RARE RESTORATION

SIMPLE TOUCHES

This chair came in to be re-caned, but was also missing a little bit of the detail in the splat. In this case we didn't charge for the splat repair because simple little favors like this make people feel extra good about their experience here, and that is absolutely our goal.

ALL QUACKED UP

This duck is one of three that proudly defended a customer's indoor garden for years, but was no match for their brand new cat! These little repairs require nothing more than a touch of glue, but bringing them to us ensures that the right glue is used and in the right quantity. We rarely charge for single-break glue jobs like this, it's just nice to be able to help people save the little treasures that make them smile.

TURNING TO THE LATHE

This side chair came in with heavy damage, and fixing it took a lot of work. Seth turned a new stretcher and carved some missing bits, and Jeremy stained to match and performed a complete breakdown / re-glue. Finally, the entire chair was toned, waxed and buffed. Big projects can be costly, but when weighed against the expense of a new dining set, a substantial repair like this can make a lot of sense.

WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK

When this lovely gilt picture frame first came to us it was missing half a dozen chunks of molded plaster as a result of a packing error. Here, Lost Arts Chief, Koko Yanagita begins to carve leaves back in to the rails after adding fresh material. This kind of repair work is custom-made for the rocksteady hands of Koko, and gives her a chance to hone her water gilding skills as well!  So cool.

MODERN LOVE

Here's one to get excited about. This Fritz Hansen chair by Hvidt & Molgaard is one heck of a looker. Everyone in the shop wants it on their bench, but Koko gets the job as the wicker is brittle throughout, and it will need to be completely re-woven. Gotta have one for yourself? The model is "Neilsen X" and we found one for sale on the oft over-priced, but absolutely delicious antiques marketplace 1stdibs.com

THE TYPE OF REPAIR WORTH WRITING ABOUT

This great L.C. Smith Model 8 is in just the right hands. After spending decades on a basement floor collecting dust and rust, a full restoration is in order, and Koko is at the helm. Here she is installing eBay-found replacement linkages for the 100 and 1000 tabulator keys. This unit will be dis- and re-assembled several times over the course of the repair as she works to adjust tolerances and meticulously clean each part. Also in the shop right now is a tiny little Olympia that was used by our customer at her first job in a newsroom typing pool. Imagine the sound in there!

THE MARK OF GREATNESS

This lamp rewire seemed pretty run-of-the-mill, until we opened the challis and discovered the 1753 Sèvres porcelain mark. Not being appraisers, we have no authoritative way to distinguish between this and the fakes that even Sèvres themselves made throughout the years, but nonetheless it's pretty exciting. Our customer has two, and save the hole drilled during the decades-old lamp conversion, they are in absolutely mint condition!

BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY

We love a creative solution, but if you don't have a gigantic car like this one, you can always call us up and take advantage of our pick-up / drop-off service. :)

SOMETIMES WE HAVE STUFF FOR SALE

This 19th century Pennsylvania rope bed had a few nicks and scratches, but at $100 it found a home quickly.

BROKEN NOSE 

This awesome dragon-faced oud came in with a broken nose, a couple missing tuning pegs and some scratched up paint. These far-out repairs are exactly why we love our jobs, but this one is even cooler, because the customer found it in the trash!

Keep those eyes open, there’s treasure everywhere!

WHAT A GREAT CASTING! LIFE IS SO VERY, VERY FUN!

DID YOU KNOW?

AT RARE Restoration we can duplicate just about any chair. This cute little bow-back Windsor we made, is just one example. If you'd  like to add a few chairs to your fleet, or want to have one you've only seen in pictures, give us a call and we'll talk you though the process. We can even distress the finish to match an older set.

PLAYING AROUND ON THE JOB

This super-cool Eastlake style pump organ just arrived at our shop in a moving pod from New Mexico. We haven't gotten a chance to do a deep-level evaluation of its issues yet, but so far the only obvious problems are a jammed stop, some loose bits of wood and crackling in the finish. Here's the great thing though, the customer included a sealed 8-track cassette of his mom's gospel hits as a gift to us! Good thing we've got an 8-track player on hand… Doesn't everybody? 

LOST ARTS FOUND HERE

At RARE Restoration, we’re happy and proud to offer services that you don’t see much of nowadays.

If you love that old piece, don’t throw it out until you’ve seen if it can be saved!

WE GET WRINKLES OUT!

This is a “Before” picture of an antique gas pump that our customer discovered the hard way was quite top-heavy. 

OUR LITTLE CORNER OF THE WORLD

Where 242 Washington Street and 6 Davis Avenue in Brookline, MA meet sits more than just a handy man service, furniture repair & restoration and moving service. RARE Restoration is a local company with deep roots in tinkering around - we are dedicated to keeping the vintage in your life a current living piece of your home.

NOT TO BRAG (TOO MUCH)

…but here’s our wall of nice things that the media and community have bestowed upon us for recognition of various aspects of the things we do here at RARE Restorations.

IT ALL HINGED ON FABRICATION (1 OF 4)

So, into the store comes, as Seth puts it, “This cool old desk” with its hinges bent and broken.

IT ALL HINGED ON FABRICATION (2 OF 4)

Into the metal shop we go, and Stephen fabricates two new hinges exactly like the ones being replaced.

WE SELL WONDERFUL THINGS

Our repair shop on Davis Avenue has all sorts of little treasures waiting to fall into the right hands.

Doorknobs, hinges, lighting fixtures, light bulbs, faceplates - you name it, we’ve probably got one hanging around somewhere. 

Come in and take a look and see if we’ve got something to make some part of your home even more special.

This vase-come-lamp is in the shop to have it’s lip repaired. Seth will be building the missing material from epoxy putty, and Koko will carefully color to match, then off to Jeremy to clear-coat the patch.

This Eastlake love seat has some serious problems. It arrived with a large lot of Victorian treasures that had been discovered by our customer in the basement of a recently inherited house. Every piece has serious damage, but utilizing our large stock of recovered wood, Jeremy should be able to find a perfect match for every break and have the whole lot ready for upholstery before the new year.

This fantastic Porch Lamp is in for a re-wire, but we also get to replace the missing mica sheets and re-build the hinge for the access door. This is a job for Seth.

Seth getting ready to convert this charming old sewing machine table into a writing desk. The sewing machine itself will donated to an artist who is working with decaled and painted steel parts, but the treadle will remain as a place to rest one’s feet while writing. A new top has been chosen that was recovered from an old children’s bureau. Should be fun!

Koko getting ready to put the binding cane on this awesome Spanish revival chair, one of a set of six with various repair needs. In this case the customer will be coloring the seat herself.

This young lady needed laparoscopic doll-eye surgery which Koko MacGyvered with a chop-stick, a paper clip and some superglue. For Real!

Jeremy stripping the remaining veneer off of this table base before replacing it completely. This is rewarding work - simple tricks that bring a piece from the basement to the living room on a short budget.

Our quick repairs department, located at 6 Davis Avenue in Brookline Village, has all sorts of wonderful little bits for sale. Below are some doorknobs the we created in-house.

More wonderful brass bits for sale at our 6 Davis Avenue quick repair shop.

More vintage doorknobs for sale at our Davis Avenue quick repair shop because more vintage doorknobs are just better.

Have we mentioned our moving services?

WE TAKE DONATIONS

A wonderful neighbor was moving and she dropped these off to us. Cast brass doorknobs. They’re light as a feather!

Working on a banister project and don’t have all the balusters you need? We might have the one you’re looking for. If not, we can absolutely turn new ones, and color to match! Here’s a great batch that came from a Brookline home that’s getting a facelift. We just love the helical ones.

Checking the color match on a replacement spindle we turned for this sweet little bow-back rocker.

When this commemorative War Bonds statue came to us it was massively damaged. Koko expertly formed, carved and colored all the missing and crushed areas. Here she’s just doing a little touch-up. 

The item had to be shipped to the customer through the postal system so, to keep it from getting damaged in transit, we wrapped it in cellophane and then packed it in rice.

Here’s a cool one: Some of the fingers of this porcelain statuette were broken off, so we recreated them using Pulpdent, the same stuff dentists use for fillings. There are a ton of variations and lots of different shades of this product, all that cure in seconds with ultraviolet light. You can slow the curing time a little bit by holding the curing light, (above on the right), at a slight distance. But super-thin bits like these fingers needed to be cured right away or they droop, so the applicator tip has to be shielded to keep the material from curing in the opening. This stuff is a great addition to any woodshed, and you can learn all about it at: www.pilpdent.com

This concrete griffin arrived at our shop having taken quite the tumble. It’s not a ‘valuable’ item but it is super-important to its owner, so we really gave it our all. After carefully bending the steel structure back into shape, we replaced the crumbled areas with fresh concrete, pre-stained to match the old… Here Koko does some final touch-ups before sending it home to its mom. We’ve seen so many awesome things come across our benches, but there’s always a surprise… this is our very first concrete griffin!

Here’s a wild one: Someone had stripped the finish off of the outer side only of their cabinet doors. This allowed the environmental influences, over time, to curl them until they were more than an inch out of flat. Steming them back wasn’t a guaranteed win, so with the customer’s blessing, we cut a dozen kerfs into the concave side of each door, held them flat, and glued in strips of maple in order to keep them from curling again. This one is ready for a trim and a little touch-up and then we’ll lacquer the rough side of each one before sending them home with a brand-new pinstriped secret on the inside :)

LAMP REPAIR 1 OF 2

Gluing breaks, end to end, on long, thin elements never works. So when this Tiffany-style lamp came to us with the shade arm broken, we drilled a hole into both sides of the break and inserted a one-inch long stainless steel rod to support the weight. Properly glued, this will be a permanent repair. Pictured here is the dry-fit test which will show how we did with alignment and whether the rod moves freely enough to accept some minimally expanding CA glue.

LAMP REPAIR 2 OF 2

Here is the same repair, all glued up, with some epoxy fill in the blown-out areas. After Koko colors and patinas over our work, no one will be able to detect the repair unless they are specifically looking for it.

Here, the repaired section is nearly ready for color… but first, as scarf joints like this are vulnerable to shearing, Stephen will insert a thin steel rod through a hole in the leg to provide support.

Tricks OF THE TRADE 1 OF 3

Here’s an awesome trick for saving a chair leg with a lateral break using a lock-mortising machine.

TRICKS OF THE TRADE 

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A seemingly mono-purpose machine, this lock-mortiser actually comes in quite handy for making routes in oddly shaped parts.

TRICKS OF THE TRADE 

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Now this large maple dutchman can be passed into the mortise with wood glue, making what is frequently thought of as a catastrophic injury, no big deal at all.

A TREAT FOR THE EYES

Here’s Koko weaving the last section of shaker tape on this sweet bentwood rocker. We love how freaked out your eyes get when you stare at the pattern for too long.

HOW TO UN-STICK A PISTON

Rasperry, a ’76 BMW 2002 - one of RARE Restoration’s project cars - hadn’t been driven in quite a while, and as a result, the rear brake pistons were totally stuck. Here, the first side has been forced apart, and is ready to be cleaned in solvent with super-fine steel wool.

TIFFAUX KNOBS

Here’s an awesome evolution: A customer of ours adored a beautiful brass Tiffany’s doorknob we had in the shop,  but we only had one, so… We made a silicone mold of the original, and duplicated an entire house’s worth in clear plastic poured around glass shanks we turned for the job.

HOUGHTON STREET 

FOUNDRY KNOBS

Here’s another one of the great knobs Stephen makes in the plastics lab at our shop. This one is cast from a pattern by the Metallic Compression Casting Company, previously of Somerville, MA. The escutcheon, (in that awesome Coca-Cola color) is cast from a Yale & Towne ‘Rice’ original. This stuff is super-fun for us to make and brings a unique flavor to any home, office clubhouse or shop.

UP, UP AND AWAY 1/2

A former employee of ours got her hands on the old illuminated sign from the now-defunct Beacon Supermarket and gave away all but the u & p. Since all of the plexiglass had been smashed by the time she brought it to us for a makeover.

Here it is, all fixed up, with the dents banged out, new red plexiglass and freshly converted to LED.

UP, UP AND AWAY 2/2

And here it is, lighting up her home

PRESSED CANE HIGH CHAIR

Here Koko removed the old material from this gorgeous antique press-cane high chair. She’ll do a little touch-up and then press in the new webbing and tap in the spline. From there she will move up on the wicker sofa that’s just on her right. She’s totally non-stop! So, here’s what’s up: if you have a woven item - anything from a picnic basket or hat to a chair or settee, Koko will know just how to fix it up…

FABRICATION MAKES IT HAPPEN

Try as we did to find the correct soft-stem bumpers for the feet of some chairs we’re working on for thevillageworks.com, we kept striking out.

So it was off to the lathe, and Stephen saved the day by turning near-perfect matches for the missing ones from some HDPE we had lying around. It’s nice to be able to solve little annoying problems like this so easily and quickly.

A little Sunday afternoon catch-up. Refinishing the top of this sweet little Baker table. Now a quick paint job on the rails and legs and it should be good to go. We see a lot of these tables come in for new caning, but not so often for surface work. It’s nice to really bring out the color of the beautiful old walnut plywood!

Here’s a nice one: A customer came in with plans for her husband’s birthday... She had snuck his handmade, antique globe from the house, in hopes of finding a replacement for its long-since-misplaced stand. This is the extra cool part... Instead of asking us to source an exact match, she told us to find something whimsical, that would add a special new chapter to its history - So Seth dug around in storage and found a sweet little Early-American candle stand that needed a new purpose. He cut off the table top, and turned the spindle down to accept a brass collet that Stephen made for the occasion. Here it is all put together, ready to show off its new duds to its dad

Here Ryan applies wax to an awesome painted chair we’re working on. It’s carved from a single piece of tree trunk, and very nicely done… But a previously undetected frost-crack had found its way from the side, all the way through the insert that covered over the pith in the center, eventually opening up to almost a half inch at its widest. After inserting some metal fastners to prevent the crack from moving, we poured the entire fissure with some high-strength plastic and Ryan painted it to match. Ryan is turning out to be a great hire… Really quite talented.

Just getting ready to work on this Hickory Furniture faux-bamboo Victorian ottoman. It’s mostly all here, save a few small turnings - which will be fun to do on the mini-lathe - Then a little touch-up and guilding and back to its home in time for a party. :)

This awesome cast cougar came in having had a bad accident in the tail department… But after a hole was drilled in both sides, and stainless steel pin was glued between the two… She is ready to maraud the forest once again.

Bet you can’t guess which one is before and and which is after! :) This gorgeous, leather-strapped danish modern chair is a single that our customer picked up to accent her living room, and wow, does it pop! Nice work, Koko!

Another great knob from the plastics lab! Here, Stephen embedded a brass ring in the mold of this Russel & Erwin “Madras” replica before the pour. So shiny! so fancy! Designers: Think about something like this for your next project! We can cast in any color from any original that is not patent protected, or we could create a custom original to your specifications. Look for our casting department at houghtonstfoundry.com and follow Stephen’s work @houghtonstfoundry Another great day @rarebrookline .

Here’s a detail from a four-foot long plaster wall hanging. It lived above the stove at our customer’s home for decades, and as you can see, it collected a thick layer of cooking residue. We cleaned it for hours out back with a pot of hot water, some degreaser and various grades of Scotch Brite. Not exactly a museum quality restoration, but it’s what the doctor ordered, and it’s looking much, much better.

Check out the great weave koko just did on this side-chair. This chair did not originally have a rush seat, and the corner-blocks make it so a traditional weave would not be practical… so, this is the work-around, and I have to say, I think it looks darn good.

Ruh roh, the motor-mounted switch in our little 1940’s Dayton drill press burned up, but Koko’s got it well in hand. This little drill press is low priority, as there are several others, but it’s just right for little brushing jobs, and we’re glad to have it back in service. It’s great to have the wherewithal to solve equipment troubles on our own, rather than have to send stuff out.

When this set of chairs came in, the turned section of the stiles, on every single one, had snapped completely through. We cut out the damaged areas, drilled deep into both ends of the wounds, and re-connected the backs with 12-inch lengths of 5/8” threaded rod passing right through some brand new turnings that Seth made. Here Koko begins to add color to the fresh wood. This is a seriously rugged repair... Fred Astaire could go to town on these and never even hear a creak. .

In for repair is this sweet little gable window from a barn on Pill Hill that finally succumbed to a century of snow and ice. Here we’ve got all the pieces milled up and ready to join. This will be quite the glazing job though, so many tiny panes.

When restoring a piece with a broken leg, we usually turn a whole new section that includes the dowels for both sides. Only the part that shows gets color, because the rest needs to stay fresh for the glue. If you look closely, you can see a little back-turning to allow the fluted section to nest inside a tiny bit. This should make the transition a little more natural looking. You can be sure that when we fix cross-grain breaks like this, the repaired area will be as strong, if not stronger than the original.

Here’s a fun thing: When furniture comes in with missing or damaged embellishments, we frequently solve the problem by taking a silicone mold of an area where the detail survived, and then resin-casting as many replacements as are needed. We add dye to the still-liquid plastic until we hit the basic color range, and then, once cured, we use paints, stains and toners to get it to look just right. Stuff like this really makes a difference in the final outcome of any restoration, and that extra mile always pleases the customer.

These vintage ANRI gentlemen are walking around my bench looking for the rest of the band, and once we’ve got their buddies all fixed up, there will most certainly be a reunion concert. :)

The swing-bed we were restoring went home today, but here’s a great photomontage showing four of the awesome little paintings that were displayed behind curved glass on its sides. So very cool! 

Here’s a sweet Cook Quality, (C.A. Cook Co. Cambridge MA), office chair headed out the door. The wood on this was a little dry, but more or less perfect when it arrived. The mechanism was in great shape too, but missing a few screws. All told this repair only took a half hour, but after the wax, it looked absolutely stellar. So glad to have had this chair in our shop, if only for a short while.

This is a first for us: A figurehead from the prow of a ship! It came in for some touch up, and a modification so it could hang on a wall. I know effectively nothing about the history, customs and superstitions of firgurehead tradition, but I read that the more properly clothed carvings were often depictions of the wife or daughter of the shipowner. All I know for sure.. is that this lady looks eerily like my grandmother. :)

In for repair is this sweet little gable window from a barn on Pill Hill that finally succumbed to a century of snow and ice. Here we’ve got all the pieces milled up and ready to join. This will be quite the glazing job though, so many tiny panes.

BEFORE!

Here’s a cool Art Nouveau ashtray in for repair. The tiny connection point where the figurine’s foot meets the base is seriously under-engineered, and has been repaired before... so it’s going to take some planning if we’re going to make it permanent. I kinda love this piece, but I don’t entirely understand why there are so many nudes holding airplanes. It seems to be a repeating theme. Anybody know the symbolism?

AFTER!

Firmly attached and ready for take-off! A 6-32 screw threaded both into the base and the foot, then set in epoxy. Glad to see her back on her feet... er... foot.

Everyone is super excited for this antique, Burmese, stupa shaped hsun-ok. Our customer has a collection of these - this being the oldest - and a serious impact caused breaks, structural damage and major chipping in the lacquer. After the big repairs, which Seth will do, it’ll move to Ryan’s bench where he will re-create the delicate patterning. I love the juxtaposition between this, and the entirely fake Napoleon III buffet in the background. :)

This awesome gal came in with a broken arm. It was a super clean break, so no big deal to glue back, but it made me think to mention: When something you love breaks, and you intend to have it repaired, try to resist the temptation to test-fit the pieces, as this can cause chipping along the seam, and that may be very hard for us to disguise. Instead, look carefully for any bits, and carefully wrap and pack them individually - without trying the fit. Also, instead of using cloth, which can catch on the edges, use tissue paper and wrap very loosely. When items are brought to us like this, we have the best chance of making a great repair. If you intend to repair the item yourself, please make sure you read a little on the web about the proper adhesive to use, as it is possible to do a fair amount of damage with the wrong one. One cool resource for choosing a glue is www.thistothat.com Check it out!

This chair really makes me want to drink lemonade in the shade on the porch. :) The whole set came in for minor repairs like the ones shown, and after we color up the restored sections, and reupholster the cushions, maybe, just maybe we’ll sneak a feet-up, cold beverage before they head home. :)

A quick, same-day repair on a wedding gift. Our customer hadn’t realized the handle was loose on this cane, and with one day left before the big day, she came to us for help. I love when people give personal gifts for weddings... a special treasure that will forever be associated with such a magical day.

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This cute little Dutch, Ericsson - model 1951, (made for the Post, Telefoon en Telegraaf company), came in to our shop to get an RJ11 plug added for use in our customer’s home… Unfortunately, there are a handful of other problems:

The dial is super slow and gets stuck coming back from the later numbers, (there’s a crack in the rear housing, so it might just be some plastic bits inside).

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The insulation on the handset wire is broken through, (we’ll certainly have a match in our stock of vintage phones).

There’s a pretty good chunk out of the bakelite, which we will likely fill with @smoothon Onyx, as we don’t have a replacement chassis in our stash and the budget doesn’t allow for parts shopping.

Z biggest problem, though, is impedence…

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This sucker is super quiet and echoey when tested on a POTS line, I wonder if it’s got an issue, or if it never adhered to the 600 Ohm standard.

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Maybe someone from @thetelephonemuseum or @antique_telephones has some ideas or suggestions?

Just a quick re-wire on this early ‘60’s beaut. :)

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Inside the antique hardware section of our 6 Davis Ave. location, you will find actual fields of door knobs. In the foreground is one of my very favorites, a Pairpoint, bezel-style, controlled-bubble knob by Carl Erickson. There were a handful of people in the early to mid 1900’s experimenting with various techniques for doing this - with wildly differing results. I find this set to be nicest I’ve seen.

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Ok, so here is an absolutely awesome update… Who should walk in to our shop having seen our last post? Jeff Tulman, the current co-owner of Pairpoint Glass! Here he is with his son Hudson, proudly displaying the controlled-bubble knob we featured. Such nice folks! We were able to give him and his son a tour of our facility, and show them a bunch of the door knobs that we make ourselves - right here in Brookline! What a nice twist in the middle of an otherwise unremarkable day! Thanks for dropping by, Jeff!

Looks like The King had a particularly rough night... but he’s come to the right place for a no-questions-asked @moonmousse repair.

It should go without question that we do brain surgery...

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In for repair this morning: This great casting of Mercury holding his caduceus, being propelled by the wind from Zephyrus’ lungs. 

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I’ve seen this basic statue a few times, in a few sizes... sometimes signed, sometimes not… 

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This one was cast by Ferdinand Barbedienne, and is marked "F. BARBEDIENNE. FONDEUR.” right on Zephyrus’ chin.

Check out these wall sconces made from antique faucets we had lying around… The handles are the switches! These would be perfect in an imaginatively decorated half-bath.

We convert all sorts of everyday items into lights. If you have an item you love, but don’t know how to fit it in with your current decor, bring it by, or send it in, and we’ll give a whole new life as a lamp, sconce or fixture!

Another great trash pick! I assume this is supposed to be someone important, but I can’t figure out who. Whatever the case, they’ve seen better days. It reminds us of something @rusticsbyswt would photograph, but with a much better camera than the one on our ancient iPhone. :)

This great old trunk is going to get a total makeover, and first things first, we’ve got to fabricate all the missing brass bits. Here Stephen shows the first newly made band with all its studs in place. Work like this is awesome. I just love that something that’s been literally kicked around boats, floors, barns and attics for a hundred years, gets to be made perfect and lovely again. This is exactly why I do what I do…

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This very nicely done Tiffany style shade was mistreated by some cut-rate movers, and has come to us for some serious TLC. Many pieces of glass have cracked, and there are tons of bends throughout. Some of the cracks will be left, but the shattered pieces will be replaced. When all is said and done we will be manufacturing a new fixture for this to hang from, as our customer does not like the fixture it came with. This is a nice project, I always love these shades, even when they’re not the real deal.

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Many pieces of glass have cracked, and there are tons of bends throughout. 

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Some of the cracks will be left, but the shattered pieces will be replaced. 

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When all is said and done we will be manufacturing a new fixture for this to hang from, as our customer does not like the fixture it came with. 

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This is a nice project, I always love these shades, even when they’re not the real deal.

Here’s Koko showing off some freshly re-woven children’s chairs... Family treasures like these bringing joy and memories, generation after generation, and It makes us super happy when someone decides to give some of that love back, and fix them up just right. I’m sure there’ll be an embarrassing photograph taken in these that will adorn the wall of at least one doting aunt. 

Click here to go to a video of this mechanical Nutcracker toy working again.

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When you need small metalwork done, we can totally help. Here, a customer had lost a bale-post from their drawer pull and needed a replacement made. On the left is the original they brought, and on the right, our replica. 

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Just in for restoration, these Mexican carved wooden friars. 

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Kept in a basement, for lord-knows-how-long, these guys seem to have skipped more than a couple bath nights. 

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I’ll admit, I know nothing about these at all, so if someone has some info, please post it in a comment. 

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We’re excited to put up some more pictures once they’re finished!

What do you do when you have to match a freshly woven seat to the exact grubbiness of the rest of a set? Grab some Ronan Superfine Japan Colors from @buyjohnsonpaint on Newbury St. Boston, and make a mess! Johnson’s Paint has an unreal selection of paints, a super friendly staff and their Ronan paints are always fresh, and never dry! This little guy should fit right in with his brothers now that he’s all painted up. :)

This tribal mask in from @thethrownbone for a quick tooth repair. A visit from them is always a treat.

A great night helping Alejandro Siña from Siña Lightworks swap out to red tubes for the holliday season on his long-standing installation at Brookline Town Hall. If you haven’t seen his work around, check him out at sinalightworks.com He is definitely the real deal.

Check out this great wagon-chandelier by @atlanticworkshop and swipe to see some great neon by sinalightworks.com You can come see or purchase works by these and other light artists at our Brookline Village shop right up until Channukwanzamas, when we turn back into a plain-old repair shop. For now though, we’re basking in the light of these fantastic creations. :)

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Great neon by sinalightworks.com

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Great neon by sinalightworks.com

Who can rebuild and re-wire a table lamp in 30 seconds? Seth can. Here he gives a full makeover to this absolutely adorable piece that was on our customer’s nightstand as a child. Good for her saving it all these years! One day it will make a lovely gift to a new generation, and bring with it a rich history... and safe wiring. :)

Click here to see the awesome time-lapse 

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A last minute emergency request today for 5-feet of trim to be milled to match a sample. With no chance we could have a molding knife cut before closing, and not having the right shaper bits, we had to get creative... and fast. Seth dug through a pile of leftover molding and collected pieces that contained similar profiles.

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Then he ripped those shapes free on the table saw, and was able to lay out and assemble a remarkably close match. In this picture, the sample is on the left, and the Frankenpiece is on the right.

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This is definitely a workaround, and nowhere near perfect, but it will be strategically placed, and definitely pass muster when caulked and painted. Cool tricks for sure!

When this commemorative War Bonds statue from the Century Distilling Company came to us, it had extensive impact damage. Using a combination of epoxy, plaster and paint, Koko expertly formed, carved and colored all the missing and crushed areas. Here she’s just doing a little touch-up. This item will have to be shipped to our customer through the postal system, and to keep it from getting damaged in transit, we will wrap it in cellophane and then pack it in rice. According to scripophily.com @scripophily, The Century Distilling Co. was formerly Woolner Brothers' Atlas Distillery that operated from Western Ave. in Peoria,

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As the gift-giving holidays approach, we start seeing tons of vintage toys being rehab’d for the current generation... like this General Electric - Show ‘N Tell - Phono Viewer.

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What a blast from the past! This beaut was sold along with story-time records, each associated with a film strip.

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The images are displayed on the “TV” screen and the film automatically advances as the record plays. It also serves as a plain old record player.

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This unit arrived at our shop with a 45rpm of Star Wars b/w Cantina Band.

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Cantina Band. Definitely our favorite, but then again we’re  b-side kinds of folks.

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Our Davis Ave. shop is filled to the brim with mountains of delicious hardware and homemade doodads.

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Our Davis Ave. shop is filled to the brim with mountains of delicious hardware and homemade doodads.

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Our Davis Ave. shop is filled to the brim with mountains of delicious hardware and homemade doodads.

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Our Davis Ave. shop is filled to the brim with mountains of delicious hardware and homemade doodads.

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Our Davis Ave. shop is filled to the brim with mountains of delicious hardware and homemade doodads.

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Our Davis Ave. shop is filled to the brim with mountains of delicious hardware and homemade doodads.

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this great card-file from the Hesburgh Library at the University of Notre Dame. It’s a center-section of a larger row, so it has no sides - and the previous owner had closed it up using Homasote panels.

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Now that it’s ours, we will either sell it as is, or add some handsome oak sides to make it a truly stand-alone unit.

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An image of the great pull-out shelves this beauty hides.

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DEWEY DECIMAL SYSTEM!!!!!!!

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How do you NOT love a card catalogue?

This cutie is a  George B. Bent Co. Early American style dough box. We’re only taking care of a wonky leg, but have a strong desire to do a complete refinish... how nice would that look with some slightly weathered cherry stain?

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When this ornate mirror came to us, it was missing large areas of the detail, and had a long history of shakily done repairs that would all need to be reversed. Here are some of the stages as Seth builds back the missing areas from a combination of Cedar, epoxy, and plaster. This is really rewarding work, and is exactly why we do what we do!

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When this ornate mirror came to us, it was missing large areas of the detail, and had a long history of shakily done repairs that would all need to be reversed. Here are some of the stages as Seth builds back the missing areas from a combination of Cedar, epoxy, and plaster. This is really rewarding work, and is exactly why we do what we do!

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When this ornate mirror came to us, it was missing large areas of the detail, and had a long history of shakily done repairs that would all need to be reversed. Here are some of the stages as Seth builds back the missing areas from a combination of Cedar, epoxy, and plaster. This is really rewarding work, and is exactly why we do what we do!

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When this ornate mirror came to us, it was missing large areas of the detail, and had a long history of shakily done repairs that would all need to be reversed. Here are some of the stages as Seth builds back the missing areas from a combination of Cedar, epoxy, and plaster. This is really rewarding work, and is exactly why we do what we do!

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When this ornate mirror came to us, it was missing large areas of the detail, and had a long history of shakily done repairs that would all need to be reversed. Here are some of the stages as Seth builds back the missing areas from a combination of Cedar, epoxy, and plaster. This is really rewarding work, and is exactly why we do what we do!

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When this ornate mirror came to us, it was missing large areas of the detail, and had a long history of shakily done repairs that would all need to be reversed. Here are some of the stages as Seth builds back the missing areas from a combination of Cedar, epoxy, and plaster. This is really rewarding work, and is exactly why we do what we do!

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When this ornate mirror came to us, it was missing large areas of the detail, and had a long history of shakily done repairs that would all need to be reversed. Here are some of the stages as Seth builds back the missing areas from a combination of Cedar, epoxy, and plaster. This is really rewarding work, and is exactly why we do what we do!

Here’s a great trick... If you need to tool an item with a vulnerable surface finish, you can tape it to a super clean blanket, so the debris from working doesn’t get underneath and cause scratches. It’s a tiny bit extra prep, but never returning a shop-damaged item, means everything in this kind of business

This custom door knob was a special request, designed to celebrate the life of a much loved pet that moved along some time ago. Still a part of her family’s daily folklore, our customer decided to have the little Frenchie’s likeness embellish some of the doors in her home. What a sweet and romantic memorial... It’s nice that we were able to help.

Here’s Matt bringing in a busted up sidelight from a home down the street. Yup, we restore leaded glass too! Send us a picture of your project and we’ll send back a quote. If you dig our price, we’ll come remove the panel, make it perfect again, and return in a week or so for reinstallation. Use the link in the bio to access our “request a quote” page.

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Loving the details on these antique bellows. Only in for a tiny leather repair, this pair was ready for pickup the same day - but during that day, absolutely every customer who saw them tried to buy them. :) 

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Every inch of the front is ornate - even embellished on the very tip of the nozzle - but the back and area around the intake valve are as plain as it gets. 

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I guess they were intended to hang on the wall and not to stand with the tools.

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 Pretty awesome though. Glad to have had them visit.

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More detail.

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Really, so much detail.

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Wow.

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Here’s a sweet little carved lamp just in for a rewire and a light cleaning. 

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I love the look on this guy’s face... He is simply not letting the little stuff get to him... 

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not even having to walk the whole length of this live-edge Bubinga wood table with a lamp sticking out of his satchel.

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This is certainly not the most scintillating post ever, but it’s just to remind: if you need small parts fabricated... think of us! 

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We made these plastic retainer rings for a customer’s vintage chandelier where the original plastic had crumbled away. 

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If you need to have something special made, but you don’t live close by, we’re happy to fill orders through the postal system.

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Because fabrication does make things happen!

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Check out this absolutely gorgeous antique writing box that came in for a few minor repairs and some light touch up! 

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I don’t know a ton about this one, nor does the customer... but it looks Dutch to me. 

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By all means fill me in using the Contact email if you know more about it. 

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Pretty awesome! This job is just too fun!

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Here’s a treat: A French, Regency period, occasional chair, done in the Napoleonic style. 

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It still has its original velour - decorated with griffins! 

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It’s kind of a toss-up as to whether the paint is original, but when our customer washed a small area, it became much, much more vivid... perhaps suggesting the paint had been fading for a very long time. 

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This beauty has been in storage for decades, but the de-upholstered seat cloth was sealed in complete darkness, so it’s way more vivid than the back. 

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Unfortunately, it was so thin and delicate that we tore it when stretching it out, so new fabric will definitely be in order before this awesome little chair can go into service. Such a wonderful piece!

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A closeup of the original griffins.

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Just lovely.

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Beautiful detail throughout.

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Just look at that pattern!

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And one more time: the griffins.

Check out this wonderful harlequin marionette, here to be re-strung for the holidays. Our customer was given this when she was a little girl, at an itinerant, indigenous French circus. She was very concerned as to whether we could tie an authentic French Knot. (We can). I love stuff like this so much! Being able to bring people’s sentimental treasures back to good repair, simply swells my heart.

Working on a banister project and don’t have all the balusters you need? We might have the one your looking for! If not, we can absolutely turn new ones, and color to match. Here’s a great batch that came in from a Brookline home that’s getting a facelift. I just love the helical ones! :)

We are definitely not a camera repair shop, but sometimes the more rare cameras require little parts to be fabricated that a camera shop isn’t prepared to make. Here Stephen works on an absolutely gorgeous Deardorff view camera for use in a shoot tomorrow. Seriously, our job is so cool. :)

Sometimes Koko really “gets into” her work! Here she is practically tangled in this cool little chandelier that needs a whole lot of structural repair before it can be re-wired. You can always count on Koko to go the extra mile. :)

For sale in our shop: This sweet set of seaside themed Delft tiles, marked: Het Tegelhuis N.V. Alpfen A/D Holland. There are 33 pieces altogether, and 18 different patterns, (although some are very close). I was in a hurry tonight, so the pictures aren’t the best, but I’m happy to send a better set of images to anyone interested. $330 plus shipping. Dm for details.

Two more beauties from the bench of Koko. I just love how perfect her work is! Now a little color on the caned seat, so it matches the back, and this batch will be ready to head on home.

Just a quick re-wire on this amalgam of various lamp parts. I love it when people take a chance with style.

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This repair treasure is a  gorgeous Lyon and Healy, American Conservatory 12 string mandolin. It’s completely filthy, and totally banged up, but it’s got tons of promise, and we’re super excited.

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Missing a couple of nuts, but who isn’t?

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Very dirty, very dusty, very cool.

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Even at this distance, you can see a little bit of obvious damage to the finish.

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This is going to be a joy to tune!

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Here’s a look at the tuning pegs which are going to need some loving attention.

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This split inlay is going to be a fun challenge.

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Where repair and restore meet.

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A little elbow grease to clean these up and the tuning can commence!

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What a great label!

Check out Koko’s hand-cane work on this gorgeous bentwood! If you’d like her to do some weaving for you, just email us a picture of what you need and we’ll send you back a quote right away!

Looking for a hard-to-find curtain ring? We have tons of wooden ones, tons of brass ones, and lots of other curtain goodies as well. Come on in and dig our selection of vintage hardware... right in the heart of Brookline Village.

A quick reminder that we provide welding services too! Here Mark repairs the base of a Mid-Century swivel chair that our customer’s son collided with. We are definitely not a welding shop, but if it fits in to the scope of a larger repair, or if it’s just a little job, we are happy to take it on.

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Proof of concept for a better chair glide. Our customer has been ruining her floors with the metal feet of her stools, and sticky-felt just won’t stay put. 

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Here we’ve poured plastic feet from @smoothon #smoothcast300 in molds we milled from some scrap HDPE.

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 If she likes it and it holds up, we’ll do the rest of the set. We’ll most likely redo this one too, as it isn’t perfect, and we like perfect. :) Cool tricks!

ALL ABOARD!Just a super-quick fix of this sweet commemorative Lionel toy. It had to be opened to free the jammed train, but it popped easily back in place.

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This darling French dollhouse church came to us in complete disrepair, and instantly became a labor of love for Seth, David and Koko. Nearly every aspect was removed, restored and replaced. 

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Damaged paper rugs were remade or patched, a new bell tower was fabricated, dolls were repainted, clothes sewn and furniture and candelabras repaired. 

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The tinfoil on the pillars struck us as odd, but it’s been there as long as our customer can remember, so we restored that as well. 

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Some more pictures of the renovation, some awesome shots of the inside…

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…and finally, a few views of the completed project. 

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What a wonderful Christmas treasure! 

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It was so hard for us to watch it go home to its family, but it’s a great feeling to know it will be cherished. :)

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The wonderful exterior!

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What a wonderful project!

SO.

Many.

Clamps.

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What to do with all these clamps?

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Make a tool to hold workpieces at various heights from the bench without purpose made jigs!

Nice little batch of knobs our customer bought for making a coat-rack. That trick never gets old! :)

This Herman Miller - Eames Lounge (670) in its original white leather, was brought in for service by the fabulous Andrew Silver of Silver Productions. He had a hard-sitting family member bust the back off, but it’s a super clean break and shouldn’t be a hard fix at all. I’ve seen so many of these chairs come through here over the years, and they still bring a smile to my face every single time. If you’ve got some mid-century goodies that need love and care, come on in, or send pictures through the website in our bio.

The stile of one of these gorgeous chairs was snapped completely through at the rear seat-rail, and would need a pretty serious dutchman.

In order to dress the piece, and a handful of other repair parts in the original walnut, Paul harvested stock from the bottom of the drop seat... which he later rebuilt.

Swipe to see some of the stages, including the dutchman - before and after being placed, the rebuilt seat, and finally the chair being reunited with its merry band of misfits.

Dig this adorable sugar barrel rocker! Too cute!

This sweet little Federal card table is being sold by our customer, but first it will stay with us for leg reattachment surgery. Along the way, we’ll sneak in a little cosmetic work as well. Our customer hadn’t asked for any touch up, but there are some pretty good scrapes along the front edge, and, as I’m sure she’ll want it looking sharp, we’ll toss in the color work for free. Swipe for some other views.

You don’t have to have a treasure to get help at our shop... here, our man Matt does a quick crown-rail repair on a handful of commercial grade chairs for @elcentro_brookline mmmm, now I want Mexican food!

Here Seth harvests pieces from some eBay sourced opera glasses to repair a sentimentally-valued set our customer brought in. They’re of different makers and different form-factors, but the bits we needed fit just right, and our customer is happy… which is absolutely our goal.

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This great Eames LCW came to us with one of its shock mounts broken free but not severely degraded, allowing us to perform a quick and low-cost repair. 

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We see a ton of these, in various states of disrepair, but it really never gets old, they are just so darn nice. Hats off to Charles and Ray!

Bits and pieces from a forgotten box of treasure. There’s seriously so much stuff in here, there’s no telling what you’ll find. We’re gonna need to have a sidewalk sale one day soon.

Drywall screws and putty - a solid repair does not make - but luckily, we have the means with which to un-screw-up such a thing.

Our customer needed her table legs fixed in short order, and for short money. Problem was... a missing piece. With that in mind, we did a quick and dirty casting with @smoothon #smoothcast300 and painted it up just in time. It’s certainly not the most elegant repair, but man do I love having fast-curing plastics on hand for stuff like this. If you’re not already a smooth-on user you gotta dig what they have to offer. Very cool. Swipe to see the stages.

This sweet French Bergère came in with the paint heavily chewed up, and springs poking out of the bottom. Seth restrung the coils and replaced the webbing and cambric, Then @bedhermin meticulously touched up the paint, while being extra careful to preserve the antique look. 

Here we’ve got some re-caned seat sections  getting their little touch-ups before meeting back up with the chairs they live in.

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Loving this Deco-style flapper, but she’s all busted up, and it’s going to be a ton of work to pin everything together. 

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We’ll get it just right, though, and she’ll be back doing the Lindy Hop in no time... and that ain’t no bushwa!

Here’s a nice one... Our customer had forgotten she saved this section of window she found when she was young. All these years later, it turned up in the bottom of a basement drawer, and now she’s having us fix it up and add a chain to hang it from. I’m glad we can help, I love this sort of thing. :)

Here’s @bedhermin putting the final touches on this sweet chandelier for the marvelous @birdrobot We had some trouble sourcing the prisms for this one, even on eBay, but working off a distant memory, we dug into the farthest reaches of our basement, et voila! A Tupperware full of the exact ones! Seriously though, we have to do something about the basement. 

Some more forgotten treasures from our winter cleaning... Some darling antique tiles from Mexico and Italy. :) Swipe to see to some great close-ups and a cute, but modern piece from Santa Fe, thrown in just for fun.

Just a little touch up on this plaster and wood lamp. @bedhermin is a natural when it comes to paint-work and touch-up. We are super lucky to have her. :)

I promise I’ll stop with the tiles soon, they’re just so much fun! Come on in and poke around soon though, ‘cause they’re going almost as fast as I can dig them out! Swipe to see more.

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Fixing up this willow ottoman posed some new challenges for the team.

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We were able to score some off-season willow from Howard Peller of basketfarmer.com… 

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…but then we had to steam it to peel it, and steam it again to bend it. 

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There were a bunch of screw-ups before we got it right, but Koko just kept at it, and it came out absolutely perfect! She truly is a superstar.

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This fantastic Russel & Erwin “Prudhon” replica in clear plastic, is available immediately at our 6 Davis Ave. shop in Brookline. Expertly crafted by Stephen Shellenberger of @houghtonstfoundry, this and many other patterns are available for a single door or an entire home. 

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Designers: bring your swatches, and we’ll tint each knob to to match your specifications. It’s always best to call ahead for an appointment, but walk-ins are welcome.

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In our shop for refinishing, this Heywood Wakefield dresser and nightstand. 

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Nice lines, lovely curves... An American classic.

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This antique doll’s kitchen will need a complete overhaul, and we’re super excited to be the ones to do it! We’ll be taking this one all the way... right down to recreating the tile paper, and touching up the worn-away paint. Check out the little stopper for the sink! 

Getting our hands on solid brass door knob screws has been increasingly hard, with lots of companies shipping what they say will work, and it simply doesn’t. So.... I’ve decided to machine them myself! So far it’s still taking a couple minutes per screw to get it right, but I’m getting faster, and in the end, they’re exactly what I want. This was definitely worth missing dinner for.

This cute little horse and coach, represent an important memory for our customer. He’s asked us to clean and repair them, but only to the state remembers them in. Here, we’re just about finished, and yes... the wheel’s gonna stay all wonky. What a cute little thing! I wish he still had the coachman.

A funny pile of antique doorstops that showed up in a box at our shop. :) Come on in if you see the one you want, but... if you need to duplicate the ones you already have, we will turn brand new ones for you that look just like the old ones. Just bring an example and we’ll make as many as you want.

This fantastic Victorian sewing table was donated to our shop by @davidlazowski. The inlay is in really rough shape, but walnut body is perfect. These were being mass produced at the beginning of the industrial revolution using older designs that were modified for production. Some of them even have game boards on the top. We’re not really sure what we’ll do with it, but one idea is to use it for training. Sure is pretty. Thanks Laz! :)

Four little Hitchcocks all in a row,

Didn’t get woven because of the snow.

When Monday comes ‘round, we’ll re-start the show,

And Koko will make them perfect, you know.

It’s a vintage seat-end from an unknown Masonic Temple!

Cool!

Jamie, our evening shift guy, babysitting a questionable tangle of clamps.

Another top notch re-painting job by the fabulous @bedhermin. Reflected is a ceiling fixture by Scott from @atlanticworkshop

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Solid yew, William and Mary era, country settle bench BEFORE…

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Solid yew, William and Mary era, country settle bench AFTER…

Here’s a lovely piece of vintage hardware surrounding a mortis lock, waiting for the right door to find a home on!

Here’s a beautiful hurricane lamp we’ve got for sale in the shop.

A vintage telephone! A weathervane!

So cool!

You just never know what you’re going to find when you come into RARE!

We’ve got table lamps and floor lamps and sconce lighting fixtures

Just another group of interesting items that will go home with happy customers…

You may now officially stop wondering what a crystal chandelier looks like with all the crystal removed!

You're welcome.

More assorted pieces of fabulousness!

We’ve got some wonderful lamp shades and lighting fixtures.

These are some great vintage doorknobs, hmm?

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Here are some lovely vintage tiles that might look perfect in your kitchen or bathroom!

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Here are some lovely vintage tiles that might look perfect in your kitchen or bathroom!

Some more wonderful curios!

Our beautiful showroom floor! Some pieces have just come in, some are finished and waiting to go out!

A window filled with  wonders… come on in and see if there’s something special for you!

We’re looking forward to restoring this sentimental piece for a customer who has a lot of happy childhood memories tied up in it!

Looks like Cupid’s irresistible love was a little much for his drawing arm, but we’ll have him back to his match-making shenanigans in no time. A lovely replica of Marie Cassavetti’s “L’Amore Irresistable” in the shop for arm reattachment surgery.

Here’s a cute little prize that fell out of a crevice in a customer’s desk while we were working on it. This Sunoco “presidential coin” featuring Jimmy Carter. 

I don’t know how I missed these, the internet seems to be littered with them. :) I love these little finds, and getting them back to their rightful owner.

We’re not normally one to dis on other people’s work, but the number of errors found in this brand new, Bauhaus style lamp, blows our minds. First off, not a drop of Loctite, or even a lock washer, which allowed the whole thing to fall apart on the first bulb change. Then, because the switch was too tall, they bent the blades back to keep them from touching the metallic base, put the screws in from the opposite side, and wrapped it in a mountain of electrical tape. This was the tip of the iceberg of an amazingly irresponsible wiring job. We were delighted to repair this and make it safe to operate!

We still have a few of these fantastic Czechoslovakian, Art Deco, spatter globe lamp shades left for sale in the shop. Walk in or DM for details. The suckers are awesome and increasingly hard to find.

This is cool: Our customer is moving, and wanted to take the broom closet door with her, because it has all the measurements of her children as they grew. She called us with not enough notice to order a custom door, so Matt and Jamie made and installed a perfect match. Here Jamie is vacuuming up, getting ready for the final coat of paint. Nice to be able to help with this extra sweet request. :)

Just wrapping up coloring the seats on this sweet unmatched set that Koko caned.

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Dig this gorgeous Biedermeier card table! I love the figured applewood veneer! Yowza! 

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When it came to us, it was super beat up, with tons of missing bits, some bad warps, and super wobbly legs. 

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Now, all fixed up, It’s just a heart breaker!

This is fun: A carving of a folded shirt with holes drilled where the stitching would be, so that light from led strips mounted inside can shine through. So silly! Not much to repair, they just needed a new dc adapter. Fun to have it here for a few minutes though. Zoom to see the texture!

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Here’s a nice transformation... From super-butt-ugly… 

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…to straight-up stunning, in just a couple well practiced moves.

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Several views of the complete disaster inside the junction boxes of this brand new, four-tier, twelve-arm chandelier. 

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All this, AND it had no ground wire. Holy crap! It’s absolutely astounding that these are being sold like this. The final picture is what we made each level look like. As well, we added a ground in the top tier, (how hard would that have been in the first place), and opened and closed each box a few times to make sure nothing was getting mushed or pinched.

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 I’m not going to reveal the maker, because I’m not looking for trouble, but this was a $7000 chandelier and it was still this messed up. I suggest having your electrician check out the internal wiring of anything that seems like it might have been “hand crafted”, ‘cause we see this kind of stuff far too often.

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Here’s Seth finishing up these awesome Fenway seats our customer won at auction.

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Unsung heroes of the game, these rugged guys have finally earned their place in the hall... the front hall... where a new generation of baseball hopefuls will lace on their little league cleats. 

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Good times! Go Sox!

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This poor guy did an unintended header during a living room soccer match. 

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The dad-of-the-house @premierpaverco performed a pretty heroic re-gluing, but couldn’t find all the pieces. 

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@bedhermin to the rescue! She carved the missing bits from balsa wood and got him looking sharp again in no time. This dude is ridiculously tall... I can’t believe this is the first time he got hurt.

Shot over to Southie today to see Doug, Bruce and the gang from @artapplications, then over to see @josephinepergola and the fam from @richmond_furniture_co, working hard on their super-high-end furniture frames, and as always, across to Ethyl & Andy’s for a couple hotdogs. Delish!

Loving these Louis 16th style, giltwood Bergère chairs. Hand-carved in the 19th century from European Beech, they’re clearly by the same maker, but definitely not the same chair. Unfortunately they had been “fixed” by an amateur before being upholstered, and the tension of the cloth snapped the crest rails right off. Looking pretty good now, though.

Attack of the Eames Chairs! It would seem that the epoxy holding the shock mounts on the earlier Eames Chairs has reached its lifespan, and they’re all failing at once. We see such a continual stream of these, that we now have “Eames Chair Day”, where that’s all we do for the whole shift. Who woulda thunk.

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This lovely Queen Anne style chair is hiding a ridiculous secret... 

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It would seem that in an attempt to stabilize the chair, a well meaning upholsterer tried to use rows of staples to hold the corner blocks in. It’s not the first time I’ve seen this, but it never fails to make me laugh.

I love helping the newer folks in the shop grow their skill set. Here’s Jamie getting his wings on the metal lathe, making parts for a custom billiard lamp. This dude is learning so fast, what a trip! Go Jamie!

Here, Second Seth, (or Deese, to eliminate confusion), does various structural repairs to this cool old desk before we do a full refinishing. I’m almost positive it’s a “Furniture in the Raw” piece from the late seventies. I just found out they are still in business in Texas! There used to be one here in Brookline, but it closed in the eighties. Back then they sold nice, sturdy furniture from various makers, but totally unfinished. Now it looks like they carry finished furniture too. Anyone else remember Furniture in the Raw in Coolidge Corner? It was on Beacon, right next to the Mr. Steak/Veronique/Egghead Software/Wine shop/Vacant for years/Capital One Cafe.

This far-out folding Adirondack chair came in having already been repaired once with some very soft aluminum wire, (that didn’t last). Here @sethdeasy inserts some larger gauge brass rod after having up-sized the holes to accept it. It’s weirdly comfortable considering it made entirety of slats. I kinda want one

Check out this awesome antique Chinese apothecary cabinet! Fantastic condition and for sale in the shop! Swipe to see more views and some of the names of the medicinals on the sides of the drawers. DM to hold.

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This nesting table had such a terrible warp to the top, that we had to cut twenty saw kerfs in the underside 

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Came out pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. 

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Came out pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. 

Need sixty four feet of mahoghany quarter-round in a hurry, and none of the lumber yards are coming through? Grab a plank, shoot on by the shop, and we’ll mill it up in a hurry.

I adore my customers! This is a photo I received from local contractor @laskyjeffrey looking to match some knobs, but look at the picture... great composition, fantastic colors, and an Erector Set as a tool box! Nice touch!

Here’s another lovely modern wood folding chair, gleaming with its new finish and ready for whatever life throws at it next.

Here’s a great seatback, just enjoying the ambiance of Brookline Village.

A friend of RARE’s handcrafts these beautiful necklaces from bits and baubles of a time gone by.

We’ve got them in-house for a bit and you should drop by if you’re interested.

Once this little guy gets all cleaned up and some of the roses rebuilt, we’ll fix the shade and give it a rewire but, until then, it’ll stoically guard our desk.

Here’s a great example of all the wonderful things we can do when fabricating a doorknob.

The New Orleans Public School knobs are a personal favorite.

If you’ve got one and want more, come to us to fabricate!

Here’s a great old Remington typewriter that we brought back to working condition for a customer. It’s so cool to see items like this being useful!