Flatview Restoration Academy — About
We train respectful restorers: reversible methods, rigorous notes, and a love for the object’s story.
Mission
To keep furniture alive without erasing its past. We teach minimum intervention, reversibility, and precise documentation so your work stands to scrutiny—in the studio and in the museum.
Principles we teach
- Reversible first: hide glue, shellac, and mechanical joins before modern polymers.
- Respect patina: preserve wear that tells a story; stabilize rather than replace.
- Document everything: photos, mixes, pressures, humidity—make your future self proud.
- Safety and ergonomics: dust extraction, solvent discipline, body mechanics, hearing.
- Materials literacy: wood movement, adhesives, finishes, textiles—cause and effect.
- Ethics: disclose interventions; never forge; leave room for future conservators.
Team philosophy
We are a small group of conservators and joiners who believe in apprenticeship energy with modern pedagogy. We critique kindly, repair humbly, and celebrate the invisible. Your hands will learn as much as your notes.