Ming Got A Ding? Where To Get It Fixed

Antique china is irreplaceable—but if it {or any glass or pottery item} breaks, here’s where to fix it locally.

DARE TO REPAIR | My grandmother passed on to me not only a love of beautiful things but some of the beautiful things she loved—like a set of delicate Czech glass goblets. I carefully packed them in a box and brought them home on the plane from Winnipeg as carry-on. At least that was the plan. As I watched the box go through the airport security x-ray, I realized to my horror that I’d carried on the wrong box and the goblets were taking their chances as regular luggage.

Two broke, so I took them to Fabian China & Glass Repairs in Vancouver. In business for more than 30 years, Fabian repairs china, pottery, glass, crystal, ivory, jade and more. They have fixed items ranging from porcelain vases and soapstone carvings to antique bisque dolls’ heads and worked on everything from Wedgwood, Rosenthal and Ming china to Waterford, Lalique and Murano glass.

There are two levels of repair. Basic repairs involve putting the pieces back together, filling in chips and touching up colour. Invisible repairs do the same but also include an invisible glaze to hide the repair and are usually about double the price of the basic service. Since every job is different, Fabian cannot give a price estimate without seeing the piece and what it will take to fix it.

In my case, the bowl of one goblet and the stem of the other had shattered. The most cost-effective solution was for Fabian to attach the bowl of one to the stem of the other. I opted for the basic repair, but unless you know it’s been fixed, you’d never notice the join.—Felicity Stone

Fabian China & Glass Repairs is located at 7507 Victoria Drive, www.chinaandglassrepairs.com.