IFyouhaveapredilectionforold,almostantiquefurniture,thenheadforSooBengWa’swarehouseinSungaiBuloh.
“Ittakesaboutaweekortwotorestoreanoldpiece,”saysSoo,anantiquedealerandrestorerofoldfurniture.
Hisclientscomeinbyappointmentonly,choosewhattheywantfromthepieceshehascollectedfromalloverthecountry,andhegetstoworkonthem.
What’samazingishisclaimthatdespitetheclutter,heknowswhereeverythingis.
“EverymorningImakemyroundsandwhenItakeclientsthroughthewarehouse,Ipayattention.SoIrememberwhereeverythingis.”
Healsocan’tbearthethoughtofoldfurniturebeingthrownaway,whichexplainstheenormouscollectionofratherpoorly-lookingwoodenpieces.
“Ilovethesepieces.SomeofthemareinreallybadshapebutIcan’tbeartoseethemthrownaway.”
Someofthefurniturehadbeensalvagedfromtheroadside.Otherswereboughtorcollectedbyhisrunnersfromownerswhonolongersawthevalueoftheiroldfurniture.Butwhatothersconsiderjunkcan,inSoo’shands,begivenanewleaseoflife.
HANDMADEPIECES:ThebulkofSoo’scollection
Hepointstoarathersorry-lookingchairwitharattanfinish.Hethenwhipsoutapiecethatbearsacloseresemblancetothechair,onlythisonelookssturdy,polishedanddesirable—anoldpiecethathasbeenperfectlyandingeniouslyrestored.
“Thisiswhatitcanlooklikeafterit’srestored.”
AccordingtoSoo,furnitureisconsidered“old”ifitwasmade40yearsagoormore.Anantiqueisanythingmorethan100yearsold.Inhiswarehouses(that’sright,hehastwo),hehaspiecesrangingfrom40-70yearsold.
Hesaysthereisagrowingmarketforoldwoodenpieces.“Moreandmorepeoplearebeginningtoappreciateanddesirethesepiecesfortheirsentimentalvalue.”
Mostofthepieceshehaswerehandmadeatonetime—someverypainstakinglyandintricatelycarved.Hiscustomers,hesays,appreciatethetime-consumingworkthatwentintomakingtheoriginalpieceyearsago.
Tohim,it’smorethanjustfurniture—hecantellyouwhatwoodwasused,howolditisaswellasitshistoryandhowitcametobe.
Pointingtoa70-year-oldPeranakanwardrobe,heexplainsthattheteakwoodwouldhavebeenbartertradedwithtradersfromMyanmarandthattheitemwasmadebytheShanghaiChinese.
SoogrewupinGurun,Kedah,wherehelearnedfinerattanwork.ThenhecametoKualaLumpurandjoinedacompanythatrequiredhisexpertiseinrattanfurniturework.Atthesametimeheworkedpart-timeasarestorerofrattanandwoodenfurniturefromEurope.Whenhesawthepotentialinthis,heandafewfriendsstartedacompanytorestoreantiqueEuropeanfurniture.
Thensixyearsagohewentsolo.Hebegancollecting,restoringandsellinglocalfurniturethatisconsidered“old”underthecompanynamePastMasters.
“Restorationworkrequiresinterest,patienceandanappreciationofthepastmasters,”heexplains.Hegivesanassurancethathiscompanydoesnotdoshoddyrestorationworkwhichiswhyheprovidesamoney-backguarantee—dissatisfiedcustomerscansellthefurniturebacktohim.
Dependingonthematerial,restorationbeginswithstrippingthepaintorlacquer.Thisisdonebysoakingitfirstinacid,thenhosingitdownandre-soakingitinalkaline.Thiswillbringouttheoriginalcolourofthewood.
Thencomestherepairstagewherethepieceisdismantled.Gapsorchipsarefilledandrestored,sometimeswithsimilarwoodfromotherfurniture.Thepieceisthensandpaperedandsentforlacquering.
Sopassionateisheaboutrestorationworkthatitirkshimhowmanyso-calledrestorersskippartsofthewholeprocess.Theyjuststripthepaintworkoffandre-varnish.Malaysiansdon’tknowmuchaboutrestorationorthemaintenanceofoldfurniture,hesays.
Forone,theydon’tknowthattheirold,brokenhandmadewoodenfurniturecanberestoredandmadetolooklikeantiquepieces.Secondly,theydon’tknowhowtopreserveandprotectwoodenpieces.
PERANAKANPIECE:The10yearoldperanakanpieceafteritwasrestored
“Itisimportanttouseteakoilandbeeswaxtoprotectfurnituremadeofsolidwood,nothouseholdcleaners.Normalcleanerscontainacidwhichremovesshineandleavespatchesonthewoodwork.Oncethathappens,thewoodhastobestrippeddownbeforeitcanberestoredtoitsoriginalcondition.”
Soosaysthatoldfurniturehasgoodvalue.Firstly,handmadepiecesaredifficulttogetnow.HegetshisstockfromplaceslikePenang.Hehaschairs,stools,tablesandcupboardsaswellasdoorpanelsandwindowanddoorframes—somewithbeautifulmotifsandcarvings.
“Secondly,Iamrecyclingoldfurniture,whichmeanssavingtrees,”hepointsout.
Hispiecesarelimited-editionitemsratherthanmassproductions.
“Thiskindoffineworkmanshipcannotbefoundtoday—tooexpensiveandcarpentersarenotwillingtoinvestthatkindoftime,”hesays,referringtothePeranakancupboard.
Healsodoesrestorationworkforhisclients’oldfurniture.
“Iwillgotothehouseandseehowmuchworkneedstobedoneonthepieces.ThenIwillgivethemaquotationsothattheycandecideiftheywanttogetitdone.”
Hewillthentransportthefurnituretohisworkshopatthewarehouse.
Hehasnooutletforhiswaresbut,fromtimetotime,displayshisrestoredpiecesatBadanWarisan.Hisstuffis,afterall,trulyaMalaysianheritage.
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