Repair Shop expert suffers permanent physical damage to his hands
02.04.2024 - 06:59
/ ok.co.uk
The new series of The Repair Shop sees a pair of tiny cowboy boots walk into the barn.
The boots are brought in by Diane Wynell-Sutherland., who reveals they were bought for her son by her brother Roger Pope, a session musician who found them while on his travels round America with stars such as Sir Elton John. Tragically, Roger died of cancer in 2013 but the boots are a treasured reminder of his love for his nephew.
They’re cracked and faded, but Dean Westmoreland takes on the challenge to restore them to their former glory. Dean’s first problem was the size of the boots.
“They were so tiny,” he says. “The initial thing was, ‘How am I going to get my hands inside to actually work on such a tiny pair of boots?’ The sole was gone.
The leather was in a bad way, some of the colour had come away. It was a case of trying to restore it in a sympathetic way that didn’t remove any of that history.” Dean became a cobbler by accident after applying to work in a local shop without realising it was a cobblers.
He soon fell in love with the craft. Since joining The Repair Shop team, he’s tackled all sorts of shoes. “It’s always a challenge because every pair has a different story,” he explains.
“I’ve had clown shoes, running spikes, war boots. I’m open to everything.” Dean says it’s the emotional stories behind the repairs that attract viewers and he always finds it moving when a repaired item is reunited with its owner. “It’s really fulfilling,” he says.
“You know the history of the item, the story, you get an insight into people’s lives. So there’s that extra responsibility. When you give it back and they’re happy, there’s such a sense of relief.” Dean reveals he’s not immune to tears during filming, but has managed to keep them
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