Thank you very much for doing the mirror so beautifully, we are quite delighted.

Clare has just finished our cushion mirror, it looks just as I imagined it would, all the missing bits are either replaced or remade and the whole rather delicate structure is solid and touchable, but not over gilded.  My husband remembers it from the war years at his grandmother’s and says it has never looked so good.

Yours gratefully

Heather S

Queens Park

9.4.14

I met Clare via a recommendation through my local and brilliant Frame shop. Clare was local and came highly recommended – a win, win situation. I was planning on having my lovely and large antique mirror hung in the hallway and it came to my attention via my partner that maybe after 25 years, 10 house moves across various countries and fall during an earthquake that it needed a bit of TLC before it was hung on the wall.

Clare asked me what I expected the mirror to look like when she had finished, she drew on her pad where the parts were missing and we discussed the fact that I loved the age and imperfections of the frame and wanted the new parts to blend in with the overall look of the mirror frame now as opposed to making every part of the frame look newer. We understood each other immediately. Clare pointed out where it had been varnished over and that she would like to try and remove this as it had over the years aged to dirty brown colour, strange I hadn’t even noticed this until she pointed it out. We worked out a schedule together and Clare was always there on time quietly working her magic, when she discovered some woodworm she alerted me immediately and we adjusted the budget accordingly so that it could be eliminated. Her technical knowledge of what was gold and what was metal plate was superb as were her cleaning and restoration skills. What I got at the end of her work was a mirror frame that looks like it has aged beautifully over time (with no large chunks missing) it is her light touch that has given life back to my beautiful mirror and has reminded my why I purchased it so many years ago

Colleen K

West Hampstead 17.3.15

Thank you for your wonderful work on the fireplace! It looks amazing and really fits my living room now. I was happy with the quality and the price too.

I wish you all the best in your work,

Thank you

Svetlana

Chelsea Harbour

2.10.15

Having bought such beautiful things for my home.. it has always been hard, and sometimes quite stressful, to see accidental damage to something you, perhaps unknowingly, have come to harbour a lot of love for.

 

So it is much appreciated when a specialist, like Clare, personable and cheery, swings by, with a manner that makes you feel as if anything is redeemable. Artists such as these restore, not just the furniture, but one’s hope and faith.. in what seem almost forgotten, or at the very least hard to come by, crafts and skills.

 

I am very grateful for not just the restoration of my silver-leaf table, but also for the extreme care and understanding Clare showed as we worked out how best to approach the repair. She is a perfectionist and a realist.. the best combination one could hope for when restoration work is at hand, and one’s own ignorance of such things leaves you with your heart in your mouth.

 

She has my deepest thanks and appreciation.

 

A Zaki, Primrose Hill.

13.3.15

I met Clare via a recommendation through my local and brilliant Frame shop. Clare was local and came highly recommended – a win, win situation. I was planning on having my lovely and large antique mirror hung in the hallway and it came to my attention via my partner that maybe after 25 years, 10 house moves across various countries and fall during an earthquake that it needed a bit of TLC before it was hung on the wall.

Clare asked me what I expected the mirror to look like when she had finished, she drew on her pad where the parts were missing and we discussed the fact that I loved the age and imperfections of the frame and wanted the new parts to blend in with the overall look of the mirror frame now as opposed to making every part of the frame look newer. We understood each other immediately. Clare pointed out where it had been varnished over and that she would like to try and remove this as it had over the years aged to dirty brown colour, strange I hadn’t even noticed this until she pointed it out. We worked out a schedule together and Clare was always there on time quietly working her magic, when she discovered some woodworm she alerted me immediately and we adjusted the budget accordingly so that it could be eliminated. Her technical knowledge of what was gold and what was metal plate was superb as were her cleaning and restoration skills. What I got at the end of her work was a mirror frame that looks like it has aged beautifully over time (with no large chunks missing) it is her light touch that has given life back to my beautiful mirror and has reminded my why I purchased it so many years ago.

Colleen K

West Hampstead 17.3.15

Clare Lewis’s work was simply amazing, she repaired a very old mosaic mirror to bring back it’s full beauty after being dropped. She painstakingly worked putting back minute pieces and produced a work of art.

The creativity, beauty and quality of work and finish is to the highest standard. She worked to schedule and within the budget, liaising with our client overseas and I in London.

I would not hesitate to recommend her for her very high standards of workmanship.

Yvonne B.

Mayfair

I have used Clare on numerous occasions to restore and regild several antiques over a number of years.  They have always come back looking fresh and infinitely better than the somewhat tired specimens they were beforehand.  Clare understood immediately the look that I was seeking to achieve, and has avoided the pitfall of the over-restoration that robs a piece of its character and history.  She has been a delight to deal with, very flexible in working around my demanding schedule, and unfailingly helpful and cheerful – and all to a realistic budget!  Very warmly recommended.

Garyth S., collector, SW10

11.5.15