Mamta Rajani was overcome with emotion as she saw her two small chairs restored to their former glory on The Repair Shop. The chairs, given to her and her sister when they were young children living in Tanzania, held great sentimental value.
A Challenging Restoration
When Sarah Hatton examined the chairs, she discovered they were made with plastic-coated cane, an unfamiliar material. “Maybe going to cause me a little bit of a problem though,” she said. “I can see that they are canes which have been dipped in plastic. That is not common material that you use these days. But, my main issue is this being an unknown material to me, which is going to be quite difficult.”
Unsure if the material was still available, Sarah enlisted the help of Dominic Chinea, who suggested using a rubbery coating that looks like paint to dip the cane in. Sarah successfully applied the coating, calling it “a really hard challenge, but actually, it’s been fascinating.”
An Emotional Reveal
The chairs had been in Mamta’s garage for 26 years after her parents died. She brought them to London and hoped to pass them on to her granddaughter. When she saw the finished result, she burst into tears: “Oh my god! They look like the chairs that I actually sat on. Thank you so much. They look so beautiful. They look brand new. They were in a really bad state! Look at it, wow.”
The Repair Shop is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
