The phrase “make do and mend”, the title of a pamphlet given out to British housewives during the Second World War, applies to our present-day lives, probably more than was initially expected.
How often do we throw away an item that we could actually fix, so long as we give it a bit of time and learn some hands-on skills? With the skill to repair our possessions, we could save not only resources and money, but material heritage.
When the time to learn these skills or to make repairs isn’t there, but there is an interest in bringing an object back to life, people like Ahti Toplaan are called up.
Toplaan is a carpenter and furniture restorer. Based in the Lilleküla sub district of Tallinn, he is the man behind AT Restaureerimiskoda. Founded almost 30 years ago, he deals with the restoration of old and new furniture, upholstery, and the purchase/sale of antique furniture. Over these years, his “industrious hands have restored and refurbished hundreds upon hundreds of items, from simple chairs to sophisticated Empire style display cabinets, plus loads of upholstered furniture… The clientele has also varied, from a neighbour's aunt to the President of Estonia.”
Many would stop there, but Toplaan isn’t bashful to share the results of this hard work. Armed with a video camera, he has documented the process through his YouTube channel, AT Restoration.
Toplaan’s content is tremendously satisfying. In one video, he restores an ornate vanity table with carved beasts, tails, and claws wrapping around a mirror.
In another, he’s fixing a tall wardrobe. Detailed cinematography shows each step, passing on his knowledge to viewers, as well as being a source of entertainment. Let’s call it edutainment. Overall, he’s published a couple dozen videos up to half an hour in length.
While taking apart these pieces, what went into making them in the first place is revealed. We see what’s involved in deconstructing furniture, piece by piece; establishing how parts are connected by adhesives, screws, joints, and so on. Sometimes DIY fixes are applied by previous owners before the pieces make their way to Toplaan. In these instances, we see how repairs can be improved.
The range of equipment in Toplaan’s arsenal certainly helps to make long-lasting repairs. A biscuit joiner, a band saw, a disc sander, and a table saw are some of the more powerful tools he uses. However, simpler tools are also needed, to repair minute details. Chisels are used to carve small replicas of missing segments. Wax is melted with a heat gun into cracks to seal them. PVA glue and clamps re-adhere broken pieces.
Toplaan has also dipped into the repair of an instrument: an Estonian parlour-style seven string guitar from the early 1900s, created by Tönis Olbrei & Co.
Although it’s not a piece of furniture, this repair job really hits home. We witness a craftsperson breathe life back into an object that is not only intended to look beautiful, to serve as a resting place, or to provide storage space, but to experience movement and emit sound. We can imagine what the music of an Estonian guitarist in the early 1900s would have sounded like.
In January 2022, the number of subscribers to AT Restoration passed 100,000. By July 2023, it had ballooned exponentially, to 219,000 subscribers. What grew this large following, and an international one at that? Naturally, his skills as a woodworker and in the careful act of restoration. Then there is the aforementioned educational component.
Yet, even if one never dreams of restoring furniture themselves, there are other draws. There is something pleasing about seeing grime chiselled away from wood, of precise joinery fitting together, a high grit sandpaper bringing a carved detail down to a perfect smoothness and size. There is satisfaction in the act of (vicariously) completing a physical task, repairing an object you could’ve sworn was broken forever.
Moreover, his videos aren’t filled with distracting music and narration; only occasional captions, in which we get context and Toplaan sometimes cracks a joke or two to keep it light.
There’s a community around these types of videos so much so that in May of 2023, a competition was held between Ahti Toplaan and two other YouTube channels, Makerstauratore and Chrigun Restoration. Toplaan fixed up a dilapidated 1920s chair for this competition, restoring a shattered seat bottom, uneven wear, a broken spindle, missing and broken armrests, and chipped sides. One commenter remarked, “This restoration you took on could barely be called a chair. You gave it a stunning new life. Your talents are incredible to watch!”
There is an outpouring of admiration in each of these videos, and it’s heartening to see such a universal appreciation of this skillset. Woodworking is a time-honoured practice. Woodworking is honest work. And woodworking brings purpose back to neglected objects.
