
Healing with Kintsugi Boudoir
Celebrating each others unique differences
Healing with Kintsugi Boudoir
Celebrating each others unique differencesHealing with Kintsugi Boudoir:
Being broken in your past makes you MORE beautiful today, not less.
Years ago, I saw a meme on Facebook about the ancient Japanese art of repairing pottery called “Kintsugi”. There was a photo with a ceramic pot and it had gold leaf where it’s cracks used to be talking about how things that are broken are not worse than they were before, but that they can go back to how they were before; and sometimes, maybe, even be BETTER.
I had only been shooting boudoir for a little bit but I knew one day that I would LOVE to set up a Kintsugi boudoir photoshoot like this. Boudoir photography, ceramics, and painting? Kintsugi boudoir?!?! Literally my three FAVORITE things wrapped up into one.
But then I started gathering my own scars and stretch marks and suddenly this idea seemed like a lot to handle. It wasn’t like I was ever afraid to show my scars or physical traumas, but I struggled with imposter syndrome the more and more I thought about doing it.

In my own experience, when you survive cancer and life goes back to the mundane and you have things to do like oil changes and folding laundry all the time, there isn’t really a space to hold the traumas that you went through. I often feel like when I talk about that time, I tell myself to “sit down and shut up” because there are people out there that fought and lost, and people who are still going through it worse than I was.
BUT at the same time feeling like I wanted to show everyone that life post medical trauma can still be beautiful and it doesn’t take away your ability to be and feel sexy. The brain is a WILD place, and it took me a few years on internally processing these feelings to start talking about them, which is when this idea kept popping up again in the back of my head.
At every shoot, I tell women and people in the studio that it doesn’t matter how big or small their issues are to the world, if it’s a big deal to YOU then you deserve the space to deal with it. Which is 1000% what I truly believe, but it’s hard to award yourself the same kindness. WAY EASIER said than done, am I right?

The traditional Kintsugi process starts by a Japanese lacquer master piecing the ceramic pieces back together with a lacquer made of tree sap. They will use this as glue or even as putty to fill in missing broken pieces.
It’s important to note that this lacquer process can take weeks before it is dry and ready for the next step. The next step is to sand the lacquer down to fit the ship of the piece, and then finally you can paint the gold on the very top.
“Finally, the lacquer master will paint over the lacquer seams with gold. It’s a common misconception, Saratani noted, that the entire mending process is done with gold; it’s really just the surface.” – Gen Saratani, Japanese Lacque Restorer
When I was thinking about this process and how it can be an analogy to our own healing, the lacquer process REALLY stuck out to me. In our own healing, you have to pick up the pieces of yourself and stick them back together with something new and with a different perspective of yourself SLOWLY. THEN you have to get into the hard work of sanding down those new pieces of yourself to meet the old parts of you.
AND THEN the best part comes after that, acceptance. The beautiful, shiny, and fresh part of your healing. The part that you can show off to people and say “Look how far I’ve come, let me show you how you can too!” The part that allows you to CONTINUE to live your life. You are back together, LIKE-new, but with some reminders of how far you’ve come.

I decided this year was going to be the year that I really faced my own issues head on. I started working on traumas I didn’t even KNOW I had and that popped up along the way, and I decided this year was going to be the year to host this Kintsugi Boudoir shoot. This year was going to be the year that I showed people what life after colon cancer looks like and NOT belittle my own experiences along the way. #SurvivorsGuiltIsSuperCool!
I put this idea out on our VIP Facebook group, scheduled the date and created time slots. There were TONS of people interested, and so many people sharing their stories. ALL so that they could help other people accept themselves and make sure they didn’t feel so alone, because they all know EXACTLY what that feels like.
The time slots filled up in a matter of hours, and the stories that poured in were a mixture of scars that came from happy stories and ones that came from scary situations. And as we got closer to the shoot, I gave instructions on what to wear and what to expect, BUT I don’t think any of us actually expected it to go the way that it did.
Which was: whole hearted, mind blowing, awe inspiring personal accomplishments for every person that attended.
Together we were able to break down our walls, face our issues head on, and capture imagery that will not only inspire other people, but inspire ourselves. When we look at the photos we created together on this day, we get to remind ourselves that we are powerful and capable humans who have overcome and will continue to overcome.

I can look at my own photos from the Kintsugi boudoir shoot and know that these “cracks” make me who I am and like a groggy hand thrown piece of pottery, I TOO should be taken care of and cherished after I’ve been broken.
I can look at these photos and not compare my scars to other people’s, because I know that every persons “cracks” are completely unique to them and THAT is what makes them beautiful humans.
So without further ado, I want to share with the world the stories of these wonderful and unique humans who have not only gone through shit, but who decided to take that shit and turn it into something inspiring.
And never forget, we are ALL a little broken and life is hard, so surround yourself with the people that will stand in their underwear and paint you in yours.
TRIGGER WARNING; Sexual and domestic abuse, suicide medical trauma, eating disorders, religious abuse, mental health trauma, weight loss. Some participants of his project chose to only share non-identifying anonymous photos for the safety of themselves and their families, and every person that attended received additional aftercare instructions and resources to help further their healing.
Creator’s note: This Kintsugi Boudoir shoot was an open invitation to a private Facebook group of our boudoir followers. This is in no way captivating EVERY type and kind of person that physical and mental trauma affects. Our hope is that you can see a variety of people in these photos, but know that these things happen to other types of people not yet represented in this project. Our (the photographers and the shoot participants) goal is to show you that it doesn’t matter what you look like on the outside, you are all worthy of validation and a safe space to heal, AND to be celebrated regardless of where you are in the process. Some people have chosen to stay anonymous due to the nature of their own personal story.
Book Your “Healing with Kintsugi” Boudoir Shoot below!
These photo shoots are for women, trans women, and non-binary people who are comfortable being in spaces surrounding women’s experiences.
There is no scar or trauma too big or too small to be able to be photographed! We will talk about what you are interested in showcasing at your shoot and I’ll help you with posing and direction that will lead to your vision.
These shoots are also able to be private, and NOT shared publicly if you wish. The level of undress is completely up to you and your comfortability when you are at the shoot, and we will talk further about these details on our phone consultation as well!
These shoots will be held on Sept 8th & 11th at our studio in Allentown, NJ. 45-minute time slots will be available starting at 10am.
“Healing with Kintsugi” Limited Session – $300
A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the NEDA, National Eating Disorder Foundation – https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/
Kintsugi Boudoir Session Includes:
- 10-minute planning consultation phone call with help on finding outfits, and to answer any other questions!
- 15-20 minute session with 1-2 outfits.
- 10 full-res photos from your shoot through digital download!
- Post-shoot guide to help yourself continue your healing process.