Furniture restoration and refinishing is an art. For most people in these
professions, it means taking something old and making it look new. Or it can
mean keeping the furniture looking like it did when it was first built years
ago.
"The refinisher is doing just what the name says: taking off a finish and
putting on a new one," says Andrea Daley. She is president of the Association
of Restorers and Council of Certified Artists (AOR/CCA). "The antique restorer
basically deals with the existing finish, making stabilization [repairs],
while recreating the look and mostly ending with a wax finish."
Sound complicated? Well, it's not an easy set of skills to learn. Those
who have a passion for it seem to master the trade and do quite well. Unfortunately,
there aren't a lot of schools that offer restoration and refinishing programs.
However, Daley says in the U.S., the number is on the rise.
But according to Marcus Stephenson, a furniture restorer, schools in his
area are severely lacking. In fact, other than the odd night or weekend course,
there aren't any certificate or diploma programs available.
"There is a need for people [in this industry]," says Stephenson. "But
there needs to be training programs." Education is a must if you want to be
successful in this business because there is so much to learn.
Stephenson says restorers and refinishers must stay up to date on the different
types of treatments that are available. These are always changing due to technology.
Daley adds that people in this industry must also be able to tell the age
of the furniture, the period, its style, the wood it's made of, how it was
made, its structure and so on. "All this takes time to learn and then time
to develop the skills to make lasting -- and the least intrusive -- repairs
while preserving an item," she says.
Most experts in these fields have learned their skills through hands-on
work. Anyone who's successful in these industries has a passion for their
work, which often carries them through the long learning process.
"My experience was mostly limited to projects where I helped my dad," says
Daley. She recalls helping him pound nails as a child and being taught how
to swing a hammer properly. Her mom was a china and glass restorer and taught
her different restoration skills.
"Within the restoration industry, the bridge that crosses from one discipline
to another is small," says Daley. Her formal education was in fine art, which
served her well when she started her career as a porcelain restorer.
These same skills also came in handy when she got involved with furniture
restoration. It was her husband who first got started by doing some touch-up
work on furniture. Once she tried it, she discovered she had a knack for it.
Bruce Burkhalter is a furniture restorer and refinisher in Indiana. "I
got involved because my father was doing the same thing, and I started helping
in his shop," explains Burkhalter. He says he never took any formal classes.
He learned everything he needed to know from his dad and his grandfather.
Others, like Stephenson, started off refinishing and restoring furniture
as a hobby. From there, it turned into a career. "I absolutely love what I
do," says Stephenson. He likes his work, the finished product he creates and
his clientele.
For Stephenson, each project he works on is special, as it is to his customer.
"Each piece has great sentimental attachment to the individual. My clients
try to bring the past forward, and there is always passion in that."
Besides furniture restoration and refinishing, Stephenson also designs
18th-century furniture and has consulted on replication work for heritage
sites. He has developed his skills to a fine art and feels the only thing
he's missing is some business sense.
"I had no business skills when I started this business," says Stephenson,
"and I'm still learning on a daily basis." Because he owns his own shop, he
has to understand more than just the woodworking side of things. He also has
to deal with staff, overhead, expenses and benefits. It's not exactly his
specialty, but it is a necessary part of the business.
Although Daley is no longer active in restoration herself, she too was
in business for herself at one time. Although her skills were extremely varied,
she says one of her strengths came in subcontracting out other types of restoration-related
work -- such as upholstering. "It's impossible to do it all, although many
are capable of doing such," she explains.
Furniture refinishing and restoration requires people to be quite flexible,
both in their knowledge and with the types of pieces they work on. All different
kinds of furniture can be restored, from pianos to dining room suites to cabinets
and chairs. Of course, the clientele is also diverse. That means restorers
and refinishers must have great people skills as well.
"You have to have a great deal of patience, steady hands and work well
with the public," says Burkhalter. People sometimes have strange requests
and the restorer or refinisher must know how to handle those professionally.
"If you have a lot of creativeness, are hands-on and are mechanically inclined,
you'll develop into this trade," adds Stephenson. He adds that most people
are interested in this type of work strictly for the beauty of the finished
product. But he says if you want to be successful, you have to enjoy the actual
work. Some pieces can take weeks to finish. It's not a profession that offers
instant results overnight.
As far as Daley is concerned, the most important tool or skill an artist
in this field can have is their imagination. And for her, trying to do the
impossible was always a challenge. "What others would say could not be done
is what I would set my goal to accomplish," says Daley. The satisfaction on
obtaining these goals was what made it all worthwhile.
So if you're creative, have a passion for furniture and an interest in
the past, restoring and refinishing furniture may be a career to consider.
"Of course there will be a demand, why not?" demands Daley. "That's like asking,
will we always have a past?"