An Emmaus South Manchester volunteer has received a week’s expert furniture restoration tuition thanks to Harte Conservation and the Our Town Hall Project.
Christine, one of our many dedicated Emmaus volunteers, received the training in early June from Piran Harte, a furniture and wood restoration expert from Harte Conservation. Our team of Emmaus South Manchester volunteers repair, refurbish and upcycle donated furniture to help raise funds for our charity.
Christine said: “I have had a lovely week with Piran learning all about wood, stains and finishes. I have learned a lot which I can now put into practice in our Wythenshawe furniture workshop. I had the opportunity to try out a wood-turning lathe which was great fun and I managed to make a rolling pin and drawer knobs.
“I feel very lucky to have been given this opportunity and Piran was a very good teacher. Hopefully, I will now be able to pass this knowledge on to our other Emmaus volunteers.”
Sharing furniture restoration skills
Piran is currently working on the restoration of furniture at Manchester Town Hall as part of the Our Town Hall Project. Manchester’s Grade 1 listed Town Hall is being restored and brought into line with the requirements of a modern-day civic building.
As part of Piran’s Our Town Hall Project commission, he pledged to support a Manchester-based charity to help embed furniture restoration skills within the community.
Piran said: “I’ve really enjoyed working with Christine because she has asked numerous questions and wants to have a deeper understanding about all the things that are involved in restoring furniture. Knowing that Christine will be passing these traditional furniture restoration skills on to other Manchester volunteers is fantastic.”
Emmaus South Manchester champions reuse, repair and upcycling to save good items from going to waste whilst giving people the chance to save money and shop sustainably. Proceeds from the sale of items go towards our aim of opening an Emmaus community to support people who are homeless and those suffering social exclusion.
Items of furniture which are repaired or restored by Emmaus volunteers are sold in our charity Emporium, a large 2,000sqft store located in the hall of St. Andrews Methodist Church in Wythenshawe. The Emporium is open Wednesday to Saturday, 10am-4pm, and has its own on-site workshops and a Community Café.
Find out more…
- Visit our Wythenshawe Emporium charity store
- Donate goods or request a free furniture collection
- Browse our current volunteer opportunities
