June-July

East London makers
Christine Preisig goes shopping
for fabulous vintage finds at...
estoration
Station
There's a treasure trove for
unique, vintage furniture and
quirky toys, tools and ceramics,
from the 50s, 60s and 70s on
Shoredtich High Street.
And compared to the vintage
shops elsewhere on the street,
the items at Restoration Station
are a real bargain.
On Thursdays, Fridays and
Sundays, Restoration Station’s
workshop transforms into a
friendly little shop, selling midcentury
and antique pieces of
furniture that have been
16 LOVEEAST
carefully restored by a small
team of volunteers.
Restoration Station is part
of the New Hanbury Project,
a training and development
centre for people in recovery
from addictions. The volunteers
are all recovering addicts.
Most of them have previously
been trained in woodwork and
restoration at classes held by
the project in the same place.
In the more than three years
that the shop has been open,
the volunteers and managers
have developed a sure feeling
for what the design savvy
local clientele is after. New
stock comes in mainly through
donations and turnover is fast
as there isn’t much storage
space on the premises. So it's
worth popping in regularly to
browse the collection for new
finds.
Most pieces have been
repaired, hand-finished and
sometimes up-cycled. If you see
furniture in the shop that hasn’t
been touched by the restorers,
you can decide how exactly
you’d like to have it done up.
Restoration Station also offers
bespoke furniture restoration
and commissions for shop
fittings and furniture pieces
made with reclaimed materials
at low prices.
A social enterprise and notfor-profit
business, the focus is
on making a difference in the
volunteers’ lives.
“It’s not the goal to turn people
into professional woodworkers.”
Paul, a volunteer, explains.
“The main thing is about