麻豆约拍

Jay Blades and the team bring four treasured family heirlooms, and the memories they hold, back to life.

There is an exciting challenge for furniture restorer Sonnaz Nooranvary, when she is given the opportunity to work on an iconic piece of Danish design known as an egg chair. Christine Langton and her daughter Kate deliver an armchair designed by Arne Jacobsen, bought in the 1960s when Christine and her husband Maurice were furnishing their first home together. Maurice loved this chair and sat proudly in it throughout his life. Even though it is now looking very worse for wear and has been shrouded under a blanket for years, it still reminds the family of a much-missed father and husband, and they would love to see it in as it was back in the Swinging Sixties. Sonnaz must strip this design classic to its bare bones and start from scratch, but she feels privileged to do so.

Next to arrive is Nick Wimshurst, with a remarkable item invented by his great-great-grandfather. Mechanical expert Steve Fletcher is fascinated by this piece of Victorian scientific history. The machine generates electrostatic energy, using spinning glass discs and brushes to capture the static charge and bars that transfer what look like lightning bolts. The instrument has been in Nick鈥檚 family for over 135 years, but he has never seen it work. He is hugely proud of his forefather鈥檚 invention and feels compelled to find someone to help get it up and running again. Steve draws on all his know-how, and what he remembers from his school physics lessons, to enable lightning to strike once again.

And It's a first for master hatter Jayesh Vaghela when Ross Brown visits with his grandfather鈥檚 sailor鈥檚 hat. Alf was a Royal Navy stoker, working in the vessel engine rooms, and served throughout the Second World War. He had quite the tale to tell his family when he returned safely after an attack from a German U-boat and was a true hero to a young Ross. When Alf died, Ross inherited the white hat that had witnessed so many adventures, but its custodian was only ten years old and unfortunately the hat came a cropper with green ink from a discarded pen. Ross has carried the guilt all his life and is putting all his faith in Jayesh to perform a minor miracle to erase the ink, while retaining the hat's characteristic wear and tear.