Lindfield resident Richard Talman received a curious phone call one evening in September last year.
As a bespoke jewellery manufacturer he’s had his fair share of beautiful and bizarre requests made upon his time, however this phone call was from a TV producer who was asking him to take part in the BBC2 show The Repair Shop.
“I already knew of the programme,” Richard said, “but they went on to explain that they had had their first piece of jewellery requested to be fixed and they needed a goldsmith who could help.”
Richard agreed and, a month or so later, took his place among the other craftspeople in an ancient barn at the Weald & Downland Museum, near Chichester.
The show features the general public bringing in a treasured possession in a poor state of repair, wishing it to be fixed. The Repair Shop houses such skilled craftspeople as a furniture restorer, ceramicist, horologist, saddler and teddy bear restorers. All the trades sit under one roof and host Jay Blades moves around looking at what’s happening at each bench during the repairs.
[To read the full article, see the March 2018 issue of Lindfield Life]