Artwork Repair

Short version: I took an old mug with a crack and small chip to the gentleman that runs Artwork Repair. He charged me $50, and when I picked the mug up, the epoxy glue job was sloppy.Long version: I met with the gentleman that runs Artwork Repair to discuss fixing a 30-year-old mug that my father had made. The mug was 5 inches high. It had a small chip on the lip and a crack running vertically about 3.5 inches. It is important to note that the man thought the crack was only 1-2 inches down, not 3.5. I had to point out that this was the case. I have young eyes with at least 20/20 vision, but I would expect a self-proclaimed expert to be more aware of the flaws in artwork. Not feeling comfortable, I went ahead anyway. The man said he would reinforce the outside a little, fill in the chip, and glue the inside all the way down the crack. When I asked to see work he had done in the past, he directed me to a newspaper article about his business and told me that some department stores have solicited his services in the past. This wasn't really what I asked for, but again, I went ahead despite my better judgment. The man said he would be done in a month and that he would call me upon completion. Two and a half months went by and finally I called him. He said it has been done for quite some time. Why didn't he call me? No big deal, maybe it was a communication error. So, I picked up the mug and I could see that the glue job didn't impress me much, but I thanked him and carried on home with the mug. After analyzing the mug, I noticed that the one drop of glue on the outside was placed in a sloppy manner--far from what I expected for a $50 fix job. The chip was filled, but not very well. The inside was glued about 1.5 inches down, exactly the length that the man thought the crack went. Unfortunately, he said he would glue the whole length of the crack on the inside, and he was about 2 inches short. Upset about the workmanship, I called the man. I explained this all to him he said he wanted to take a look at it to see what I am talking about. I declined his offer, although I told him I appreciate the gesture. It may be possible that this man was good at repairing artwork earlier in life, but he certainly isn't now. I would recommend finding someone else to repair your damaged artwork, because Artwork Repair will charge a professional price for amateur results.