Breathing new life into an antique radio!
I was approached by the client with a request to turn an old radio into a drinks cabinet.
The radio in question was a 1940s Murphy a104 model. The valve radio was in need of a little TLC, and with some hesitation (I hadn't restored anything prior to this!), I launched in; the mahogany and metal fascias were rubbed back and re-treated, the fabric speaker grill replaced, and the dials and 'screen' were all given a clean up too. We wanted to keep as much of the original radio as possible; designing a cut-out in the cabinet walls to accept the beautiful curves of the radio sides.
To complement the 1940s radio, and the client's interior, we suggested a curved shape as the main base for the cabinet. A process of cutting, glueing and sanding followed, slowly building up the curved layers of the cabinet. Everything down to the small wooden knob on the tonic cupboard where lovingly crafted for this piece. Some quirky details were added; the fabulous backing paper to the cabinet, colour-changing LEDs and some beautiful leather to complete the 'bureau' style folding out mixing table.
This project was a real delight to work on and really emphasises our joy of combing old and new. New and old technologies were married throughout the making; beautiful early 20th design with cutting-edge CAD CAM, machine and hand tooling working side by side.
We're thrilled with the final outcome and hope that it is the talk of future cocktail parties!!
What the client says:
Extremely happy with the result, excellent creativity and craft-ship. Studio Shillito far surpassed our expectations and went over and above for this bespoke piece of furniture. Would highly recommend & we will be using again!
The Project: Studio Shillito were commissioned to build a bespoke drinks cabinet around a retro piece.
Consultation & Design: Rebecca approached our project with great curiosity & creativity. She put in significant research to reach a solution that was bespoke to our requirements. She consulted around critical decisions so we were confident in the choices we made. These were always backed up with evidence to support the recommendation.
Communication: We felt in safe hands for the entire duration of the project. Rebecca consulted us regularly, keeping us informed and excited about the project at each step - this line & style of communication was fantastic.
C+N Apr 23