Old Gold: Little Rock Repair Shop Revives Antiques

Hidden away in a nondescript shopping center, Little Rock Repair Shop seems to exist outside of time. A passerby could easily miss the historic restoration shop responsible for the vintage renovations at three Hot Springs bathhouses and the First Presbyterian Church of Little Rock.

Those who explore further will find a cozy space filled with old chairs, antique chandeliers, antique lamps and other relics.

Michael Crenshawfounder and leading restorer, took up the craft in the early 2000s after taking a job as an antique lighting restorer in Little Rock. Already an accomplished woodworker, trained by his carpenter father, Crenshaw gained experience working on chandeliers before going into business for himself.

“Mentiments are really important. I like to preserve beautiful things,” Crenshaw said.

After bouncing between several shops in downtown Little Rock, Crenshaw settled in February at 1506 Macon Drive, off Rodney Parham Road.

The new digs are a “game changer,” Crenshaw said, giving his business more visibility and customers than before.

“There’s always some kind of struggle downtown,” Crenshaw said.

Crenshaw also got a boost from the buzz surrounding his work at the Little Rock Zoo, which last year hired his store to complete an intensive restoration of its jumping carousel in honor of the ride’s centennial.

The project is nearing completion of its first phase: the restoration of the carousel’s 40 horses and four sleighs, each of which is carefully cleaned and varnished before Crenshaw and his team painstakingly recreate the century-old hand-painted designs and woodwork. .

Applying primer to horses using a spray gun is the only step that requires the use of a machine. Crenshaw and his staff do the rest by hand.

Crenshaw and the zoo are discussing the next steps of the restoration and the carousel’s future maintenance program, and he has already had his eye on another Little Rock carousel in need of restoration at Camp Aldersgate, a nonprofit that runs summer camps for people with special needs. needs.

Designed by the Herschell-Spillman Co., the same company that built the zoo’s carousel, Crenshaw said the Aldersgate Carousel is considered “a sister carousel to the Over-the-Jumps Carousel” and that he has been in talks with the organization about restoring it. .

The Little Rock Remodeling Shop also restored the Hale, Maurice and Quapaw bathhouses in Hot Springs, built in 1892, 1912 and 1922, respectively; First Presbyterian Church in downtown Little Rock, built in 1921; the elegant Villa Marre, a historic Scott Street home built in 1881 and featured as the home of Sugarbaker and Associates Interior Design in Designing Women; and many private homes in Arkansas.

Crenshaw doesn’t just do big projects. Many people come in with their antiques, usually chairs, looking for someone to bring them back to life.

“Perhaps I should write a book about repairing chairs. I’ve fixed so many different chairs that were broken in different ways,” Crenshaw said. “They are very similar, but if you break them, the chairs become like people. They are all different.”

However, it does not touch the upholstery.

“I worked for an upholsterer for a while, and he was the best there is, but, man, if you ever want to get hurt over a piece of furniture, be an upholsterer,” Crenshaw said with the grimness of a man who’s done his job. time in the trenches of antique restoration. “It will rip your arms apart.”

Crenshaw and his longtime clientele, some of whom have been coming to him for decades, simply have a deep love and appreciation for “things that are made in Arkansas and are part of Arkansas,” he said.

“How they are distributed among people in our community, what sentiments and stories are associated with them,” Crenshaw said. “We start conversations about these things, and those conversations never end.”

One of the best things about working in Central Arkansas, Crenshaw said, is the sense of camaraderie among the community of artisans in the area, “even among those of us who do the same thing and have the same skills.”

“I send people work, people send me work,” Crenshaw said.

The community of craftsmen generously shares knowledge.

“I know a lot of different people in Arkansas with a lot of different skills. Sometimes it’s, “Can you show me how to do this?” or “How did you do that?” but at no point is anyone afraid to share information,” Crenshaw said. “We all share information freely with each other.”

On the first Saturday of every month, the Little Rock repair shop hosts an open house where people can see projects in progress, socialize and enjoy light refreshments.

“We have different conversations and talk about all the different items and projects that are going on in the store from room to room,” Crenshaw said. “It’s just four or five hours of fun once a month.”

Little Rock Repair Shop posts blogs on its website, Littlerockrepairshop.com, where you can learn more about what Crenshaw and his team do.