ABOUT

According to legend, the 15th-century Japanese shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa broke his favorite tea bowl one day and sent it out for repair. It came back held together with metal clasps that disfigured the bowl and failed to make it watertight. He asked his artisans to mend it, and the art of kintsugi was born. 

The word kintsugi derives from the Japanese “kin” and “tsugi,” which translates to “golden joint.” The process begins by gathering the broken pieces and gluing them back together. Once dried and sanded, the cracks are accentuated with multiple coats of lacquer and dusted with a metallic powder that is traditionally gold. It is believed that the golden cracks make these objects even more beautiful and valuable. More than just a craft technique, kintsugi follows the Japanese ideology of wabi-sabi, a belief centered on accepting and embracing the imperfections of life.

Gold-Dusted Living draws its name and inspiration from kintsugi, where the fractures are not hidden. They are the story.

Rooted in cultural memory, lived experience, and personal reclamation, Gold-Dusted Living explores the intersections of travel, history, culture, food, justice, and wellness. This space is for those who move through the world with curiosity, sensitivity, and an open heart. It tells the truth about what shapes us, the places we come from, the systems we survive, the beauty that restores us, and the histories we inherit. It asks what worlds we can rebuild when we stop hiding the cracks.

Here, we do not look away. We take what has been broken and make it our own.

This is where story, spirit, and sovereignty meet. Unfiltered and unapologetic.

Rakhee Bhatt
Founder + Writer

I’ve worked professionally as a writer and editor for over 20 years, but I’ve been drawn to storytelling since I was a child. Curiosity has always been my compass. It’s what led me to the page, to far-off places, and ultimately back to myself.

One of the greatest influences on my path is Anthony Bourdain. His storytelling was poetic, humble, empathetic, and disarmingly honest. Tony planted the dream of traveling the world as a digital nomad in my heart and, in the summer of 2022, it finally came to fruition. I let go of everything familiar and embarked on a journey across multiple countries that continues today.

On my travels, I have witnessed breathtaking places, shared meals that felt sacred, met people whose presence felt like home, and found beauty in the rituals, generosity, and spirit of others. With that wonder came a reckoning. I peeled away the narratives I was told were veracities. And, most preciously, I learned to trust my intuition.

I created Gold-Dusted Living in the spirit of kintsugi as a way of life, where fracture becomes form. This space was born from my reclamation. Like so many women of the global majority, I was never meant to survive this world whole or even in parts. But I did. What carried me was the goodness I found in people, places, and moments that reminded me I could also be that kind of love and softness for myself. That became my gold dusting.

Thank you to the ones who are pure magic. This space exists because of you.

Want to connect? Email me at rakhee@golddustedliving.com.