Designer Yinka Ilori takes old and abandoned chairs and merges them in inventive ways to tell new stories. Social enterprise Restoration Station uses the craft of furniture restoration to help people recovering from addiction find a route back into society and self-worth. In every way, they make the perfect partnership.
For London Design Festival 2017, the two are joining forces to create a unique collection of furniture, which will be displayed and available for sale at Restoration Station’s Shoreditch shop throughout the festival.
Founded in 2014 on the belief that taking part in creative work and learning new skills can play an important role in recovery, Restoration Station is a non-profit initiative of the Spitalfields Crypt Trust (SCT), a registered charity that has helped those suffering from addiction and homelessness in East London for over 50 years. Restoration Station receives no government funding, relying solely on grants, help from volunteers and the donation of furniture. All money made from furniture sales goes straight back into funding the programme.