Hi Patty and Morty, I received the lid and it looks beautiful! I can't thank you enough for doing such a wonderful job. I appreciate your expertise and also your kindness. Thank you so much. Carol"

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Dear geniuses at Lakeside: You did such a phenomenal job on my husband's pot, I am amazed. Thanks again, Janet

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Restoring Josefina Aguilar Ceramic Sculpture. We recently had two large clay figures repaired at Lakeside Pottery. They were made by the world famous Mexican Folk Artist Josefina Aguilar. The two figures each 30” high were quite heavy and though professionally packed broke in shipment. The repairs required reconstructing complex shapes that had broken off the figures, adhering them to the body, and painting them to match the original colors. In addition a 10” long hairline stress crack up the back of one figure needed to be stabilized. To reconstruct the broken pieces, Lakeside Pottery used both primitive techniques employed by the artist, and cutting edge technology such as high strength adhesives, fiber and fillers. Using only materials that would not damage the art work, they restored the broken pieces so the repairs were stronger than the original clay construction. All the work was done with great care and expertise and when finished the repairs were invisible to the naked eye and touch.

It was a pleasure working with Morty and Patty. From the outset, they explained their process in detail and kept us informed of their progress completing the work on time as promised. If you are looking for a museum-quality ceramic repair shop, Lakeside Pottery can provide that service.

Alan Eliot Goldberg, Architect, and Folk Art Collector

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Restoring broken vase. "Dear Patty and Morty - Thank you for the vase - she is absolutely beautiful! Arrived yesterday on my doorstep. What an incredible restoration - unbelievable! I am having a photographer over tomorrow to do a photo shoot for my website and I will include the vase in a vignette on website. Will be sure to send pic your way. Again, heartfelt thank you!!!!"

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Restoring Lamp and Jar. Morty, thank you very much for your wonderful work on both items. They arrived yesterday safe and sound, and I thought you would like to see them for yourself. The little lid is back on the jar and reunited with its partner. The lamp looks fabulous. David is thrilled and sends his thanks.

Best regards, Dawn

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Restoring broken vase. "Wow!!! .... I am excited! Guess what the best part of the pic was? It's what drew me to the vessel to begin with. The claw marks from the reptile crawling up side of it which are still in tact! I love the color the way it is. Shows character. Perfect. Anything without blemishes is not real. Let's just say that your very timely email made me a very happy woman. Therese."

Restoration Projects Shipping Address

Lakeside Pottery Restoration Lab
100 Thornwood Road
Stamford, CT 06903
Phone: 203-323-2222
studio@lakesidepottery.com

Restoration Projects Drop-off Address

Lakeside Pottery Studio
543 Newfield Avenue
Stamford, CT 06905
Phone: 203-323-2222
studio@lakesidepottery.com

We ship anywhere within the USA and Canada

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