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Restoration Materials Antique restoration materials
Antiques for Sale
Seat Restoration
Service History and Education |
Why did we do this in the first place? It
all started in 1981, working as Personal Assistant to a Valuer and
auctioneer gave Kim a passion for and appreciation of beautiful
antiques. Only one problem existed then as now - it's all very well
admiring a Rolls Royce, but you need more than a bicycle income
to satisfy the desire to own one! It was because of this lack of
finance and a need for furniture that antique restoration began
- it seemed the obvious solution - buy the less expensive, neglected
antique, then revitalise it. It was a hobby at first, but in no
time some very handsome pieces of furniture were being revived and
used daily in our home. Then Lady Luck played her hand - we were
introduced to a group of very talented local craftspeople and specialists,
their training, encouragement and enthusiasm were to prove invaluable.
1986 turned out to be a watershed year, the death of a near relative
left us with a large quantity of furniture, most of it was in poor
condition but we wanted to keep it all. In between having our two
sons, we spent eight years slowly restoring each piece with the
guidance of our friend and Mentor a - well known and experienced
local restorer. By the time the furniture was restored and useable,
other people had started to ask if we could revive some of their
antiques, we were also asked to carry out specialist seating replacement
for other restorers - I think the expression is "It grew like
Topsy" from there on. Former Glory, was founded by Kim in 1993,
and Tim who had always been involved in the restoration, (but also
held down a "proper" job!) finally had to give in to the
pressure of work and become Former Glory "devotee" in
1999. Thanks to the increased
interest in traditional and rural crafts the demand for good quality
materials in DIY quantities increased substantially, as a result
in 1999 we set up a our internet based mail order service to supply
the finest quality seating materials to anyone who would like to
try seat weaving for themselves. The materials we supply are highly
specialised and difficult to find elsewhere and as we use these
materials ourselves, they have to be top quality or else we are
unhappy! For example, "Blue" and "Gold Riband"
hand cane in 10 sizes, and top quality paper fibre rush in colours
from green and yellow to dark ochre. Centre cane is also available
in 10 sizes and "Cordon" a traditional French seat rush
material is perfect for antique French chairs. If you need advice
on the use of any product, we will be happy to help. To view our
seating materials please look at www.seatweavingsupplies.co.uk our new sister site for mail order materials. If there is something in particular that you are looking for, please ask, we'll do our best to help. E-mail by clicking on the link below, or you can fax or 'phone on (01202) 895859. Please don't be surprised if you get the recorded message - it happens - usually it means that nobody has got empty AND clean hands! Either leave a message and we will get back to you a.s.a.p., or give us a few minutes and try again. Our mobile number is 07769 828727 for those times when we are "out and about". Please click here if you wish to e-mail us
Former Glory - Ferndown - Dorset - England - Telephone/Fax 0044 (0)1202 895859 This Website and all contents are the copyright of Former Glory Dorset © 2002-2008, please ask permission before reproducing our hard work |
Our family run private workshop is based on the borders
of Dorset and Hampshire in England, we have always specialised in
"Seat Bottoming" otherwise known as cane, rush, seagrass
and general "wicker" chair seat weaving, this combined
with the traditional aspects of antique restoration means we are
able to offer a complete "one stop" in-house service to
our clients. our aim is to offer an affordable, good quality, sympathetic
restoration service. With over two decades of experience we have
the hands on knowledge to solve most problems! We always give a
full written estimate before work commences, and customers are welcome
to view their furniture throughout the restoration if they wish.
We can also offer a digital photographic record of the work if required.
References are available on request.