1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,040 Welcome to The Repair Shop, where cherished family heirlooms are brought back to life. 2 00:00:07,040 --> 00:00:08,640 This is the workshop of dreams. 3 00:00:08,640 --> 00:00:11,720 Home to furniture restorer Jay Blades. 4 00:00:11,720 --> 00:00:14,360 Nowadays, everybody spends a fortune on stuff 5 00:00:14,360 --> 00:00:16,520 that, once it's broken, they just bin it. 6 00:00:16,520 --> 00:00:19,920 But everybody has something that means too much to be thrown away. 7 00:00:19,920 --> 00:00:21,440 And that's where we come in. 8 00:00:21,440 --> 00:00:26,320 Working alongside Jay will be some of the country's leading craftspeople. 9 00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:28,160 Every piece has its own story. 10 00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:31,560 It's amazing to think that some of my work becomes part of that story. 11 00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:35,000 I've always played with things, I've always repaired things. 12 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:36,160 And I just love it. 13 00:00:36,160 --> 00:00:40,920 There is a real pleasure in bringing people's pieces back to life again. 14 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:43,240 Each with their own unique set of skills... 15 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:45,360 Right tool for the right job. 16 00:00:45,360 --> 00:00:47,200 ..they will resurrect... 17 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:50,840 ..revive and rejuvenate... 18 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:53,040 ..treasured possessions 19 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:57,000 and irreplaceable pieces of family history... 20 00:00:57,000 --> 00:00:59,480 Wow! She's fantastic! 21 00:00:59,480 --> 00:01:01,600 ..bringing both the objects... 22 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:05,280 Oh! This is what I remember! ..and the memories that they hold... 23 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:07,840 Wow! ..back to life. 24 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:09,840 Oh, my God! 25 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:25,920 In The Repair Shop today, 26 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:28,440 these three experts have got their hands full. 27 00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:32,840 Kirsten with a delicate reconstruction of an antique 28 00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:34,640 Hungarian vase... 29 00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:36,640 This is where I hold my breath. 30 00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:38,960 Feels really wobbly. 31 00:01:38,960 --> 00:01:42,720 ..while a piece of military history gives up its secrets 32 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:44,800 to leather expert Suzie. 33 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:47,560 Steve? What have you found? 34 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:48,960 Oh, my goodness! 35 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:51,000 That's incredible! Yeah. 36 00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:02,440 But first to arrive at The Repair Shop, Michelle Deadman, 37 00:02:02,440 --> 00:02:06,440 here to see upholstery expert Sonnaz Nooranvary. 38 00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:08,280 Nice to meet you. And you. 39 00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:10,520 Oh, wow! 40 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:14,480 She's brought a cherished chair that has seen better days. 41 00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:20,200 What an amazing chair! Thank you. 42 00:02:20,200 --> 00:02:22,800 Absolutely fabulous. The design and the finish. 43 00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:24,840 Well, this is my grandpa's chair. 44 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:29,000 As a small child, I would sit in it a lot in my grandpa's house, 45 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:33,520 up in Leeds, and whenever I see it now, it reminds me of Grandpa. 46 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:35,480 I took possession of it 47 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:39,360 when he passed away in '91. Amazing. So, lots of memories attached. 48 00:02:39,360 --> 00:02:43,120 I used to go up there as a child for two weeks in the summer holidays. 49 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:44,960 Right. He would look after me. Would he? 50 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:47,800 And we'd get up to mischief in Leeds. Love it. 51 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:50,360 But most of the time, it was spent, really, in his front room. 52 00:02:50,360 --> 00:02:54,080 We'd just sit there, we'd talk. And generally have cups of tea. 53 00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:57,840 Would you? He sounds like a fabulous character. He was. 54 00:02:57,840 --> 00:03:00,760 He was very gentle. A gentle, quiet man, actually. 55 00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:04,760 Was he? Mm. Fabulous. So, when you see this chair... 56 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:07,520 Yes, it brings back memories of him standing there, 57 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:09,320 in front of his coal fire. 58 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:11,920 And making funny noises with his hands. Yeah. 59 00:03:11,920 --> 00:03:16,000 And just memories like that. Yeah. Precious. Very precious. 60 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:17,560 Looking at the chair, 61 00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:21,280 it tells me that it's from the Arts and Crafts period. 62 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:25,440 That kind of movement was about 1880 to about 1920. 63 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:28,920 So you can see it's very stripped back and it's very sort of 64 00:03:28,920 --> 00:03:32,520 simple, but there's an elegance to it, as well. I like it. 65 00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:36,160 The woodwork's got this fantastic patina on it. Yes. 66 00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:39,680 From where you and grandad have sat in it and it would be a shame 67 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:43,440 really to polish any of this sort of special patina out. Yeah. 68 00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:46,200 It's something that only time can create. Yeah. 69 00:03:46,200 --> 00:03:49,000 And it's still sort of that connection to those memories. 70 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:52,080 I like it as it is, in actual fact. 71 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:54,760 It would seem odd if it suddenly changed. Yeah. 72 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:58,880 But obviously, here, it's seen better days, so doing this 73 00:03:58,880 --> 00:04:04,720 and replacing these studs here, just bringing it back to life. Yeah. 74 00:04:04,720 --> 00:04:07,560 Lovely. It's feeling very sad. It needs some love. 75 00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:12,960 It would be an absolute joy to give this chair some upholstery love. 76 00:04:12,960 --> 00:04:14,200 It would mean a lot. 77 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:19,000 It will be really emotional, 78 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:22,880 being able to sit in it and use it again and it will be lovely. 79 00:04:22,880 --> 00:04:26,640 Really nice to sit there and think - I'm finally back in Grandpa's chair. 80 00:04:26,640 --> 00:04:28,880 I think when I first sit in it, 81 00:04:28,880 --> 00:04:33,360 I'll probably wish Grandpa was somewhere near me, that I was 82 00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:36,760 back in those times, that I could be there in his front room with him. 83 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:39,720 Because I do still miss him, actually. 84 00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:46,160 The Arts and Crafts movement was a distinctive school of design, 85 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:49,560 which developed in the 19th century as a reaction against the 86 00:04:49,560 --> 00:04:52,240 growing industrialisation of Victorian Britain. 87 00:04:53,520 --> 00:04:57,480 It's typified by its simple style and in recent years has 88 00:04:57,480 --> 00:04:58,840 become very collectible. 89 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:03,520 So, you know this is a very important chair, right? 90 00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:05,080 An extremely important chair. 91 00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:07,600 So you're going to have to do a brilliant job on this. As usual! 92 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:10,560 You always do a brilliant job. Yeah. As usual. 93 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:11,880 So, what are we doing now? 94 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:15,320 The real idea of this piece is to preserve it, 95 00:05:15,320 --> 00:05:18,880 rather than restore it into a new chair. Yeah. 96 00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:22,280 Because it's really important to Michelle that when she looks 97 00:05:22,280 --> 00:05:25,560 at it, it's as she remembers it. It still holds those memories. 98 00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:28,440 So that's the main thing. Absolutely. But the seat... 99 00:05:28,440 --> 00:05:31,560 Seat base, right. I'll show you the seat base. So, you can see, 100 00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:35,680 I'd say that's probably never been recovered before. 101 00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:38,840 Or reupholstered certainly in its life. I mean, this hessian is old. 102 00:05:38,840 --> 00:05:41,400 What I do know at this stage is that it is coil sprung. 103 00:05:41,400 --> 00:05:43,080 Can you see those in there? Yeah. 104 00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:49,160 Traditionally, so I think a chair like this, you can't not put 105 00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:53,560 traditional coil springs back in and stitch a horse hair base in it. 106 00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:57,080 Yeah. Again. So, you're going to reupholster this the traditional 107 00:05:57,080 --> 00:05:59,080 way - or the Sonnaz way, I should say. 108 00:05:59,080 --> 00:06:02,320 Which is the proper way. The proper way. Exactly. Cool. 109 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:04,400 We couldn't put a bit of foam on this. No, no. 110 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:07,200 It would just be a travesty. No, it would. Good luck. OK. 111 00:06:09,320 --> 00:06:13,960 Sonnaz's first task is to strip the old upholstery from the frame. 112 00:06:13,960 --> 00:06:16,680 It soon becomes clear that the chair has arrived at 113 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:18,840 The Repair Shop in the nick of time. 114 00:06:20,360 --> 00:06:22,640 You can see how brittle everything is. 115 00:06:22,640 --> 00:06:26,720 And it's literally falling apart, just by me pulling it. 116 00:06:26,720 --> 00:06:30,160 I don't think I've ever been able to rip the hessian and the 117 00:06:30,160 --> 00:06:32,320 fabric off quite so easily as this before. 118 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:48,640 Stripping is the worst job out of the whole process cos it's 119 00:06:48,640 --> 00:06:52,280 just so messy and dusty and gross. 120 00:06:52,280 --> 00:06:55,720 And it can take so much time, as well. 121 00:06:55,720 --> 00:06:59,880 So now, I've got this whole seat base stripped out and now 122 00:06:59,880 --> 00:07:02,720 it's time to build the whole thing back up again. 123 00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:15,000 Next into The Repair Shop is ex-military man Ian Matthews, 124 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:18,040 with a family heirloom for the attention of Steve Fletcher. 125 00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:22,120 Is it Ian? It is, yes. Hello. Steve. Pleased to meet you. Hi. 126 00:07:22,120 --> 00:07:24,320 What have we got here, then? 127 00:07:24,320 --> 00:07:29,320 It's a riding crop. A riding crop? Yes. 128 00:07:29,320 --> 00:07:32,720 Not had a riding crop come in before. Ooh! 129 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:35,600 This looks very interesting. 130 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:39,560 Suzie? Yeah. Would you like to come over and have a look at this? Sure. 131 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:42,560 Steve will be joining forces with his sister, 132 00:07:42,560 --> 00:07:45,840 leather expert and master saddle maker Suzie. 133 00:07:45,840 --> 00:07:47,680 Oh, my word! 134 00:07:47,680 --> 00:07:51,080 Yes. So, how did you come by this? 135 00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:54,120 It was my great-uncle's. 136 00:07:54,120 --> 00:07:58,120 Um, it was passed down to me by his brother and it's been in the 137 00:07:58,120 --> 00:07:59,680 family ever since. 138 00:07:59,680 --> 00:08:02,040 It was relatively in that condition when I got it. 139 00:08:02,040 --> 00:08:05,280 OK. So he was a rider, obviously. Yes, he was in the military. 140 00:08:05,280 --> 00:08:06,760 He was in the military. Yes. 141 00:08:06,760 --> 00:08:10,480 Royal Field Artillery. Is it a ceremonial thing? 142 00:08:10,480 --> 00:08:12,840 It was presented for being best wheel. 143 00:08:12,840 --> 00:08:15,000 And what exactly does that mean? 144 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:21,120 That's being in charge of the gun carriage. That's of him in uniform. 145 00:08:21,120 --> 00:08:23,720 OK. And that's at a time when he'd be using this? 146 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:25,560 Roughly about the same time, yes. 147 00:08:25,560 --> 00:08:28,040 Do you know how old he was at this point? 148 00:08:28,040 --> 00:08:32,080 When he went in, he would have been 17, going on 18. 149 00:08:32,080 --> 00:08:38,000 I see there's, um... an engraving on the top there. 150 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:41,880 DR Matthews. And AC? AG. 151 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:43,880 AG. Albert George. 152 00:08:43,880 --> 00:08:46,120 Ah! OK. 153 00:08:46,120 --> 00:08:50,600 How old were you when you were given this? I was about 12. All right, OK. 154 00:08:50,600 --> 00:08:53,760 Oh, really? And what did it mean to you when you were 12? 155 00:08:53,760 --> 00:08:57,880 Um, not a lot. Well, I was wondering that! 156 00:08:57,880 --> 00:09:02,320 It was actually used like a toy. Yeah. Oh! For many years. Right, OK. 157 00:09:02,320 --> 00:09:05,200 But it's become more important to you as years have gone on 158 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:07,080 because you've known the history. 159 00:09:07,080 --> 00:09:09,200 Yes. Being in the military myself and then, 160 00:09:09,200 --> 00:09:14,680 you can appreciate the military aspect of it. I think it's stunning. 161 00:09:14,680 --> 00:09:18,000 I would be very excited to own something like this. 162 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:23,000 I think it's beautiful. And what can you do to restore this? 163 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:26,680 So, the collar and the end needs 164 00:09:26,680 --> 00:09:31,240 to come off and replace the leatherwork 165 00:09:31,240 --> 00:09:34,560 here which will be pigskin because pigskin's very thin 166 00:09:34,560 --> 00:09:36,800 but very, very strong. 167 00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:40,000 Perhaps, Steve, you could help with the cleaning up of the metalwork. 168 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:42,360 Yeah, I'll do that. Yeah? Absolutely. Yeah. 169 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:45,920 Are you very attached to this particular piece of leather? No! 170 00:09:45,920 --> 00:09:49,440 So, I can replace with a new piece of leather and whip on and 171 00:09:49,440 --> 00:09:51,920 make it all look nice and tidy. Thank you very much. 172 00:09:51,920 --> 00:09:55,680 Thank you very much for bringing it in. Take care. 173 00:09:55,680 --> 00:09:58,240 When I was given it at the age of 12, 174 00:09:58,240 --> 00:10:00,560 I used to play with it in our back garden. 175 00:10:00,560 --> 00:10:03,360 Didn't like to mention, but I actually used it for scrumping, 176 00:10:03,360 --> 00:10:05,480 for getting the apples out of a tree. 177 00:10:05,480 --> 00:10:08,560 Not knowing its real significance. 178 00:10:08,560 --> 00:10:11,680 I'm feeling a little bit nervous about how it will come out in 179 00:10:11,680 --> 00:10:15,800 the end. But looking forward to seeing it completed. 180 00:10:15,800 --> 00:10:18,000 Before Suzie can work on the leather, 181 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:21,640 Steve first has to find a way to remove the metal tip. 182 00:10:21,640 --> 00:10:25,800 Can I make you a cup of coffee? That's my coffee mug. I know, sorry. 183 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:30,720 It's hoof glue tea. Oh, lovely... What is it you're doing? 184 00:10:30,720 --> 00:10:33,800 Just trying to heat this up because I'm pretty sure there'll be 185 00:10:33,800 --> 00:10:38,040 hoof glue or some such thing that needs heating up, it'll go soft. OK. 186 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:40,440 And then it should just pull off. 187 00:10:40,440 --> 00:10:42,360 OK. 188 00:10:42,360 --> 00:10:44,960 It's not moving at all at the moment. 189 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:47,960 Um, so I might just put a flame on there, actually. OK. 190 00:10:47,960 --> 00:10:51,480 Just a gentle flame, just so it gets really, really hot. 191 00:10:51,480 --> 00:10:54,000 It's not going to melt this, is it? No, no, no. 192 00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:55,840 I'll just be really gentle with it. 193 00:10:55,840 --> 00:10:59,160 If you've got a bit of spare leather... OK. 194 00:10:59,160 --> 00:11:04,720 Just wrap round it, so it doesn't hurt my hand when I hold onto it. 195 00:11:04,720 --> 00:11:08,320 Will this work? Yeah. 196 00:11:08,320 --> 00:11:10,560 Yeah, look. 197 00:11:10,560 --> 00:11:14,080 That's coming off. It is. It's just popping off, look at it. 198 00:11:14,080 --> 00:11:16,760 It's sliding off. Well, I'm blowed, look. 199 00:11:16,760 --> 00:11:19,360 Oh, wow! The heat is pushing it off. Wow! 200 00:11:25,520 --> 00:11:27,160 Ow! Hot? Yes! 201 00:11:29,120 --> 00:11:34,240 Looks like treacle. Yeah. So... Caramel. Yes! 202 00:11:34,240 --> 00:11:36,240 So when we put it back on again... 203 00:11:38,120 --> 00:11:41,440 ..we just have to put some more hoof glue in. Yeah. 204 00:11:41,440 --> 00:11:44,480 Heat it up and push it on. Yeah. 205 00:11:44,480 --> 00:11:47,200 Well, at least we know - we have a plan of action. Yeah. 206 00:11:56,440 --> 00:11:58,440 With her own plan of attack, 207 00:11:58,440 --> 00:12:02,120 Sonnaz is preparing to rebuild the armchair, 208 00:12:02,120 --> 00:12:06,000 starting with the springs, which are essential for giving the seat 209 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:10,480 form - and the user a nice, comfortable sit. 210 00:12:10,480 --> 00:12:15,120 This is the planning stage of my springs. 211 00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:18,280 There are different grade springs. 212 00:12:18,280 --> 00:12:23,440 The grade denotes the springiness or the firmness. 213 00:12:23,440 --> 00:12:26,040 All of these are 9-gauge springs. 214 00:12:26,040 --> 00:12:28,280 So they're sort of soft, but not firm, 215 00:12:28,280 --> 00:12:30,840 cos we want it to be comfortable, but not hard. 216 00:12:39,360 --> 00:12:43,320 Now I've tied all my springs in, I am lashing them in. 217 00:12:43,320 --> 00:12:46,040 You've got to make sure that the knot doesn't move, 218 00:12:46,040 --> 00:12:51,240 so it's nice and tight. And that the spacings here are even, 219 00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:55,240 otherwise your springs won't be straight and they'll be off. 220 00:12:55,240 --> 00:13:00,200 This is true traditional springing up of a base. 221 00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:01,720 My sort of favourite motto 222 00:13:01,720 --> 00:13:05,040 is "every stage has a knock-on effect to the next stage". 223 00:13:05,040 --> 00:13:08,160 It's crucial that I get these springs in the right place and sort 224 00:13:08,160 --> 00:13:09,680 of mirrored, so they're all even, 225 00:13:09,680 --> 00:13:12,120 and that my lashing's all good, etc, etc. 226 00:13:21,360 --> 00:13:25,360 With the springs in place, Sonnaz begins to layer the seat pad. 227 00:13:27,360 --> 00:13:31,640 So this is the base haired up now. I've stuffed it with horse hair. 228 00:13:31,640 --> 00:13:34,040 There's no real exact science. 229 00:13:34,040 --> 00:13:38,160 Each upholsterer would do sort of their own version of a pad. 230 00:13:38,160 --> 00:13:42,960 What my plan is for this is to actually stitch some calico to the 231 00:13:42,960 --> 00:13:48,840 top of my padding here and then have my fabric go over the top of that. 232 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:52,560 It can give you sometimes a bit of a nicer finish. 233 00:13:52,560 --> 00:13:56,200 The whole objective really for putting so much thought and 234 00:13:56,200 --> 00:14:02,280 effort into how best to reupholster this pad is really to make it as 235 00:14:02,280 --> 00:14:04,560 comfortable as possible for Michelle. 236 00:14:04,560 --> 00:14:09,760 I imagine, having had a little chat with her about her grandad, 237 00:14:09,760 --> 00:14:14,000 that she would be sitting in this chair for long periods of time, 238 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:17,880 thinking about the good times that she had, so I think it's 239 00:14:17,880 --> 00:14:21,200 worth the thought and effort to get it absolutely right. 240 00:14:27,800 --> 00:14:30,720 Sonnaz covers and stitches the layers of seat padding into 241 00:14:30,720 --> 00:14:33,200 place, ready for the fabric. 242 00:14:33,200 --> 00:14:36,640 It's this final layer that is giving her most cause for concern. 243 00:14:38,360 --> 00:14:42,120 I'm really quite nervous to reveal 244 00:14:42,120 --> 00:14:44,600 this chair to Michelle 245 00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:47,400 because of my fabric choice. 246 00:14:47,400 --> 00:14:51,600 Michelle specifically said that she doesn't want the chair to 247 00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:54,120 change much from how she remembers it. 248 00:14:54,120 --> 00:14:58,920 If I put a shiny new, with bright blues and bright greens, as per 249 00:14:58,920 --> 00:15:05,720 the original on there, my worry is that would be too new for Michelle. 250 00:15:05,720 --> 00:15:09,160 On the original chair, there was actually also this lovely cord. 251 00:15:09,160 --> 00:15:13,520 So I've chosen a cord that's slightly bigger, so that it's really 252 00:15:13,520 --> 00:15:18,480 going to be obvious and is similar to the original cord, 253 00:15:18,480 --> 00:15:21,120 in both design and colours. 254 00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:48,120 Now for this bit. 255 00:15:49,840 --> 00:15:51,720 Here is where it joins. 256 00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:54,720 When this comes round and sits round that corner like that, 257 00:15:54,720 --> 00:15:59,600 and this one meets it, here, I actually made a little cuff 258 00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:04,120 that's going to wrap around them both and disguise the join. 259 00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:14,960 Lovely. 260 00:16:14,960 --> 00:16:17,440 Great. Thank goodness for that. 261 00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:20,240 It fits nicely. That's a real relief. 262 00:16:20,240 --> 00:16:23,040 I just hope that Michelle likes it as much as I do. 263 00:16:29,680 --> 00:16:33,080 Next into The Repair Shop, Joanna Fay. 264 00:16:33,080 --> 00:16:36,680 With her is her half-brother Julian Rowe. 265 00:16:36,680 --> 00:16:40,480 She's brought an item for ceramics restorer Kirsten Ramsay. 266 00:16:40,480 --> 00:16:45,720 Hello. How are you? I'm good, thank you. I'm Julian. I'm Kirsten. Jo-Jo. 267 00:16:45,720 --> 00:16:47,240 Hi, Jo-Jo. Nice to meet you. 268 00:16:47,240 --> 00:16:49,720 Do you want to get it out of the box? Here we go. 269 00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:53,600 This looks interesting. Very pretty, isn't it? Oh, wow! 270 00:16:53,600 --> 00:16:58,200 The vase belongs to Jo-Jo and Julian's 83-year-old mother, 271 00:16:58,200 --> 00:16:59,400 Patricia. 272 00:16:59,400 --> 00:17:03,640 Let's have a look. So, it's broken, I can see, across the handle. 273 00:17:03,640 --> 00:17:07,520 What a shame. My mother broke it while cleaning. 274 00:17:07,520 --> 00:17:11,920 We've tried to fix it, but...not very well. 275 00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:14,760 What can you tell me about this piece? 276 00:17:14,760 --> 00:17:17,080 Well, this belonged to my father, 277 00:17:17,080 --> 00:17:23,280 who tragically died in a gas explosion very early on in his life. 278 00:17:23,280 --> 00:17:26,840 Oh! It's the only piece I have of my father. 279 00:17:26,840 --> 00:17:30,000 It's the only thing I can remember him by, really. 280 00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:31,680 So, really precious. Yes. 281 00:17:31,680 --> 00:17:35,560 Cos everything else got destroyed in the explosion. Oh, no! 282 00:17:35,560 --> 00:17:38,360 This was the only thing that survived. 283 00:17:38,360 --> 00:17:40,040 So, when was that? 284 00:17:40,040 --> 00:17:43,960 I was just 11 at the time. Right. So this is why it means such a lot. 285 00:17:43,960 --> 00:17:45,560 Yeah, I can understand that. 286 00:17:45,560 --> 00:17:47,720 And do you have sort of memories of it...? 287 00:17:47,720 --> 00:17:51,480 It's been on the sideboard forever. For as long we can remember. Golly! 288 00:17:51,480 --> 00:17:54,480 Right. So, when was this actually broken? 289 00:17:54,480 --> 00:17:56,520 Cos it looks like quite an old repair. 290 00:17:56,520 --> 00:18:00,960 It is old. About 35 years. Right. So, this is your mum's vase. 291 00:18:00,960 --> 00:18:03,720 Does she actually know that it's here? 292 00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:05,320 She does. She does, yes. 293 00:18:05,320 --> 00:18:07,800 But she won't do by the time we take it back to her, 294 00:18:07,800 --> 00:18:09,760 cos she's suffering from dementia. 295 00:18:09,760 --> 00:18:11,680 So it's a short-term dementia. Right. 296 00:18:11,680 --> 00:18:15,160 So she'll remember the vase, she'll remember breaking it, etc. OK. 297 00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:18,600 But by the time we take it back to her, fixed, hopefully, 298 00:18:18,600 --> 00:18:23,400 she'll be absolutely over the moon and gobsmacked, won't she? She will. 299 00:18:23,400 --> 00:18:26,240 She was actually devastated when she broke it. 300 00:18:26,240 --> 00:18:28,320 I completely get that, yeah. 301 00:18:28,320 --> 00:18:31,760 So it's actually going to mean a lot to lots of people, isn't it? It is. 302 00:18:31,760 --> 00:18:33,960 In different ways. 303 00:18:33,960 --> 00:18:39,560 Goodness! I do feel the weight of responsibility, I have to say! 304 00:18:39,560 --> 00:18:43,040 We wouldn't take it to anyone else. No, we actually wouldn't. 305 00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:47,800 The heartbreak my mother experienced when she broke it, 306 00:18:47,800 --> 00:18:50,280 I remember that clearly, when we were very young. 307 00:18:50,280 --> 00:18:53,640 It means an awful lot to me because it's the only thing that I've 308 00:18:53,640 --> 00:18:56,080 got of my father. 309 00:18:56,080 --> 00:19:00,120 And it was quite a tug on my heart strings to let it go. 310 00:19:00,120 --> 00:19:03,800 It's going to mean a lot to the family. 311 00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:08,080 Produced in Budapest in the mid 1800s, the vase was designed 312 00:19:08,080 --> 00:19:12,080 by Ignac Fischer, who specialised in highly decorative pottery. 313 00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:17,360 Now, that's what I call a beautiful jug. 314 00:19:17,360 --> 00:19:20,880 You probably caught it sparkling... It was, actually. Yeah. 315 00:19:20,880 --> 00:19:24,600 So, what is it used for? Is it, like, just dried flowers or something putting in there? 316 00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:27,240 It's decorative, it's Hungarian. 317 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:30,640 And it's got this quite sort of distinctive cream background 318 00:19:30,640 --> 00:19:35,760 and pierced work. Can I touch it? I ask before... 319 00:19:35,760 --> 00:19:40,760 Actually, you've already touched it. Have I? Yeah. You came straight in! 320 00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:44,040 Touched it. I thought I'd trained you. Oh, no, you didn't. 321 00:19:44,040 --> 00:19:46,960 I'm a rebel. Look at that! That's broken, isn't it? 322 00:19:46,960 --> 00:19:50,640 It's REALLY broken. Ooh! Yeah. There's actually a hole there. 323 00:19:50,640 --> 00:19:56,000 Oh, it's a hole. Yeah, there's a hole, a bit missing, goes right the way round. 324 00:19:56,000 --> 00:20:00,400 And then we've got these bits on the... Actually, there as well. 325 00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:06,640 And here. Basically, everywhere you look. I'm quite chuffed. I know! 326 00:20:06,640 --> 00:20:08,120 I touched it again. 327 00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:21,880 Suzie's getting to grips with the worn handle from the 328 00:20:21,880 --> 00:20:23,640 World War I riding crop. 329 00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:25,800 How are you getting on with that whip, then? 330 00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:27,800 Well, you came right at the beginning, 331 00:20:27,800 --> 00:20:31,360 so just beginning to take off the glue here. Right. 332 00:20:31,360 --> 00:20:36,120 I'm going to strip off this handle. That glue's gone, hasn't it? 333 00:20:36,120 --> 00:20:39,640 Look at that! Yeah, it's hoof glue. Hoof glue. 334 00:20:39,640 --> 00:20:42,840 Taking all of this leather off because I'm going to replace 335 00:20:42,840 --> 00:20:45,000 it with this pigskin. 336 00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:49,680 And I'm going to dye this to match the original colour. 337 00:20:49,680 --> 00:20:53,360 Was this dyed, then, originally? Cos that looks a different colour. 338 00:20:53,360 --> 00:20:56,800 It probably was very, very light, but over the years, 339 00:20:56,800 --> 00:20:59,120 it just tones down with the use. 340 00:20:59,120 --> 00:21:01,600 OK. Just gets that lovely patina on it. 341 00:21:01,600 --> 00:21:05,480 And so, I'm just going to try and replicate it with dyeing it. 342 00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:08,720 But all this little stitching, can you see how tiny that stitching is? 343 00:21:08,720 --> 00:21:11,440 Now, this is what I think - I don't know how you do that, 344 00:21:11,440 --> 00:21:14,040 cos you've got to stitch that when it's on the actual cane. Yeah. 345 00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:16,160 On the whip. Yeah. So, how do you do that? 346 00:21:16,160 --> 00:21:18,440 It's a little thicker here than it is own here, 347 00:21:18,440 --> 00:21:22,840 so I have to taper everything down and keep the seam exactly straight. 348 00:21:22,840 --> 00:21:25,600 You still haven't answered. How do you do that? That's magic. 349 00:21:25,600 --> 00:21:27,000 It's magic? It is magic. 350 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:29,640 So I can pull up a chair and just watch you do a magic show? 351 00:21:29,640 --> 00:21:32,120 If you like! If you like. Right! 352 00:21:32,120 --> 00:21:34,880 But you'd be sat there for a while. I don't have to wish you luck. 353 00:21:34,880 --> 00:21:37,040 I know you're going to do a great job. Thank you. 354 00:21:37,040 --> 00:21:40,120 OK. So I'm going to see you soon, anyway. OK, sounds good. Bye-bye. 355 00:21:46,200 --> 00:21:48,560 While unravelling the old leather, 356 00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:50,560 Suzie makes an interesting discovery. 357 00:21:53,200 --> 00:21:55,080 Hey, Steve. 358 00:21:56,080 --> 00:21:58,280 Come and have a look and see what I've found. 359 00:22:01,040 --> 00:22:02,560 What have you found? 360 00:22:02,560 --> 00:22:06,880 So, on this riding crop, when I took the leather off... Oh, my goodness! 361 00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:12,520 Oh! The paperwork underneath and it came off on the leather here. 362 00:22:12,520 --> 00:22:13,640 Yeah. 363 00:22:13,640 --> 00:22:16,640 And I'm just peeling off this top layer 364 00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:19,400 and trying to see what was written. 365 00:22:20,560 --> 00:22:22,560 They've got "stable"... Yeah. 366 00:22:22,560 --> 00:22:25,040 And I think this is going to be "management". 367 00:22:25,040 --> 00:22:30,840 Cos I'm assuming that this was made in the military saddlers. Right. 368 00:22:30,840 --> 00:22:34,120 And they would have used whatever paper was to hand. 369 00:22:34,120 --> 00:22:35,680 That's incredible! Yeah. 370 00:22:35,680 --> 00:22:39,840 Let me know when you uncover some more. OK. 371 00:22:39,840 --> 00:22:42,120 I'm intrigued. Me, too. 372 00:22:43,840 --> 00:22:46,880 But more meticulous unpicking doesn't reveal quite the 373 00:22:46,880 --> 00:22:49,320 military secrets Suzie was expecting. 374 00:22:51,120 --> 00:22:55,640 This is like the minutes of the Allotment Association. 375 00:22:55,640 --> 00:22:59,680 And up here, the stable is, I think, 376 00:22:59,680 --> 00:23:02,760 an advert because that name, 377 00:23:02,760 --> 00:23:06,400 is it, Lame, it runs all the way through it. Oh, OK. 378 00:23:06,400 --> 00:23:08,120 Yeah. Oh, yes. Yes, yes, yes. 379 00:23:08,120 --> 00:23:11,000 I thought I'd show you before I cover it up with leather for 380 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:15,200 another 100 years. Oh! So, where are we up to on this, then? 381 00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:22,360 So, um, I'm just going to clean the rest of it up a little bit 382 00:23:22,360 --> 00:23:24,920 and then I'll be covering it with the leather. Right. 383 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:27,840 If you could repair the cap that we took off... 384 00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:30,840 Yeah, the cap actually has got a split in it. 385 00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:34,880 I didn't see that. Yeah. So, there's a split there. I've closed it up. 386 00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:35,960 OK. 387 00:23:35,960 --> 00:23:39,840 And I'm going to put a small slither of metal underneath there, just... 388 00:23:39,840 --> 00:23:42,440 Oh, yeah. You see it? It's the way it's been made, all the way down 389 00:23:42,440 --> 00:23:45,280 here, but it's split away from there. OK. 390 00:23:45,280 --> 00:23:48,040 So I'm going to strengthen it by just putting a very fine 391 00:23:48,040 --> 00:23:50,200 sliver of metal and soldering that on. 392 00:23:50,200 --> 00:23:52,400 Right. Good. Thanks. How exciting! I know. 393 00:23:55,800 --> 00:24:00,520 While Steve fixes the metal end, Suzie prick-marks the leather 394 00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:04,840 for the handle, carefully punching holes, ready to be stitched. 395 00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:10,360 I'm pulling the thread through, as I'm pushing the needle, 396 00:24:10,360 --> 00:24:15,520 because I don't want the needle to go into the thread. 397 00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:20,120 This is when the leather can tear, so just take your time. 398 00:24:20,120 --> 00:24:23,320 One slip up could ruin the entire piece of leather, 399 00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:26,640 setting Suzie back several hours. 400 00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:30,080 The beauty with handstitched items is that they're very, 401 00:24:30,080 --> 00:24:35,160 very strong because the threads are going in and out and then a 402 00:24:35,160 --> 00:24:39,160 step and they're crossing from the left to the right, 403 00:24:39,160 --> 00:24:44,840 whereas machine stitching, the threads link in the middle. 404 00:24:44,840 --> 00:24:48,400 Once the stitching is done and the metal end repaired, 405 00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:51,680 Steve and Suzie can finally put the crop's handle back together. 406 00:24:53,120 --> 00:24:56,960 So, I'm at this point where we're ready to glue the cap back on. 407 00:24:56,960 --> 00:24:58,600 OK, is it tight? Yep. 408 00:24:58,600 --> 00:25:00,880 Is think put the glue in here first. OK. 409 00:25:04,760 --> 00:25:06,560 Twist, twist. 410 00:25:06,560 --> 00:25:08,640 Just... There you go. There you go. 411 00:25:12,600 --> 00:25:14,120 Oh, look at that! 412 00:25:14,120 --> 00:25:16,640 Yes! 413 00:25:16,640 --> 00:25:18,280 It's beautiful, Suzie. 414 00:25:18,280 --> 00:25:20,640 Well done. Well done. Thank you very much. 415 00:25:20,640 --> 00:25:22,880 Right, what are you going to do with the other end? 416 00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:25,880 I have to whip this little tab on. Oh, right, OK. 417 00:25:25,880 --> 00:25:29,000 That'll take you five secs. Won't take me very long. 418 00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:30,760 So, nearly done. OK. 419 00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:40,040 Across the workshop, 420 00:25:40,040 --> 00:25:44,360 the expert eye of Sonnaz has spotted some clues to suggest there 421 00:25:44,360 --> 00:25:47,560 may have been more to this armchair than she first thought. 422 00:25:48,720 --> 00:25:51,880 I've been sort of looking at the back as I've been working on it, 423 00:25:51,880 --> 00:25:57,560 and I definitely do think that there was a cushion on the back here, 424 00:25:57,560 --> 00:25:59,560 attached in the corners with the studs. 425 00:26:01,280 --> 00:26:05,400 Another clue to back up that theory is the fact that the centre of the 426 00:26:05,400 --> 00:26:09,240 back is in really good condition and we can actually see rub marks 427 00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:13,400 either side, where the cushion wasn't, 428 00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:18,000 so I think that it would be a really lovely touch to actually make 429 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:23,800 a cushion and reattach it in the same place it was when Michelle's 430 00:26:23,800 --> 00:26:24,960 grandad had the chair. 431 00:26:40,440 --> 00:26:44,400 This is the first time I've ever secured a cushion to the inside back 432 00:26:44,400 --> 00:26:50,880 of a chair, so it's a new experience and it's a new look for me. 433 00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:53,000 I quite like it, actually. 434 00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:56,760 I like the contrast between the brass, the cord and the velvet. 435 00:27:02,080 --> 00:27:05,160 I absolutely can't wait for Michelle to have this chair back. 436 00:27:07,720 --> 00:27:11,080 I do really sort of enjoy the thought, really, of her sitting in 437 00:27:11,080 --> 00:27:14,120 this chair and reminiscing about her time with her grandad, 438 00:27:14,120 --> 00:27:18,520 cos it sounds to me like they had a really lovely relationship. 439 00:27:18,520 --> 00:27:23,200 Michelle's grandfather actually lived in Vancouver, and my 440 00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:28,080 grandad lived in Vancouver, as well. We were really close and, you know, 441 00:27:28,080 --> 00:27:32,000 all I've got is fond memories of him, so I totally, 442 00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:36,480 totally understand Michelle's connection with this chair 443 00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:42,440 and if only I had a chair off any of my grandparents to remember 444 00:27:42,440 --> 00:27:45,960 them by, I just think it's a really lovely, special thing. 445 00:27:52,080 --> 00:27:57,400 So...this is the moment I've been waiting for all day. 446 00:28:04,920 --> 00:28:06,120 Great. 447 00:28:06,120 --> 00:28:08,120 Great, great, great. 448 00:28:10,760 --> 00:28:13,960 Owner Michelle brought the chair in to The Repair Shop after 449 00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:17,520 years of loving use had rendered it tatty and worn. 450 00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:22,520 I don't think I've ever seen the chair in its proper state, 451 00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:26,640 so that might be a bit of a surprise to me. 452 00:28:26,640 --> 00:28:30,240 Overall, though, I'm really excited to see it. 453 00:28:30,240 --> 00:28:32,920 Also here to witness the transformation, 454 00:28:32,920 --> 00:28:34,840 Michelle's mother, Cecile. 455 00:28:34,840 --> 00:28:38,160 That chair was special. The fact that after he died, 456 00:28:38,160 --> 00:28:41,400 the one thing she really wanted was Grandpa's chair. 457 00:28:41,400 --> 00:28:46,000 And I don't think we can quite believe now what we're going to see. 458 00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:48,640 I think it's going to be quite exciting! 459 00:28:54,440 --> 00:28:57,680 Hi! Hi! Nice to see you. How are you? Good, thanks. How are you? 460 00:28:57,680 --> 00:29:00,760 I'm very well. Sonnaz, this is my mum. 461 00:29:00,760 --> 00:29:04,120 Can you remember what your chair looked like when you brought it in? 462 00:29:04,120 --> 00:29:10,160 It was in a sorry state. Sad. Really sad and unloved by me. 463 00:29:10,160 --> 00:29:14,880 Well, I won't keep you any longer. I'm too excited. Are you ready? 464 00:29:14,880 --> 00:29:16,520 I'm ready. 465 00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:21,440 Oh, Mum! Oh, yes! You've got it exactly! Lovely! 466 00:29:21,440 --> 00:29:23,120 It is, isn't it, Mum? 467 00:29:23,120 --> 00:29:25,200 It's fantastic! 468 00:29:25,200 --> 00:29:26,640 That's amazing! 469 00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:30,400 It just looks the same as Grandpa's chair. 470 00:29:30,400 --> 00:29:32,560 Thank you so much! That is lovely! 471 00:29:32,560 --> 00:29:36,600 My pleasure. Look at the cord and look at the back of it now! 472 00:29:36,600 --> 00:29:39,160 We've got a back, Mum! Yes! 473 00:29:39,160 --> 00:29:40,880 I was absolutely petrified 474 00:29:40,880 --> 00:29:43,920 that you wouldn't like the colour of the fabric. 475 00:29:43,920 --> 00:29:47,440 Oh, were you? Yeah, totally. No, it suits it. 476 00:29:47,440 --> 00:29:53,000 This fabric sort of echoed the original. It does. 477 00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:54,680 Without looking new. Yeah. 478 00:29:54,680 --> 00:29:57,440 Because one of the things that I heard you say was, 479 00:29:57,440 --> 00:30:00,040 "I just don't really want it to change." 480 00:30:00,040 --> 00:30:02,320 Now it's there and it's like that, 481 00:30:02,320 --> 00:30:06,840 I can almost put that right into Grandpa's front room again. 482 00:30:06,840 --> 00:30:09,600 They're such treasured memories, aren't they? They are. 483 00:30:09,600 --> 00:30:12,880 And that's what it's about. So I can't thank you enough. Thank you. 484 00:30:12,880 --> 00:30:15,960 My pleasure. My pleasure. It has been... 485 00:30:18,080 --> 00:30:21,160 Throughout the process, I've just been thinking about how... 486 00:30:24,760 --> 00:30:27,520 Oh, Sonnaz. You're getting all emotional. 487 00:30:27,520 --> 00:30:32,920 You're thinking about Grandpa and just the story. I know. 488 00:30:32,920 --> 00:30:36,080 Because it's just such a special relationship that you had and 489 00:30:36,080 --> 00:30:39,600 I had a really good relationship with my grandad. 490 00:30:39,600 --> 00:30:42,160 It's brought back memories for you, as well. Yeah. 491 00:30:42,160 --> 00:30:47,320 Yeah. I know. And I really do wish I still had Grandpa about. 492 00:30:47,320 --> 00:30:51,200 But I just think it's such a lovely thing to have that's 493 00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:53,840 connected you to Grandpa, really. 494 00:30:53,840 --> 00:30:58,640 Yeah. I know. Thank you very much. My pleasure. Really appreciate it. 495 00:30:58,640 --> 00:30:59,720 Thank you. 496 00:31:03,640 --> 00:31:09,080 When she unveiled the chair, I wished Grandpa was with us still. 497 00:31:09,080 --> 00:31:13,400 I really do. You just long for that person back in your life. 498 00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:17,440 It was really something seeing Sonnaz become quite emotional 499 00:31:17,440 --> 00:31:21,400 about the chair, along with us because she has a connection 500 00:31:21,400 --> 00:31:24,440 with her grandfather, as I have with Grandpa. 501 00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:29,760 You can see how deeply she felt for the chair itself and it's not 502 00:31:29,760 --> 00:31:32,960 just the story - it's the chair, as well. It's lovely. 503 00:31:32,960 --> 00:31:35,880 She's smashing. I can't believe she's done it so beautifully. 504 00:31:35,880 --> 00:31:37,920 I'm really happy she has. 505 00:31:55,520 --> 00:32:00,240 Ceramic expert Kirsten is beginning to unpick the old repairs on 506 00:32:00,240 --> 00:32:04,200 the Hungarian vase. It's previously been restored, 507 00:32:04,200 --> 00:32:07,000 but I think Joanna said it was perhaps something like 30 years 508 00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:10,720 ago, so I'm going to undo all the previous restoration, 509 00:32:10,720 --> 00:32:15,280 take that off, clean it, and hopefully, there's only a couple 510 00:32:15,280 --> 00:32:20,240 of tiny little pieces missing, so I can then reassemble it. 511 00:32:20,240 --> 00:32:24,920 Breaking down the bonds of some old adhesives can be difficult. 512 00:32:24,920 --> 00:32:28,840 And Kirsten's having to delve deep into her restorer's armoury. 513 00:32:28,840 --> 00:32:31,280 What's in there, then? Just a Hungarian vase. 514 00:32:31,280 --> 00:32:33,560 I'm still trying to take this apart, actually. 515 00:32:33,560 --> 00:32:37,080 Do you remember it had quite a lot of sort of old yellow glue on it? 516 00:32:37,080 --> 00:32:40,200 And what I've been doing is just starting off with some 517 00:32:40,200 --> 00:32:43,200 acetone, actually, to see if that would just soften the old adhesive. 518 00:32:43,200 --> 00:32:44,600 It hasn't. Right. 519 00:32:44,600 --> 00:32:48,600 I'm now on to industrial methylated spirits. OK. 520 00:32:48,600 --> 00:32:51,720 And that seems to be doing the trick. Look, it's actually starting 521 00:32:51,720 --> 00:32:54,760 to soften. So, you're going to have that apart, then? 522 00:32:54,760 --> 00:32:58,040 Now to find out her efforts have paid off. 523 00:32:58,040 --> 00:33:00,400 Ooh! My goodness! 524 00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:03,440 That's absolutely brilliant. Look at this. 525 00:33:03,440 --> 00:33:07,000 That seems to be working quite well. Oh, is it? Yeah. 526 00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:11,000 So, that's sort of the main section that's come off the back of 527 00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:15,920 the vase there. And it's softened all this old glue. Right. 528 00:33:15,920 --> 00:33:18,360 Which now comes away very easily. 529 00:33:18,360 --> 00:33:23,920 OK. But I think now that bit's come away, hopefully, it's under way. 530 00:33:27,360 --> 00:33:29,520 After deconstructing the vase, 531 00:33:29,520 --> 00:33:34,400 Kirsten can begun reconstructing it, starting with the trickiest section. 532 00:33:34,400 --> 00:33:37,120 Handles are always very difficult. 533 00:33:37,120 --> 00:33:40,440 You have to sort of balance the bits and they wobble around, 534 00:33:40,440 --> 00:33:44,080 so that's what I'm going to attempt to do now. 535 00:33:44,080 --> 00:33:48,040 So I've got my pieces prepared and... Oops! 536 00:33:48,040 --> 00:33:52,240 And I'm just using an adhesive here that is suitable for 537 00:33:52,240 --> 00:33:55,480 earthenware, which is what this piece is made of. 538 00:33:55,480 --> 00:33:58,320 Right. This is where it gets difficult. 539 00:34:00,800 --> 00:34:03,920 Kirsten must now simultaneously line up, 540 00:34:03,920 --> 00:34:06,880 stick and hold the pieces in place, 541 00:34:06,880 --> 00:34:12,840 all before the adhesive hardens, and with only one pair of hands. 542 00:34:12,840 --> 00:34:15,360 This is quite tricky. 543 00:34:15,360 --> 00:34:18,160 I just dot the glue into the middle 544 00:34:18,160 --> 00:34:21,160 of the piece that I'm sticking because most people just use 545 00:34:21,160 --> 00:34:24,520 far too much glue and it all squashes out. 546 00:34:29,800 --> 00:34:31,320 This is where I hold my breath. 547 00:34:36,200 --> 00:34:38,000 Feels really wobbly. 548 00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:41,680 But with the help of some very modern sticky tape, 549 00:34:41,680 --> 00:34:45,560 this 150-year-old vase is starting to take shape. 550 00:34:45,560 --> 00:34:48,320 But Kirsten isn't taking any risks. 551 00:34:48,320 --> 00:34:50,640 I'm not quite ready to take my hands off, 552 00:34:50,640 --> 00:34:55,280 I'm still anchoring stuff in place with the tape. 553 00:34:55,280 --> 00:34:56,320 Um... 554 00:34:57,640 --> 00:35:00,440 I don't want it to collapse in a big heap. 555 00:35:12,040 --> 00:35:16,520 Time to check if the adhesive and the tape have done their job. 556 00:35:16,520 --> 00:35:23,160 The piece feels quite stable and strong and that's quite a relief. 557 00:35:23,160 --> 00:35:27,440 Yeah, I'm happy with that. I'm now just going to start filling it. 558 00:35:27,440 --> 00:35:33,240 I'm just going to use a filler here that cures extremely quickly 559 00:35:33,240 --> 00:35:39,000 and it also will give some strength to the body of the vase by 560 00:35:39,000 --> 00:35:42,280 filling all these little missing areas. 561 00:35:42,280 --> 00:35:45,200 It's quite a tricky restoration. 562 00:35:45,200 --> 00:35:49,000 With the piece now intact, and her repairs filled and sanded, 563 00:35:49,000 --> 00:35:52,960 Kirsten can turn her attention to the intricate decoration. 564 00:35:52,960 --> 00:35:55,960 There's so many different styles in this piece. 565 00:35:55,960 --> 00:35:58,760 You've got this almost sort of Satsuma-y style, 566 00:35:58,760 --> 00:36:02,520 you've got an almost sort of Islamic style round here. 567 00:36:02,520 --> 00:36:03,640 It's interesting. 568 00:36:03,640 --> 00:36:06,120 You look so closely at all the different details, 569 00:36:06,120 --> 00:36:09,920 as you try and emulate - well, mimic them, really. 570 00:36:11,680 --> 00:36:14,240 I love this sort of retouching. 571 00:36:14,240 --> 00:36:17,760 Everyone's under strict instructions to leave me alone at the moment. 572 00:36:17,760 --> 00:36:19,240 So... 573 00:36:22,920 --> 00:36:26,080 Also absorbed by her repair - Suzie. 574 00:36:26,080 --> 00:36:29,720 The end is in sight for the restoration of the 575 00:36:29,720 --> 00:36:32,600 much-treasured riding crop. 576 00:36:32,600 --> 00:36:35,920 This is the final part, the little leather tab on the end, 577 00:36:35,920 --> 00:36:40,960 that the old one was actually not the original. 578 00:36:40,960 --> 00:36:47,200 So I've glued the tab on and then I've taped around it and now 579 00:36:47,200 --> 00:36:51,520 I'm just whipping it on, using a linen thread that I've waxed. 580 00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:58,000 And you want to get the thread tight up against the previous 581 00:36:58,000 --> 00:37:00,240 thread and then pull it up. 582 00:37:00,240 --> 00:37:07,120 It's a little tricky on this crop because it's not straight, so as I'm 583 00:37:07,120 --> 00:37:13,240 turning it under my arm here, it has a little bit of a sticking point. 584 00:37:13,240 --> 00:37:19,520 What I'm doing is replicating how this crop was originally made. 585 00:37:19,520 --> 00:37:23,160 It's lovely to keep the old ways alive. 586 00:37:24,640 --> 00:37:27,960 Pop the end of the thread through this loop. 587 00:37:30,640 --> 00:37:35,760 I'm going to pull the loop ends through. 588 00:37:37,360 --> 00:37:40,480 And I just need to trim this off. 589 00:37:40,480 --> 00:37:42,840 And then put some varnish or glue on it 590 00:37:42,840 --> 00:37:46,320 and that'll stay on for many, many years. 591 00:37:49,680 --> 00:37:53,960 Ian's back and he's keen to see if the riding crop he once used 592 00:37:53,960 --> 00:37:58,720 for his boyhood apple scrumping has been restored to its former glory. 593 00:37:58,720 --> 00:38:02,040 The riding crop was in a very bad state of repair. 594 00:38:02,040 --> 00:38:04,880 I had used it as a child to play with. 595 00:38:04,880 --> 00:38:09,120 I would like to see the riding crop as it was made originally, so that 596 00:38:09,120 --> 00:38:14,880 myself and my family can understand what the item actually looked like. 597 00:38:14,880 --> 00:38:18,840 Because in its state that I brought it down, it wasn't very good. 598 00:38:18,840 --> 00:38:21,960 Hello, Suzie. Good to see you. Nice to see you. Come on in. 599 00:38:21,960 --> 00:38:24,520 I've got something to show you. I hope so! 600 00:38:24,520 --> 00:38:27,600 Do you remember what it looked like when you brought it in? 601 00:38:27,600 --> 00:38:31,040 Unfortunately, yes. OK. So, here we go. 602 00:38:33,840 --> 00:38:35,160 Oh, wow! 603 00:38:38,120 --> 00:38:43,440 So, what I did was I replaced the leather that was all torn. Yes. 604 00:38:43,440 --> 00:38:48,280 And we... Remember that big dent you had in here? Yes. 605 00:38:48,280 --> 00:38:52,120 So, Steve very kindly managed to get rid of that for us. 606 00:38:52,120 --> 00:38:56,800 And I whipped on a new piece of leather for you. 607 00:38:56,800 --> 00:38:59,880 And all of this was handstitched. 608 00:38:59,880 --> 00:39:05,040 Made my eyes go a bit wobbly when I was doing it. It looks fantastic. 609 00:39:05,040 --> 00:39:08,080 But hopefully, you'll put it in a pride of place somewhere. 610 00:39:08,080 --> 00:39:09,520 In the living room at home, 611 00:39:09,520 --> 00:39:12,640 there will be some pictures and when I eventually get the 612 00:39:12,640 --> 00:39:15,600 reproduction of his medals, they'll be going with it as well. 613 00:39:15,600 --> 00:39:20,360 So, you can have a whole big display on Great-Uncle Albert. Hopefully. 614 00:39:20,360 --> 00:39:23,960 It's the only piece of history we have from him that generation 615 00:39:23,960 --> 00:39:29,120 of our family. Oh, wow! It's an object that they can hold. Exactly. 616 00:39:29,120 --> 00:39:31,920 And say, he held that almost 100 years ago. 617 00:39:31,920 --> 00:39:34,680 What a wonderful way to keep somebody's memory alive. 618 00:39:34,680 --> 00:39:36,680 The family think it's fantastic. Yeah. 619 00:39:39,280 --> 00:39:42,520 Difficult to put into words the emotions you feel, 620 00:39:42,520 --> 00:39:46,640 knowing that a member of your family is held, used something like that. 621 00:39:46,640 --> 00:39:49,880 And you are now the custodian of it. That is fantastic. 622 00:39:57,400 --> 00:40:01,280 On the restoration of the Hungarian vase, Kirsten is still 623 00:40:01,280 --> 00:40:06,720 meticulously toiling away, applying some fine decorative details. 624 00:40:06,720 --> 00:40:10,160 She's using a blend of gold and bronze powders in a clear 625 00:40:10,160 --> 00:40:11,600 glaze to gild the piece. 626 00:40:13,360 --> 00:40:17,440 You must be finished! Eh? I have, yeah. Have you? Yeah. 627 00:40:17,440 --> 00:40:20,080 No, but hold on, where have you done it? Like, where...? 628 00:40:20,080 --> 00:40:22,080 That's a compliment, actually. 629 00:40:22,080 --> 00:40:25,240 Thank you. I can see the damage, which is good. Thank you. Wow! 630 00:40:26,840 --> 00:40:30,120 I think Julian and Joanna are going to be amazed by that. 631 00:40:30,120 --> 00:40:31,600 Amazed. Yeah. 632 00:40:31,600 --> 00:40:35,680 I know that their mum, Patricia, has really sort of missed this 633 00:40:35,680 --> 00:40:38,720 piece, actually, while I've been working on it. 634 00:40:38,720 --> 00:40:41,760 And I think they're quite keen to get it back to her. 635 00:40:41,760 --> 00:40:44,800 You've done a blinding job. Thank you, Jay. 636 00:40:47,360 --> 00:40:51,800 Kirsten has managed to return this collectible antique vase back 637 00:40:51,800 --> 00:40:56,640 to near original condition, erasing the ailing repairs and 638 00:40:56,640 --> 00:41:01,080 painstakingly mimicking the extraordinary paintwork. 639 00:41:01,080 --> 00:41:05,480 It's time to send this beloved piece and all the memories it holds 640 00:41:05,480 --> 00:41:07,560 back home to its owner, Patricia. 641 00:41:09,920 --> 00:41:13,280 Julian is taking charge of this special delivery, 642 00:41:13,280 --> 00:41:15,680 as half-sister Jo-Jo is away. 643 00:41:15,680 --> 00:41:19,320 Today, we're very excited because my mother's going to be seeing 644 00:41:19,320 --> 00:41:21,560 it in what was its original condition, 645 00:41:21,560 --> 00:41:24,960 which she's not seen that for probably the last 30 years. 646 00:41:24,960 --> 00:41:27,280 She knows something's going on, 647 00:41:27,280 --> 00:41:30,920 she's not 100% sure what it is, but today's the day. 648 00:41:30,920 --> 00:41:32,200 How you doing? 649 00:41:32,200 --> 00:41:34,280 What's this? I've got a surprise for you. 650 00:41:34,280 --> 00:41:36,000 Wow! 651 00:41:36,000 --> 00:41:39,560 Do you remember in the summer when you shouted at me for taking 652 00:41:39,560 --> 00:41:41,400 Harvey's vase away? 653 00:41:41,400 --> 00:41:43,960 You've not! Oh, you've not! 654 00:41:43,960 --> 00:41:48,320 I'll be honest, I've not seen it yet, so I'm hoping beyond hope. 655 00:41:50,040 --> 00:41:52,640 So, let's just have a look, see what we've got. 656 00:41:52,640 --> 00:41:54,480 Oh, Ju! 657 00:41:54,480 --> 00:41:58,480 It's like... It's done! 658 00:41:58,480 --> 00:42:00,160 OK, there you go, just check it out. 659 00:42:00,160 --> 00:42:02,440 Oh, I daren't touch it! Check it out. 660 00:42:05,480 --> 00:42:07,360 Oh, my goodness! It's perfect! 661 00:42:09,200 --> 00:42:10,720 Are you happy? 662 00:42:10,720 --> 00:42:12,080 I'm over the moon. 663 00:42:12,080 --> 00:42:16,400 I mean, quite genuinely, from the bottom of my heart, 664 00:42:16,400 --> 00:42:18,000 I'm over the moon! 665 00:42:18,000 --> 00:42:22,280 Thank you so much! You're so welcome. 666 00:42:24,280 --> 00:42:27,360 Oh, Julian! Thank you, darling! It's wonderful. 667 00:42:27,360 --> 00:42:28,880 I love you. 668 00:42:28,880 --> 00:42:30,720 I love you, too. 669 00:42:30,720 --> 00:42:33,920 What a lovely, lovely gesture, Ju. Speaking for Jo-Jo, 670 00:42:33,920 --> 00:42:37,840 it's the only real tangible thing that she's got of her father's. 671 00:42:39,200 --> 00:42:42,280 The only real tangible memory that she's got of him. 672 00:42:42,280 --> 00:42:45,520 You know, the one thing that she can actually touch and feel and see, 673 00:42:45,520 --> 00:42:48,240 and they've done a splendid job. 674 00:42:48,240 --> 00:42:49,600 I can't believe it. 675 00:42:51,800 --> 00:42:55,640 For goodness' sake, don't drop it. I won't! I promise I won't drop it! 676 00:42:55,640 --> 00:42:58,200 Whatever happens! 677 00:42:58,200 --> 00:43:00,320 It's had a few adventures. 678 00:43:01,680 --> 00:43:04,360 Happy, Mum? Yes. That's perfect. Thank you, darling. 679 00:43:13,240 --> 00:43:17,800 Join us next time, as more neglected items are rescued... 680 00:43:17,800 --> 00:43:19,640 This is in a bit of a bad state. 681 00:43:19,640 --> 00:43:22,240 Almost looks like it's been dropped down the stairs. 682 00:43:22,240 --> 00:43:24,560 ..and their cherished memories restored... 683 00:43:24,560 --> 00:43:26,960 Wow! ..in The Repair Shop.