Jay Blades and the team bring four treasured family heirlooms, and the memories they hold, back to life.
Master Saddler Suzie Fletcher has her work cut out with a treasured leather satchel that has been in the wars. Owner John’s grandfather bought it in a Cairo market while serving in the Second World War. Caught in a bomb blast, the lucky soldier escaped with just a shrapnel wound, and the satchel still bears his blood stains today. Suzie and her trusty sewing machine set to work restoring the satchel and preserving the memory of a much-loved member of the family.
Mary Murphy from Stafford arrives with a unique and fragile historical archive. It is in desperate need of expert intervention by bookbinder Chris Shaw. This crumbling Edwardian album is full of treasured family postcards sent by Mary’s grandma to her sisters. Each precious card documents the young woman’s day-to-day life and is treasured by Mary’s family. Chris works meticulously and incorporates the original album covers with a sturdy new spine to preserve this important record of Mary’s family.
Silversmith Brenton West transforms a cherished family heirloom that was a wedding gift over half a century ago. The hot water urn, known as a samovar, was one of the few belongings that accompanied Nawzad and Karen when they fled Iraq with their young family. Brenton sets about transforming the dented, tarnished urn as he attempts to get it back in action.
Former butcher Marcus Harding brings his defunct sausage-making machine to the barn for Dominic Chinea, the resident metalwork expert. It was once an essential bit of kit in Marcus’s dad’s butchers shop, and as a teenager Marcus was regularly tasked with sausage-making. However, when the shop closed, the machine was banished to the shed, where dust and rust has brought it to a grinding halt. This is a first for Dom, and he is eager to roll up his sleeves and give the vintage machine a total overhaul. Once reassembled and given a new lick of paint, this contraption is put to the test as Marcus shares a family recipe. It’s bangers for the Repair Shop team lunch! Show less