One of the primary goals of Furniture Repair Bank is to promote and foster the skills of repair, refinishing, and redesign. Talents such as these are less frequently passed down through the generations in our increasingly disposable economy. After a tour of our facility in early fall, a furniture donor asked if we worked with students, to which we of course replied with an enthusiastic yes! Their child attends Summit Sierra High School located nearby in the International District of Seattle. The school conducts a program called Expeditions Experiences, an opportunity for students “to be exposed to, explore, and pursue their interests.” Thanks to the outreach of this amazing donor, the school contacted us about participating in the program for the fall quarter. We were thrilled to have the opportunity to host a cohort of high school students who were interested in learning the skills we actively promote, so of course we jumped at the chance!

For two weeks we were tasked with introducing nine eager high school students to the world of furniture repair and refinishing. A curriculum was created to set a schedule and overview of each aspect of the processes we would cover including furniture disassembly, upholstery, sanding, stripping, painting, and staining. We had a lot to cover in a relatively short amount of time! 

Day one started pretty slowly with a getting-to-know-you session for us to find out more about the students and their motivations and for them to learn about the background of our program and the mission of our organization. From the feedback we received on day two, that was boring, but in all fairness, there was a lot of sitting and listening that day. They were eager to get hands-on so they were happy that the remainder of our time was working directly on furniture items!

First up: Upholstery!

We do not yet have a full-time, in-house upholstery expert, so week one included virtual training with Kymm Clark of Lull Co. Studio from across the country in Pennsylvania. Kymm shares our aspiration of promoting the skills of furniture restoration to as many people as possible, offering classes online and in person. It is truly amazing how much can be accomplished with a little help from a Zoom room! As luck would have it, we had recently received a donation of nine parsons-style dining chairs, a perfect match for our nine students. After removing many staples and the old, worn, and tattered fabric, our students set out measuring (twice of course) and cutting batting and fabric to bring the chairs back to life. Kymm patiently walked them through the process over the next few days, and one student took to the skill so well that she was able to assist her classmates when they weren’t sure of the next steps. Since we had to move on to other types of furniture restoration, we were not able to fully complete all the chairs that week, but did make significant progress!

Next up: working with wood!

After multiple days of upholstery, our enthusiastic students were eager for tools that weren’t staple guns and fabric scissors. Luckily for them, the warehouse was stocked with a variety of different pieces including dining tables, benches, chairs, dressers, end tables, and two very large and out-of-style TV cabinets in need of repurposing. After some video education about the types and purposes of sandpaper and machine sanders, and of course an overview of safety protocols, we set out individually and in pairs to work on multiple pieces. But first, music! 

To keep things entertaining while more spread out, two students assembled a playlist of hits from their younger days in the 2010s. Work commenced to the energetic soundtrack of Katy Perry, One Direction, Lady Gaga, Ke$ha, Pitbull, and others pumping out of the Bluetooth speaker. One extra large TV cabinet was fully disassembled and the wood was used to create a half dozen rolling carts, essential items for frequently moving furniture around the warehouse space. The other was cut in half to be redesigned into a smaller TV stand to accommodate the more modern flat screens that have replaced the box-style TV the cabinet originally housed. The students particularly enjoyed the disassembly process as they were able to utilize sledgehammers and circular saws (with adult supervision of course!). Orbital sanders were put to work on tabletops and cabinets to prepare them for fresh stain to highlight the beautiful woodgrain. They learned how to apply gel stripper to remove multiple years of paint from an antique dresser and a whimsically painted chair, a satisfying but messy process!

Time to paint & stain!

After clearing away all the sawdust, our resident furniture-flipping expert Heidi showed our students how to prepare their pieces for either paint or stain. They learned about wood conditioner for staining, scuff sanding to prepare for paint and tack cloth for clearing away any dust or residue. Colors were chosen, brushes were distributed, and the music commenced along with the work. 

By the end of the two weeks, our mighty students made great progress on many pieces of furniture that will go to people in need in the Seattle area. A few of the fully finished pieces were delivered on December 30th to three families of Afghan refugees. We are so grateful and immensely proud of the hard work and dedication these teens put into their pieces to help others. The Expedition Exploration program offers a variety of career and interest programs, so we were honored to have been chosen for theirs. These young adults will go on to do great things, and we hope to see them again soon at the Repair Bank

See you at Furniture Repair Bank!

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