03x15 - Military Chest

[bunniefuu]

Welcome to The Repair Shop,

where cherished family heirlooms
are brought back to life.

This is the workshop of dreams.

Home to furniture restorer,
Jay Blades.

Nowadays everybody spends a fortune
on stuff that,

once it's broken, they just bin it.

But everybody has something that
means too much to be thrown away.

And that's where we come in.

Working alongside Jay will be
some of the country's leading
craftspeople.

Every piece has its own story.

It's amazing to think that some
of my work

becomes part of that story.

I've always played with things,

I've always repaired things
and I just love it.

There is a real pleasure in bringing
people's pieces back to life again.

Each with their own unique
set of skills.

Right tool for the right job.

They will resurrect, revive...

Come on, man! ..and rejuvenate...

..treasured possessions

and irreplaceable pieces
of family history.

Wow! She's fantastic!

Bringing both the objects...

This is what I remember.

..and the memories that they hold...
Wow!

..back to life.
Oh, my God!

In The Repair Shop today, a piece
of pottery history

tests Kirsten's skills to the limit.

This is a really lovely
piece of Studio pottery.

Simple shape, simple design.

Unfortunately, it's going to be
quite tricky to repair.

And Jay lends a hand with the
heritage craft of caning.

So it's underneath here, yeah?
That's right, yeah.

And it's got to come up there...

That's it. ..or is it coming up
there? It's coming up there.

So you're sort of going
underneath that little bar.

You make this look so easy.

Hold on, now, that's wrong!
JAY CHUCKLES

But first, on a covert operation,
it's Georgina Garrett.

Hello. Could anybody give me a hand,
please?

It's a bit heavy.

Georgina is hoping The Repair Shop
team will help her
surprise her husband Martin

by restoring a family heirloom

with a fascinating past.

One large, heavy chest that was
really difficult to get in here.

OK, chaps!
THEY LAUGH

Fantastic. I'll get the door,
shall I?

Furniture restorer Will Kirk
is the man for this job.

It's lovely to meet you.
Lovely to meet you.

This is the Garrett family
military campaign chest.

Right. It's a serious bit of...

It's a very serious
piece of equipment, yes.

So, do you know much about the past
and the history behind this piece
of furniture? A little bit.

We know it's been in the family
for four generations.

In the First World w*r, Martin's
grandfather Sidney, he was a

Major in the Royal Engineers. OK.

And we believe that it may have
travelled with him to France

and possibly to Russia as part
of his military campaign

in the First World w*r.

And then latterly there are some
labels on the front there

which mention Martin and his
sister's education.

He remembers his school reports
being taken out of there.

That's hilarious. And him being
scolded about his poor results

sitting with his father
at the desk, so...

So, quite a bit of history there.

Yes, it's been an important piece
in the family for a long time.

And the fact that it's actually
been used. All the way through.

It's not a piece of furniture that's
sat in a room. No, always been used.

The fact it's been around the world.
Yeah, absolutely.

And that's why I'm so keen
to see it used again.

I think this needs a bit of TLC.

Overall. There is some water damage,
which you can probably see.

There's just a possibility that that
occurred when we think it moved

with Martin's great grandfather
in the First World w*r.

Would have gone by sea,
so that's just a possibility.

If I open up this part...

You can see quite clearly
there's a major wobble.

If I drop this front section down,

obviously the chains
aren't original.

And at some point, somebody in the
family has taken the hinges off.

Yeah. So it would be absolutely
fantastic if we could restore it
as a surprise. OK.

My husband's had
a couple of strokes.

He's made a really, really
good recovery. OK.

He's written a day journal
for the last 35 plus years.

He lost the ability to write
for a while,

but he's just got it back
to a degree. Yeah.

And, to me, I think to be able to
give him this back in working order

and actually see him able
to write his journal again

would be absolutely magical.

I will do my very best to get it
back into shipshape condition

and good enough to use
for another 100 years.

That would be fantastic.
Thank you very much indeed.

Thanks very much. Good luck with it.
Cheers. Bye-bye.

It would mean an enormous amount,

not just to me but particularly to
my husband, to see this restored.

It's the one piece of furniture
that remains from the family.

And to see him able to sit
and write his diary at it

in the manner that it's intended

with the secretaire part would just
be so exciting.

I know it's in capable hands and
I'm really, really looking forward

to seeing what they manage
to do to it.

Bend the knees. Bend the knees.
Flex the arms. Cor, blimey.

Cool, man. It's a heavy piece of kit

to be carrying around the world,
isn't it? Yeah.

Campaign furniture was designed
to break down

into smaller components,

making them more portable as they
travelled with British Army officers

to their various
international postings.

So, what are you going to do?

This top drawer is quite stiff to
take out and put back in.

OK, and this is the writing bit,
isn't it?

Yeah. So if you push the button
there... That's nice.

So you can see that wobbles like
that. Right. Yeah, yeah.

And maybe clean up
the brass work a bit.

I think I'm going to try
to even them all out.

So you've got like a consistent...

..brassy look.
Cool, nice. Well done.

BELL RINGS

The Repair Shop experts use
forgotten crafts to restore beloved
heirlooms.

And the next visitor is hoping
furniture restorers

Sonnaz Nooranvary and Rachael South
can do just that.

Hi. Hi. Pleased to see you.
Nice to meet you. Hi, I'm Rachael.

Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you.
What have you got in the back of
your car?

Cecille Taylor has brought a
couple of well-loved pieces that
need expert attention.

This one goes at the back.
These are stunning.

Just amazing craftsmanship.

So it's really special to have
two chairs together.

Sometimes you only see one
on its own.

What's the story behind them?

So they belonged to my great aunt.

She lived in south Holland and then
they came to me a few years ago.

Can you remember these from your
childhood? Yes.

The chair's always been the same.
Yep.

It was a like brown cord,
very '70s. Yeah.

They've been in my family all
my life so it's been part of me
for the last 40-odd years.

You've got a nice sort of rounded
shape at the back there.

It's almost a sort of Chinese-y look
or something,

cos most of this furniture is from
the sort of 1910-1920s... Really?

They began making them all over
Europe and it's sort of to give

quite an exotic look
to everyday furniture,

which I think the cane work does
as well.

So this might have been intact for
the last 80, 90, 100 years, even.

But here you can see that the cane
has gone on the inside arm.

It's going to go on that area of the
chair cos that's where hands are,

whereas the outside arms
look pretty good.

They haven't been... Yeah.
..damaged hardly at all.

They're showing they've been well
loved and well used but, yeah,

really in need of
a bit of repair now.

So have you tried to have them
fixed before? Yes, I did.

Apparently because they're double
caned armchairs,

it's very specialised

and, you know, I couldn't find
anyone who could do it.

But I can see even on the base here
that you can see the old fabric.

Yes, I don't know what's
underneath here.

Well, it certainly feels
like it's sprung.

But that's something that we can
unpick and find out as we go.

And you use them in your home?
Yes, they're in the living room.

Both of them are used all the time
and it will be nice to get them

restored and then pass them onto my
children so they've got some family

history that goes with
these chairs as well.

Leave it with us and then we'll be
in touch with you when they're
finished.

See them back in their former glory.
OK. Lovely to meet you.

Nice to meet you. Thanks for coming.
Thanks very much.

Thank you. Pleasure.
See you soon. Bye.

It would be lovely to pass those
chairs on to my sons.

They're born in the UK,
they don't speak any Dutch

but this will be part of
their Dutch heritage

that they can take with them for,
you know, and that they can pass on
to their children.

A little bit nervous but, you know,
I know they're in good hands.

And to get that double caning
restored is really, erm, yeah,

that's going to be very special.

Can't wait to see the skill that's
involved and to see them
back to their former glory.

Rachael will tackle the cane work

while Sonnaz refurbishes
the upholstery.

Beautiful chairs, aren't they?
Stunning. Really lovely.

They do become like part of your
family when you live
with the furniture.

From when you're young and seeing
it at your grandparents' house.

Yeah. It always amazes me how much
emotion's attached
to pieces like this.

Yeah. I know. It's just a chair but
it's a lot more, isn't it, really?

So... Well, we've got quite a big
job on our hands here, I think.

Quite a big job, yeah.
The double caning is...

We've got this panel
on the outside here.

You're going to take off
and replace, or...

Well, looking at it, it looks like
it's in pretty good condition.

So I'd rather
not sort of touch that one.

I'm going to concentrate
on removing this panel.

And the same on this arm here.

I mean, it feels quite firm.

A little bit softer on the front

but I don't think it will be a
problem to remake the foam back.

In terms of fabrics, certainly if
they're going to be used everyday

we want to get that longevity out
of them - fabric that's pretty

hard-wearing and maybe
easier to keep clean and stand
the test of time. Yes.

So, shall we crack on? Yep.

Little bit nervous about what
I'm going to discover under here.

I can feel all sorts of stuff
going on.

One of things I'm really looking
forward to, actually,

is making these cushions have a bit
more plumptiousness to them.

Plumptiousness is...
SHE LAUGHS

Plumptiousness is a word that I use
when I want to describe to other

people how comfortable I want
their cushions to look.

Plump is almost not enough.

I'm really glad I'm not Rachael
because she really does

have her work cut out for her
over there.

I wouldn't know where to start
with that caning.

Rachael learnt the art of chair
caning from her father,

who in turn learnt from his.

She'll need that wealth of
experience for this particular
project.

It's a little bit brutal, it seems.

Cutting this whole sort of
large panel away

but I've got to clear away
all of this broken cane.

I've got this remaining panel
on the outside arm

and I really don't want to slip,
put my scissors through it

or anything like that so I'm really
being as careful as I can,

and I can see there's actually a
little treasure

between these two panels.

This is probably 90 years' worth
of human skin, I think,

and definitely some pet hairs,
maybe.

That's gross!
THEY GIGGLE

On the next workbench, Will is
working on the military campaign
chest that's seen two world wars.

However, its exotic adventures
have taken their toll

and Will must tread carefully.

So what I'm doing here is I'm
cleaning the surface,

and you can actually see all the
dirt that's coming off there.

One good thing to do is
to keep on checking the rags

because that black is surface dirt

but once it starts
to go slightly brown,

then there's more of a chance you're
actually removing the varnish

or the polish that's on the surface

and you really want to stop there
before it goes too far.

So once I've cleaned the whole
surface,

I will then see if there are any
patches where the polish

has gone back to the bare wood

and I'll probably use some new
polish and blend in those areas.

As well as the wood, there's also
the hardware to contend with.

You haven't got a minute have you,
Brenton?

To have a quick look at something?
Yep. No worries.

So Will's drafting in silversmith
Brenton West to help.

So, the top of this chest flaps
down like that. OK.

I've got these two chains here.

Yes. I'm missing some brass
quadrant stays for the side.

OK, what's wrong with those ones?
Well. Ah, I can see. All right.

A little bit too small.
OK, I can make you some of those.

I mean I could hack out a new inset
there, but it's not really what...

Easier to make some brass, isn't it?
Yeah, I'll make you some of those.

Would you be able to measure that
up? I'll make some templates

and cut you some of those out.

Top man. No problem. I knew you
could do that. OK. Leave it with me.

Thanks a lot. OK.

Looks like you've done a lot of
work here.

You've taken the drawers out.
THEY CHUCKLE

Well done.

I've just found something out.
That's why I'm coughing. Oh, is it?

I thought that this was made
of camphor wood. Right.

It's actually made of teak.
This is teak, yeah?

And I realise that whenever I work
with teak it makes me cough.

Ah, you're allergic to teak?
HE COUGHS

No! Seriously. You're a wood guy
that's allergic to teak!

Anyway, I have started on it
and I've cleaned the top,

I'm cleaning the base.

The brass seemed to be, like,
different levels of sheen

and different levels of rust.

But it's going to be worth it and I
think if I do a really good job

on the polishing it'd be nice
to have really nice brass work

to set it off like a cherry on top.
OK.

So how are you going to get over,
like, the teak?

Because you can't get away from it.
HE COUGHS

You've just got...you've got...

I tell you what you could do -
work quicker.

Quicker. And then get the job done.
Quicker and I hold my breath.

There you go. And that's it.
Nice one. Cheers.

Next into The Repair Shop
is Louise Pallister.

Hi. You must be Louise.
Come through. Hi.

She's hoping ceramics conservator
Kirsten can help her

with one of her late mother's
favourite possessions.

What have we got here?
I have a Hornsea vase.

Which was my mum's vase.

It was in our family
all my childhood.

It's a really beautiful vase.
I always loved it.

Gosh. It's quite a sort of modern
looking piece, actually, isn't it?

It's really gorgeous.
I always think it's really elegant.

I think that's why she liked it.

She was brought up during the w*r
and I remember her saying to me,

it was kind of dark and drab and
everything was a bit miserable.

And when she got married in the '50s
she wanted things that
were new and bright and modern.

As people did. That was one of those
things I think she saved up for.

It was one of the sort of key things
in our house.

I always associate it with my
childhood memories because it was
often on the mantelpiece.

Right. It was never damaged the
whole time it was in our family.

Right. When my mum moved out I asked
if I could have the vase.

She said yes and I took
it back to my home.

But I was moving and it must
have shifted in transit.

And that's what took the chunk out
of it. I was horrified. Absolutely.

And I just couldn't bring myself
to tell her cos I felt so guilty

cos I knew it was something
she really treasured.

And she never asked about it.
And now she's gone...

..it would just mean a lot
to me to have it fixed

and I would get it back on display.
Right. OK.

I mean, that must have been absolute
dreadful, if she'd looked after...

She'd be so disappointed as well.
I just felt so guilty. Yeah.

So how long ago did you move?
How long has it been broken?

Probably over ten years.
Oh, really? I just put it away.

I was hoping I would be able to find
someone to mend it.

I'm glad you kept
all the pieces though.

I mean, that's really,
really helpful.

So have you tried to have it
repaired in the past?

I've looked into it but when I
looked into ceramic restorers,

people seemed to be doing real
antiques, very sort of
old-fashioned things. Oh, right.

And I didn't know who would be
interested or be able to take on
something that's quite modern.

So this sort of thing is...

..quite tricky to repair.

That's not to say
that I can't do it.

You've got that lovely flat surface
that reflects the light.

And that does actually make
it quite difficult to sort of

do a completely invisible
restoration.

I'm slightly concerned about this,
this sort of crack here.

I think that it's probably
been cracked

and water's gone under the glaze.
I see. Which has caused staining.

Caused a mark. Yeah. So in terms of
once this is repaired,

you know, what are you going to do
with it then?

I'd love to have it back on display.

Would you? Because it's been in a
box for years,

with guilt written all over it.
Yeah.

And I'd just love to have it back
out again. I'll be thrilled to see
it mended.

I'll do the best job I can.
Thank you very much.

I've kept hold of that vase
for years because I felt so bad
about it,

but it's a beautiful piece as well.
I really wanted it to be mended.

And every now and again, you know,
when you move things around

I think, "Gosh, there's that vase."
Such a shame that it's always away.

And it'll be so lovely
to have it out on display.

And really I'd be thrilled
if it was mended.

I would feel that my mum
would be really pleased.

And then I would feel slightly less

guilty for having managed to get it
damaged as soon as I got hold of it.

So, this is a really lovely piece
of studio pottery.

Simple shape, simple design.

Unfortunately, it's going to be
quite tricky to repair.

But I'm excited to work on it.

I've not worked on a piece
of Hornsea before so I'm going to do
the best that I can for Louise.

The vase was made in 1963 by the
Hornsea Pottery in East Yorkshire.

Established in 1949,

it became one of the biggest
and most influential producers

of pottery and tableware in Britain,

with an emphasis on stylish,
contemporary design.

I've got a couple of pieces that
Louise brought in.

That one goes in there.

And then this large piece...

..fits in very nicely.

I also noticed that there are
a couple of cracks,

and there's a crack running down

here from where this was broken
originally.

I'm going to try and run
some adhesive into that

to stabilise it so that
it doesn't run any further

and doesn't get any worse.

Furniture restorers Rachael
and Sonnaz are pushing ahead

with the antique cane chairs.

Sonnaz is peeling back the layers
of old upholstery

to reveal the 100-year-old
original framework.

What's interesting, actually,
I've just noticed these springs.

They all look in relatively good
condition, and firm,

which is really surprising
in a chair this age.

The fact that we don't
have to replace these

does make my life a lot easier.

Over at Rachael's bench,
she's done the prep

and is all set to begin weaving the
intricate pattern.

The material, the cane, is actually
the bark of the rattan palm

and it grows in Indonesia.

I've soaked it for a few minutes and
it gives it a slight elasticity,

and it also means that as the whole
panel is drying,

it's all going to tighten up.

so I'm going to get this
lovely tight panel.

Drum tight, hopefully.

Usually on cane furniture,
the holes that you weave into

go all the way through the frame,

so it's possible to loop the cane
underneath the frame.

Because these holes only go
two centimetres deep,

that means that I have to use
a technique called blind caning.

Each strand of cane is cut
to the length size,

and just sits two centimetres
in that hole.

Golf tees are the only thing

that is actually holding these ends
of cane in the holes.

So if they weren't there,

as the cane dries, all the ends
would just pop out.

The golf tees are an essential part
of the chair caner's tool kit

and they're perfect for the job.

Fellow furniture restorer Jay is
on hand to pitch in and help

Sonnaz attach the springs
to the frame.

I think you're qualified
to do this bit.

Lovely. Is that enough? Yeah.
Next one, next corner.

Lovely.

Nice. Still got it.
I've still got it!

THEY CHUCKLE

That's a... That's it.
I'll get that out the way.

Yeah. Is that better?

Beauty. There you go. It seems like
you're not doing any work.

I'm supervising, it's really
important.

OK, cool. I get that one.
Yeah, yeah.

Make sure that you don't hit
your fingers and things like that.

You're very kind.

I'm just trying the spring base unit
in because I don't want the padding

on the upholstery to be too
tight up against the caning.

And especially not against Rachael's
new caning, so it's pretty essential

that I get this paddling
exactly right.

Beautiful.

Ceramics expert Kirsten is restoring
a stylish example of 1960s pottery.

She's successfully reunited

the cherished vase
with its missing piece.

I'm really very happy with the way

the Hornsea vase has gone back
together again.

It sort of feels really solid.

Very sort of secure now
as a sort of structure.

There's no stepped edges at all.

The next stage for me to do
is to fill these sort of tiny cracks

and little chipped areas here.

Even when you get a very,
very good join,

you'll still have a tiny crack

that needs to be filled and
retouched.

If you don't do that,

over time you will get sort of dirt
and dust building up in there

and it will end up looking like
a sort of nasty dark line.

It's like most jobs really -

so much of it is actually
in the preparation.

If you can get a lovely sort of
smooth surface to paint onto,

that's half the battle won, really.

Once the cracks and chips are
smoothed over.

Kirsten's next challenge is finding
the right match for the colour

and texture of the vase.

I feel slightly sort of fearful.

In some pieces it's quite easy and
you've got lots of detail,

lots of colours, maybe textures.
They're quite busy.

But with something like this it's
going to have to be

absolutely spot on, the colour,
and all the fills

are going to have to be really,
really perfect as well.

It's quite difficult.

When I look at this glaze, it's
very, very smooth and you think,

"Yeah, "that's fine
with the colour,"

but as you look closely it's got a
sort of slightly mottled appearance.

It's like someone's sort of stippled
it slightly with brown.

So I'm going to have to try and just
experiment

and see how to mimic that.

I've never worked on one of these
pieces before

and in a way that's
what makes my work interesting.

Each new piece is a challenge.

Initially I'm going to just block
out these white fills

because they're quite difficult
to get rid of.

Literally just block in a sort
of pinky background colour.

This is a part I really love.
I enjoy colour.

I really love sort of trying to
match the colours the glaze is.

It's a bit like decorating
your house.

The preparation is really tedious,

but when you actually get to the
painting, it's quite fun.

So, I think I'm almost there.

Once that's dried I will probably
then just give it a polish

and then start airbrushing.

It's absolutely ideal
for this kind of surface.

Furniture restorer Will
is transforming

a military campaign chest.

With a bit of elbow grease, all the
brass now has a uniform shine.

And Brenton has created some
custom made brackets

for the secretaire section.

Not too bad. I think we might still
need to trim a bit of the brass
off of here. OK.

Still rubbing against here.
It's really tricky.

There's so many different pieces

where that's been patched in
on the inside. Right...

Which is quite hard...
What's going on here, Will?

Ah! Screwdriver. Perfect.

Actually, Brenton made these, which
is... Nice! ..pretty helpful.

Nice and shiny. So they fit...
Your side looks a nice fit.

They fit, then? It's perfect.
Well, Brenton's end fits perfectly,

but this end needs
a bit of tweaking still.

See there? Yeah. It comes out.

It's not meant to do that. Your side
doesn't come out, does it?

No, no. It's spot on.

Jay, would you like to make
something out of these chains?

Like a nice bracelet?
Or do what you want with it.

Might melt it down and make a gold
tooth, actually.

THEY CHUCKLE
It's a nice bracelet.

I don't need that ever again.

So you can make as many teeth
as you like. All right.

HE LAUGHS

Meanwhile, on the two Dutch
cane chairs,

Sonnaz is rebuilding the
century-old spring cushion.

While Rachael weaves
the elaborate cane panels.

This pattern, as you go through
each of the stages,

it gets more and more complicated.

And this fifth stage
is the most fiddly.

I've got to make sure that the cane
is nice and damp so it doesn't snap,

because it's really getting tight,
the pattern, now.

A lot of people say that it is
quite therapeutic.

I think it's also quite
therapeutic to watch as well,

when I see other people doing it.

How're you doing, Rachael?
Hi, I'm fine, thanks.

Haven't had a chance to see
what you're doing. You've nearly
finished now? Yeah.

You've actually come at a really
good time because I'm just starting

the last diagonals, so I've got my
two verticals, two horizontals...

Cool. ..and then I've
got my first diagonals

and then the last diagonal
going in stage.

Can I have a go at this?
Yeah, please. It would be great.

Yeah, so what I'm doing is I'm going
under the horizontals... OK.

..and then over the verticals.
All right.

So it's the opposite to what
the previous diagonal's done.

HE CHUCKLES
OK. I've got it.

All right.

So it's underneath here, yeah?
That's right, yeah.

And it's got to come up there?
Or is it coming up there?

It's coming up there. So you're
going underneath that little bar.

Blimey. You make this look so easy.
SHE CHUCKLES

Oh, well, I nearly lost it down
there. Jay, that's really good.

I was just about to say,
am I doing it right, yeah?

Yeah, that's looking great.
That around there. Under the bar.

THEY LAUGH

Hold on, now, that's wrong!
Oh, yeah.

It has split, but you know you can

just flatten the cane out
and that should be fine.

That's why you're the professional.

You made a mistake look perfect.
Well done. I like it.

Sonnaz is striving
for plumptiousness.

She's chosen an opulent velvet
for the covers,

but that luxurious feeling comes
with its own problems.

This fabulous blue chenille-y
velvet,

the thing that I've got to be
really mindful of here

is actually cutting the fabric
in the right direction

because there's a pile to it
and the pile in velvet

always runs top to bottom,
back to front.

So you can see it's smooth
that way,

and if I stroke it the other way,

it starts to rough up and
go a bit darker.

When you're sewing it,
velvet has a tendency to move under
the sewing machine.

That is my biggest concern
whenever I'm sewing velvet.

I'm pretty confident I can get
it spot on. But it's not easy.

It's been a really big job,

quite a lot of weaving,
quite a lot of caning.

But I've really enjoyed doing it.

I'm sort of deeply connected
to this chair after all these hours
spent on it.

I think once Sonnaz has
put her upholstery on,

I think it's going to look
fantastic.

I hope Cecille will
be really pleased.

This is just the best bit,

where you actually start to see
the real fruits of your labour.

Especially with a fabulous fabric
like this,

and I can't wait to see what Cecille
thinks of it as well.

That is one plumptious cushion.

Across the workshop, Kirsten
is adding some finishing touches

to the stylish '60s vase.

The final stage here is
to try and recreate

sort of some of the fine lines
that are in this.

And to do that.

I'm actually just going to use a
chinagraph pen,

And I'm just going to, freehand,
just draw a few of these tiny lines.

Not very many.
Just to sort of break up the line.

It's just mimicking what's actually
there on the original.

So really it's sort of about
distraction techniques,

you're distracting the eye
from the actual repair.

As well as trying to copy what's
already there.

It's been quite a challenge
working on this vase.

It has given me one or two
headaches,

but it's been a lovely
piece to work on.

But, yeah, it's ready to go back.

This much-loved vase had been left
broken in a box for ten years.

Now back in one piece,

it's ready to be returned to owner,
Louise.

I feel a little bit nervous coming
back for the vase.

I've been thinking about
my mum a lot.

And what it meant to her and how
glad she'd be to see it back in one
piece.

So I feel suspense, really,
at the moment.

Hi. Hi. Nice to see you again.
Nice to see you. Yeah.

How are you? All right, thank you.
In suspense.

Ah, I bet. Excited and nervous.
Interested to see it.

Yeah. Well,
I won't keep you waiting.

SHE GASPS
Gosh, that is beautiful.

How have you done that?
That's amazing, Kirsten.

That is something else.
Better than I could have hoped for.

And it's back to its beautiful
shape. My mum would be thrilled.

That's so nice to hear.

That's just gorgeous.

I mean, it always was a beautiful
vase,

but to see it back as it should be,
that's quite amazing.

I feel really touched.
Thank you very much.

It's going back
on my mantelpiece now.

Do you know, I've had that
in my mind the whole time

I've been working on it.
I remembered you saying that.

Well, I've been thinking about it
a lot and I've been thinking
about my mum,

and how it always was a feature
of our house,

on the mantelpiece with our
flower arrangements in it.

And now I just want to make sure it
goes on my mantelpiece

so it's always there
as a kind of continuation.

It's such a beautiful piece,
isn't it? It's lovely.

Thanks so much. It's a pleasure.
That means a lot to me.

Thank you. You're very welcome.

I feel really relieved
to have the vase back,

and Kirsten's done
such an amazing job.

It just looks so beautiful.

I did feel guilty about
the vase being broken.

Now I feel really elated
that it looks so good.

And my mum would want it
to look brand-new.

She loved it when it was new
and she loved new, modern things.

So she'd be really happy
to see it like this.

Refurbishing the cane chairs
has been a huge undertaking
for Rachael and Sonnaz.

But finally, the end is in sight.

Just one last push to get these
beautiful heirlooms looking

as they did when they first sat
in Cecille's grandmother's house.

Like magic, it makes a button.

Pretty cool, isn't it?

This is all the new cane
that I've woven.

And I'm going to begin to dye it
down to match this back colour here.

I did a little bit of colour
matching,

so I think I've got a colour
that's going to blend.

Hopefully the whole thing's going
to look like a whole piece.

Time is of the essence because
Cecille is going to be here shortly

and I need to get all these
details set and finished.

I'm not going to be happy with these
cushions until I've actually

tried them in on the chairs
and seen them in situ.

Cecille is back to pick up
the beloved heirlooms

that are such an important link
to her Dutch ancestors.

Sonnaz! Look at that! Perfection!
Thankfully! Beautiful.

When Cecille brought her great
aunt's chairs to The Repair Shop,

the cushions were sagging and
threadbare and the decorative

cane work was showing its age.

But now hours of traditional
craftwork have rolled back the
years.

The inside of the arms
was quite damaged.

The upholstery was quite
damaged as well.

I'm quite excited to see the chairs,
and I hope they will still be

the chairs the way I recognise them.

Hello. Hi, Cecille.
Nice to see you.

So, have you missed them in your
home? We have missed them,

all of us have missed them.

Yes, they left two big empty
gaps in the living room,

so we can't wait to have them back.

Great. Right. Shall we take
the blanket off? Yeah?

Do the reveal? Yeah. Ready?

There we are.

Oh, wow!

Oh, amazing. Oh, I love it.

I love the material, actually.
That's really nice.

It really brings out the chairs.

I can't actually see that they've
been repaired!

The skill to match the original,
how I brought them in.

Oh, wow. I'm really pleased.
Really pleased.

Can't believe that
they're my chairs!

I love them. It was a real pleasure
to work on them,

and also knowing that you're
planning on passing them to

your sons and they've come all
the way from Holland as well.

Yeah. I sort of had all that
in my mind while I was working.

If my grandmother and her sister
could see them now,

that would be amazing.

What a skill.
You've done a brilliant job.

I'm really pleased. Thank you.
That's really kind. Yeah.

Oh, gosh. Oh, I love them.

THEY LAUGH

And they're so comfortable, as well,
to sit in. Thank goodness for that!

And you kept the little cushion
at the back as well.

I can't believe what a great job

they've done with the caning
and the material. It looks amazing.

This, with all the repairs
and the reupholstery

will add to the history of
the chairs that I can pass on

to the children as well.

At long last the military campaign
chest not only looks the part,

but is now fully functional.

So are you finished? Can I get
people around to have a look?
I am finished.

Good on ya. Here we go. Will has
actually finished something.

Come have a look at this.
It's a rarity but it's happened.

THEY LAUGH
You always g*ng up on me,
but with smiles on your faces.

We love you really.

Will has deep cleaned the teak.

The once tarnished brass has been
polished to a uniformed perfection.

And the sticking drawers now glide.

But most importantly, the fold-down
writing desk now locks into place.

THEY MURMUR APPRECIATIVELY
Oh, wow!

Aren't they pretty? Yeah.

Well done. Thanks a lot, guys.
Come on, back to work.

Now all that remains to be done
is to deliver the surprise
to its owner,

Georgina's husband, Martin.

I'm feeling incredibly excited.
Some trepidation.

I hope he's going to be really,
really happy with the surprise,

but I know he's going to be
incredibly excited when he sees it.

Until recently Martin used the desk
every day to write his journal.

But ill health and the condition
of the piece made that impossible.

Fortunately, Martin
is now on the mend.

And the chest is back in action.

Can't wait to see what's underneath.
It looks familiar. It does.

One, two, three... Three.

Oh, my goodness!

SHE LAUGHS
That is incredible!

Good Lord!

I would not have believed it!
Oh, my goodness me!

I would not... Oh, he's done it!
He's put the hinges back!

He's done it, he's done it!
Oh! My word!

Oh, golly!
Authentic brass straps, look!

And it doesn't...it doesn't rock.
It doesn't tip.

It doesn't rock!

Cor, that's as smooth as silk.
CLICKS

Nice click. It's absolutely solid.

That is lovely.
Those horrible chains have gone.

Well, I can tell you now it's been
taken care of

by a wonderful chap called Will.

I suppose that's the only
disappointment now,

I'm not able to shake the bloke
by the hand. He's a magician.

SHE LAUGHS
He really is.

Ah! Absolutely gobsmacked.

Did you notice your diary
was in there? Yeah.

"Education, Anne.
Education, Martin."

Still on there!

Oh! Oh! I can't believe it!
I absolutely can't believe it!

That's fantastic.

All very humbling, isn't it? Yes.

You know, it does. It leaves one
speechless, doesn't it? Yeah.

You know, the degree of effort and
everything else that's gone into...

..producing a result like that.

It's put something back that is
very special to him.

He's a man of... He doesn't show
a lot of emotion,

but I think he's absolutely
delighted.

And I certainly am. It's fantastic.

I feel absolutely amazed
and astonished.

It exceeds my wildest expectations.

My dad would be utterly amazed
at the transformation,

at the work that's been
carried out on it.

It is all absolutely spot on.

It will be far more pleasant
experience to sit at that desk now

to continue writing my diaries.

And I'm looking forward
to that enormously.

It is a wonderful thing to behold.

Join us next time,
as more cherished possessions

go from neglected...
There's bits missing, broken...

..to perfected.

Oh, wow! Look, it's moving! Yes!