"Slowly the number of trainees dropped out"

 

As the weeks went on, one by one the other young starters dropped out.

My father knew that if he couldn’t put the time and effort into the small and “boring” things, he would never be able to specialise in any trade!

Slowly the number of trainees dropped out, leaving him as the last one working and the one who got the apprenticeship!

“What! You payed £800 for a bag of bits!?”

Realising he wanted one for himself, he set off to a local antiques fair where he didn’t have too much knowledge, but had many options- from a fully working and freshly French polished grandfather clock, to a pile of parts that needed putting together like a ridiculously complicated  jigsaw!

 

He looked at the bag of bits - mixed in together were the wooden parts of the clock case, along with the precise workings of the weathered, antique clock movement.

He decided to take a chance on bringing it back to life!

At this point he had no idea if the clock even worked or not, but decided to take the antique dealers word that once he built it back together, it would be an amazing centrepiece for his home.

My father arrived home with his bag in hand, big smile on his face to show my mother his latest haul, unfortunately she wasn’t as enthusiastic-

 

“How much did that cost?!”

Father: "£800"

"What! You payed £800 for a bag of bits!?”

 

After a fair amount of convincing, he started to slowly -bit by bit-  bring the clock back together, learning as he went how all the bits fitted together. 

Of course, this was the era before the internet was in full flow, so there was no google to ask for advice - he had to rely on his years of experience, some advice and a bit of luck!

"This was fine, until we realised that - once restored and working properly, all 7 clocks would strike 12 times each midnight"

 

He would later come to know the antique community as very tight knit and trustworthy- to the point a dealer once let my dad borrow his own car, to drive a Grandfather clock back home- despite it being the first time they had met.

Many weeks later - once the clock had been put back together he managed to sell it for a reasonable profit of £2500, which of course is still a lot now, but was a very big amount back in the 1990s

He put that money back into the business to purchase Antique clocks to restore.

We ended up with around 6-7full sized clocks around the house, which of course chimed on every hour.

This was fine, until we realised that - once restored and working properly, the 7 clocks would strike 12 times each midnight, waking up the entire household!

(After a while we got used to the sound and nowadays we sleep through with no issues!)

 

A turning point 

 

"Seeing the effects of a bad restoration was eye opening to me at such a young age.

In 1999 my father decided to leave his job and set up properly as Hagues Restoration Services to specialise in Antique clock and furniture restoration!

The business would continue for many years, as a young boy my dad would sometimes take us out to jobs to help where we could. 

A turning point for me was a memory of a specific job - a customer who had brought in a french polisher to restore a very special and sentimental table.

The previous polisher she brought in was unfortunately not specialised in the craft. He had decided to “have a go” and unfortunately damaged the antique table.

 

My dad (rightly) had an uphill battle to convince the customer that we were legitimate and would make sure that the furniture was restored perfectly this time.

seeing how upset a bad restoration had made someone was eye opening to me at such a young age.

We brought the table back and I watched my father work hard to restore it back to its original character and gleaming French polished finish!

After a week or so of polishing and restoration, I remember delivering the table back with my father while wondering if she was going to be happy, with many different thoughts running through my mind.

 

Despite knowing he had done a brilliant job, I couldn’t help but think-

“Had we done enough”

“Was it good enough”

 

Once we arrived, she saw the table and was overjoyed!  As a child I genuinely couldn’t believe what a difference it made for her!

She was jumping for joy and then grabbed a £10 note from her purse and pushed it into my hand- which as a 7 year old was very unexpected (and felt like a lottery win!)

I started to realise after that day that it wasn’t just the furniture we were restoring, but the memories of past relatives and the experiences that people have had with them:

 

“The ring mark that grandad left when he put his coffee down.”

 

“The small scratches on the writing desk that show a glimpse of the letters grandma used to write. “

“the antique chest that has been passed down through the family for may decades.”

Since then we work with the knowledge that the antiques we work with contain the memories of loved ones and the cherished moments with them that cannot be replaced..