In a tense moment on The Repair Shop, expert Chris Shaw averted what he called a 'total disaster' by quickly changing his restoration plan while working on a family's treasured book.
Sentimental Item Brought to the Barn
Chris Shaw was tasked with restoring a book brought in by siblings Amy Bird and Lottie Blunden. The book was given to Lottie by their parents when she was three years old in 1976. Lottie described it as her most 'treasured possession,' explaining that her mother wrote it and her father illustrated it. It chronicled her life as a baby until the day her younger sister was born, and then continued.
Chris expressed awe at the book, saying: "It's amazing! What a beautiful thing to have, and your parents are obviously super talented." The siblings' father passed away in 2014, making the book even more precious.
Discovery of Sticky-Back Plastic
The book was 'tatty,' with pages falling out and various marks. As Chris began inspecting it, he noticed the outer cover had been covered in sticky-back plastic. He told the camera: "I've noticed this outer cover has been covered in sticky-back plastic. What it restricts me to do is sort out any of these stains. So, in the ideal world, I would like to remove the sticky-back plastic."
He dismantled the book and started melting the plastic to separate it from the page. However, things quickly went wrong.
Plan Change to Avoid Disaster
As Chris worked, he realized the plastic removal was damaging the cover. He commented: "Intention good, bad decision. So, by removing the sticky-back plastic, in fact, it's removed some of the colour from the back cover. If that were replicated on the front, it would be a total disaster. Basically, I'm stopping removing of the sticky-back plastic because it's too risky!"
He quickly pivoted his approach, explaining: "The positive side, I can tackle this stain here and then obviously re-colour the losses that I've taken out. Then I can reinstate some stick-back plastic to the correct width, and you're not going to notice what I've done."
Emotional Reveal
When the siblings returned to see the restored book, they were blown away. One sister remarked: "Look at the edges! Doesn't it look strong?" The other replied: "It feels so robust now, doesn't it? I love that you can still see where the smudge was, but it feels cleaner somehow, and the memory is still there."
Calling the fix 'perfect,' they thanked Chris for his work. One sister confessed feeling 'overwhelmed' looking at the restored book. The Repair Shop is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
