After taking a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Africa we were thrilled with our purchase of an incredibly beautiful (and very heavy) Shona stone sculpture of an elephant with her calf. Unfortunately, upon returning to the US we opened our find to discover it had been broken in many places; two legs broken off, an ear snapped off, much of the stone had crumbled, etc, etc, and we thought it was ruined. This was despite careful wrapping and packing by us but, undoubtedly, careless treatment by the airlines. After several Google searches we kept coming back to Lakeside Pottery, not only because they were the most responsive but because they seemed lovely people, totally genuine, and enthusiastic and caring of our 'predicament', attributes sorely lacking from every NYC studio who were often abrasive, and didn't seem interested. I took us a few months to get our ducks in a row but we eventually snapped pics of our statue, it was given an estimate for repair and a timetable of the repair schedule. We shipped off our beloved statue in a double box, pampered though it were priceless. We opted for the total restoration, since it really wasn't much more than the next level down. Mort asked us several times why we would consider spending several times its initial cost to repair the piece, so we knew he genuinely cared and wasn't in this for the money. It was our love for the piece that convinced him we were serious about our desire to have it restored as fully as possible. Long story short, when the elephant statue was finished (way ahead of schedule) we were sent photos of its repair and we couldn't believe what we were seeing. The, when we received the statue in the 'mail', my wife literally cried tears of happiness when she saw the statue, which was repaired so perfectly, so flawlessly, and obviously with such love and care, we still to this day look upon the statue and are baffled by how they did it. My advice: these guys are geniuses at what they do. Masters of their craft, totally unsurpassed in their field, I imagine. I could not recommend them highly enough. They made us so happy, and one day we hope to drive to their studio to thank them in person. Thank you a million times for restoring our statue and giving it a whole new life! read more

I am a professional cabinet maker/ refinisher. I expect perfection. Morty and Patty at Lakeside Pottery just finished a ceramic plate repair for me. The results were spectacular! They have truly made an invisible restoration. They communicated with me at every step and there were no "surprises". I can not recommend Lakeside Pottery high enough. You will not be disappointed! read more

Lakeside Pottery Studio - Plate cracked and missing pieces. - Art Restoration Near Me - Rehoboth Beach, Delaware

I absolutely love the bowl you mended through the Kintsugi process! Many, many thanks to you both!

My wife has had a one-of-a-kind pottery coffee mug since 1994 which slipped and was broken last year. I trued to reglue, but my amateurish efforts failed. I did a little research and made an inquiry with Lakeside Pottery. I wasn't optimistic, thinking the superglue I had used would make repair impossible, but not so. The repair Lakeside did was well worth the time and expense. The mug is beautifully restored--impossible to tell it was ever broken. Morty and Patty are great with communications--they answer e-mails immediately and fully. Just great folks to work with--can't recommend their work highly enough! read more

This place is amazing. I'm an art student who needed a piece broken and kintsugi back together. Not only was the pricing very reasonable--but Morty was also very communicative, attentive, and upfront and honest in terms of the possibilities of what I was trying to achieve and of the limitations that I should keep in mind. AND he did great work! This place will definitely get more of my business whenever a project needs some of what they do at Lakeside Pottery :) read more

I cannot describe how distraught I was when I opened the box to find a plaster bust that I had so patiently to arrive only to see flecks of plaster and half of a broken face staring out of the box at me. After the initial shock, I knew I had to have it repaired, and went out on my quest to find someone that I could trust to sort out this mess. I found some of the most competent and personable people in the industry which seems like a rather bold statement, I'm sure. I stumbled upon Lakeside Pottery through an online search, and loved their informative website as well as their detailed instructions on how to fix items yourself including the process and the materials you would need to fix different mediums as well as before and after photos of different pieces they had restored. I quickly realized that the level of skill needed to fix my piece was much more than I was capable of doing so I contacted them through a form on their website. I had sent out for about nine estimates before contacting Morty and Patty, and I was a little put off at first since their prices were higher than the other quotes that I had received. I explained what happened and how it was packed, and I received a very sympathetic email saying he was sorry for the hassle. If only the seller, and U.P.S. were so sympathetic. However, I received the estimate and responses very quickly from Morty which was refreshing after waiting endlessly for estimates or getting no responses at all. The estimate included different levels of repair, and different prices depending on how much of the repair lines would be visible (I'm sure there is more to it, but that was the main point I took out of it). I spoke with Morty on the phone, and was very impressed by his knowledge and his willingness to explain the process. We also discussed that the prices were a bit higher for plaster because of how many layers of plaster would be needed depending on the level of repair which put me at ease after I understood the process and the craft involved. Other conservators neglected to mention this, and due to their lower prices, I can only assume there would only be one or two layers applied. I figured that I only had one shot at the repair so I wanted someone who was willing explain the process to a layperson so I was the most informed I could be before I pulled the trigger. I was originally thinking of going for a lower level or repair, but decided that it was something I was comfortable in spending a bit more on it since it was going into a lit display case at eye level. Morty was not pushy at all in trying to upgrade me to the most expensive level. He just Socratically asked me what was important to me and what I was looking for; even when I was thinking of the cheaper option, he did not try to upsell me. But what speaks of Morty is that we talked on the phone for about 30 minutes about all kind of events in the world, and I came away thinking that he was very personable and knowledgeable. I felt so at ease, I mailed it off to them the next day. When it arrived, I received an email once it arrived at their shop. They unpacked it, and called me to confirm their original estimate. They saw some small damage that I had not seen, and sent me photos of the damage with the problem areas circled. I insisted on having the small areas fixed because I do not intend to send it out of repairs at a later time. With all of the additional work, he offered to fix the areas for almost nothing. I thought I was going to have to go back to file for more money with the insurance company, but it was like $100.00 and not worth the effort. This is a situation which should show what capable and understanding hands Morty and Patty are. I had been injured in a freak accident, and had lost my job due to my injury and the time off work for recovery. This isn't a sob story and it certainly is not the point of this review; I was embarrassed to tell them what happened, but they were understanding and sympathetic and offered me advice when I was having a hard time just waking up in the morning. But how they handled my change in circumstances really should prove that I made a great choice in picking them, and that my first hunch was a good one. I decided that I had better wait to have it repaired at a later date. I'm sorry that you had to read through all this only to find out that I did not have the piece repaired at this time, but I know once things turn around for me, I know that they are the go to people because their repairs are stunning and their customer service is next to no one. If they will repair it in a few months, I will be sure to include some photos and update this posting. read more

While a cadet at West Point long ago, I gave a one each of a pair of cadet statues to my Mom and Grandmother. They have both now come back to me, and both look well-used with chips and fading. Morty and Patty did a *superb* job in diagnosing these and then making these look brand new and even better; I am so very pleased. I am so grateful for their attention to detail and in making the restoration as important to them as it is to me. read more

I broke a big figure Goofy that I had bought for my husband. I sent it out for repair and though it seemed high at first for the work , it turned out it was definitely worth it. Because the collectible had become so expensive to own it cost me less than a third to have it fixed. Well worth the money and it was such a flawless repair it saved my marriage! I will definitelt use them aain if necessary but hopefully I will not be leaning the vacuum up against a wall again!!! read more

As a rule, I would ordinarily have done a great deal of research as to who would be able to restore a cast iron sculpture back to its original glory. While I made a number of calls to other companies, I was instantly impressed with Morty. After speaking with him, I felt more than confident that he had the knowledge and skills to do the repair. I could not have been more pleased! So much so that I brought 2 more sculptures (wood) that needed repair. He and Patty do first class repairs. They take the time to explain the process and follow through for a perfect restoration. read more

Lakeside Pottery recently restored a beautiful family heirloom of ours after it was broken in a move, and the results from their work were spectacular. My husband inherited a gorgeous, green, glazed ceramic terra-cotta Chinese Tang horse a few years ago (made in Italy), which had been purchased by his grandmother in the early seventies. It measures 5"w x 16"h x 5"d. It was heartbreakingly broken into five pieces (mostly at the legs) during our move. I originally thought that we would be able to purchase a similar item on the Internet to replace it, but I found nothing that came close, probably because it is really a unique one-of-a kind work of art. During my Internet search I found Lakeside Pottery and was thrilled to learn that they restored broken works of art including those made of terra-cotta. I contacted them and spoke with Morty, and immediately felt confident that he would be able to repair our precious horse. I sent them the horse (they are located in another state), and when it was returned we were completely delighted with the results. Truly amazing work. You can see no damage whatsoever, and it was restored to look even better than it looked originally. We just love it. We have our horse in a place of honor in our home and tell the story of how Lakeside fixed it to everyone who comes to visit. I would highly recommend Lakeside Pottery. They do outstanding work and are a pleasure to work with. read more