Handmade Furniture & Exquisite Memory Boxes

Wheathills are experts in antique restoration, their cabinet makers, french polishers and traditional upholsterers are all experts in their fields.
There are also specialist experts within those fields, and one of Wheathills' French Polishers, Jonny, is the company's main Gold Leaf and Gilding expert.
Gilding, the application of Gold leaf has been used to restore and enhance furniture and interiors since the age of the Pharaohs, and can create a sense of opulence and quality within the setting or the piece. Gilding can transform ordinary furniture into extraordinary statements of style and wealth. But before enriching furniture, gold leaf is created using an old fashioned process going back hundreds of years, which converts 24 carat gold ingots into wafer thin sheafs of gold.

The above image shows an antique carved pine Torchere being restored by Wheathills and going through the process of re-gilding. The piece is first cleaned of the modern gold paint, conserving original gold leaf where possible. Gesso repairs are made then red boule is applied, the boule is skinned in with lemon shellac and further subsequent layers of boule are applied until a super smooth surface has been created, without losing definition of the carving.

Then 24 carat gold leaf is applied to an oil or water size. Water gilding creates a much higher sheen than oil and is used to create definition and interest to a piece.

Any loose gold skewings are removed with a squirrel hair mop and finally the gold is burnished to a sheen with agate.

The above picture shows a torchere before being gilded, and one resored with gold leaf applied.

This Memory Box is one of our most exquisite yet.
It was commissioned by parents and a grandparent for a baby girl.

To create a feeling of family togetherness for the new addition to the family, their passions were portrayed in the box itself. Intricate marquetry work and engraving was carried out by our Cabinet Makers in painstaking detail.

The Mother is a Ballet Tutor hence the ballet shoes tied by their laces around the key area.

The Father is an engineer, hence the exquisite dove-tail joints to the side of the box.

The Grandmother is a passionate Rose Gardener, look at the detail of the inlay and marquetry work, it really is unsurpassed.

At Wheathills we believe that details like this make a Memory Box by incorporating details into it , the loves, passions and hobbies of the commissioners.

At the moment we are quite busy with handmade furniture commissions and creating many a bespoke Memory Box. Having
recently finished a period property restoration on site the Cabinet Maker and French Polishing teams are back at Wheathills.

It is amazing the variance in reasons a Memory Box is requested. It really is a way in which people can express their love and feelings through it being a gift for a person close to their heart, or for themselves, to hold and keep safe memories and keepsakes of a loved one.

Where the box is commissioned as a present, one of the popular reasons is for a special occasion, such as a well done gift for University Graduation, or a Sorry You Are Leaving when someone is emigrating. A lot of detail can be built into the Memory Box itself; it is therefore not just a container for memories but these can also be incorporated into it, and can be created from the person's favourite timber or wood, a person's hobby or love can be portrayed on the lid or sides in delicate marquetry created by our Cabinet Makers.The whole box can be themed - the level of detail can go down to the minutest degree.

Important events deserve memorable gifts for special people.
What better gift than a individually designed,beautifully handcrafted Memory Box from Wheathills.

Our exquisite Memory Boxes are individually designed and crafted to keep precious items safe, helping you to recall a special person or event.

To help remember that special couple's special day why not commission the ultimate wedding gift, a Memory Box to hold the mementoes and memories of their Wedding Day.

Hopefully resultant from the wedding a little later a Christening Memory Box may be in order.

Grandparents commissioned a his and hers pair of Memory Boxes for their grandchildren.
Truly exquisite boxes made from Burr Tiger Oak..

So Memory Boxes can be commissioned for any reason.

Why have Handmade Furniture?

Trends and fashions are ever changing, what is one man’s meat one day can be the same man’s poison the following day; however, quality is quality and that will never change. A handmade piece of furniture that is quality in its design, construction and material will outlast ephemeral fads ten times out of ten and becomes in effect fashion-proof. Add to that the piece will be bespoke to you, your character, your requirements, your wants; all will be incorporated into it, and the piece becomes an individualized artefact that will grace your home for years if not generations to come.

Wheathills actively encourages the client to be involved with the whole process of commissioning a piece of handmade furniture, from the initial ideas, the various aspects of design right through to viewing the progress of the piece in our Cabinet Making workshops. Where it is impossible for the client to physically view the piece being built (eg overseas client) then we keep them informed via emailed images.

One reason for having handmade furniture is for concealment purposes, for example unsightly radiators. These can be covered by handmade radiator cabinets, built to match the contours of the radiators and to match their surroundings; they should not just conceal the radiators but also enhance the room they are in.

At Wheathills all of our handmade furniture is created totally on the premises (not bought in flat pack from some sweat shop in Taiwan and passed off as ‘handmade’), all of our timber originates from renewable and ethical resources.

Wheathills is a restored Georgian Country House in the heart of rural Derbyshire, England. No appointment is necessary, walk in and sample the timeless elegance of the three Period Showrooms, The Morning Room (so called because it has south east facing bay window), The Library and The Ball Room. The Ball Room is truly magnificent, with a barrel-back alcove (where a string quartet used to play for the guests to dance to). Antiques are tastefully displayed throughout the showrooms and corridors.
The antiques on sale are all hand-picked by Nigel Heldreich, the proprietor, whose family has been in the furniture restoration trade for 200 years. The range of antique furniture and silver cover a wide range of styles, ages and periods and there are some magnificent examples of fine English antique furniture. Each antique and piece of silver is fully documented and any faults or later amendments are shown in the “My Story So Far” section on the Sales Ticket.
The items of silver for sale are beautiful, and include some excellent pieces of Antique Victorian Silver ; each one has it date and maker displayed on the associated sales card, and in fact on Wheathills’ website there is a fascinating article on the do’s and don’ts of buying antique silver, explaining hallmarks and their correct groupings.
You can be guaranteed quality and that all of the antiques for sale are as described. Wheathills, and Nigel Heldreich, have featured on several popular BBC Television programmes with Paul Martin from Flog It and with David Dickinson. Nigel has also featured as the restoration expert on BBC radio shows and in the Period Ideas period property magazine.

At the Wheathills website not only can you find over 400 antiques for sale, but there are also informative articles on how we restore antique furniture, the previously mentioned Tips on purchasing Silver and other areas.
Wheathills is well worth a visit, either in person or online.