Got the mirror yesterday from dad’s house in PJ . The mirror should be hung at the Muar’s house bathroom . I had to drive to some god forsaken place in Sungei Buloh which was deserted to send the mirror to the carpenter . Sungei Buloh is full of godowns and small factories . The factory where the carpenter was in some back alley . Thank goodness , I drove during the evening when there was still daylight so I was able to find the factory as my contractor sent me the directions via Waze so I was able to find the location .

Sending the mirror through the carpenter as he got a small lorry . He will be going to Muar on Tuesday . I can bring the mirror in my car when I go to Muar myself but I want to get the mirror hung up in the bathroom in the Muar house . Also , the carpenter can shellac the mirror so that the mirror can be a bit more waterproof especially when the mirror is in the bathroom ..

Contacted the restorer so need to get the cupboard & coffee table to be sent to him . He has agreed to restore the cupboard but I have to show him the coffee table as the table is wonky so I want him to make the table sturdier . I am trying him out as a restorer but his main business is not restoring but furniture making as he makes one-off pieces . There is another restorer I know who does work for Badan Warisan but he is quite expensive . Since I am restoring pieces of furniture there are so some hidden cost to this . 1) If I am buying an item from an antique shop or antique yard, I got to make sure the item works or function properly for me to use it .

2) restoring cost is to pay the restorer, not cheap by the way and need to find a skilled restorer , this is also a major problem. I do not know whether I can get restorers in Melaka , maybe but do not know how to search for them .

3) Transportation costs to bring the items to the restorer and getting back the restored item back.

4) Transporting the items via lorry to Muar ! I foresee I can send items by batches not at one-go , added costs again!

Finding a restorer is also a problem. I wish I was in England as there are specialized restorers for example a restorer who specializes in just restoring glass chandeliers or a restorer who specializes in tiles and flooring of houses . Read this in the House & Garden magazines so I am wishing here I can contact such restorers !! Restorers with specializations do not exist in Malaysia because I suspect there is no market for them and they cannot make a living to do work just focused on restorations of such items . This is because there is a low appreciation or lack of awareness of the value of old items or antiquities in Malaysia . People here rather buy new items as 1) cheaper 2) no hidden costs of restoration 3) no need to pay for transportation costs as the furniture shop will transport the new furniture items for free . That is why furniture shops like IKEA has costs the dearth of heirlooms of furniture though in developed countries , there has been a revival of sorts for arts & crafts because people in the trade can make a living out of that . This is also , because the public has an appreciation of old & historical items & heirlooms .

I need to get an electrician for the antique industrial lights , finding one will be a problem . I know of an electrician but he did not do a good job of fixing the wires to an old lamp of my dad’s which I have in my condo . I was not happy with his wiring .

I had shipped chairs that were Isobel’s grandfather’s from England which costs me shipping costs of British pounds 1,000 but I got the chairs free from Isobel . Isobel dad is Scottish so I am assuming the chairs are Scottish too. The chairs are old-fashioned and looks as though the chairs were items used in a ordinary working class home ( am I being terribly snobbish here ? ). But that’s what I like with em chairs . There is nothing pretentious about the workmanship and the chairs are plain ( though there is a flower motif) and nothing fancy .

The restorer has agreed to make the chairs sturdier as my worry is that when people sit on the chairs that it should not collapse . There are 6 chairs and the chairs have been sitting in my condo for a few years now , ha ha ha . Mainly because I have no place to put them . Since I have the Muar house then once the chairs are restored , I need to transport the chairs so that they can be used instead of laying around unused in my condo .

So much to do……………..haiyah…………..