Check Out Nancy Chase’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nancy Chase.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started? 
My story begins with an early love of art and crafts. I grew up in (what was then) a small New England town just north of Boston. Antiques were our furniture, taken care of lovingly and passed down from one generation to the next. The Hudson Valley was where I called home for 6 years while I studied at and graduated from Bard College. Then apprenticed with expert craftsmen in an antique restoration shop in Red Hook, NY. 

Moving to Cincinnati, Ohio in the mid-1980s, I started my own business restoring antique furniture and accessories. Working for antique shops, interior designers, and private clients is very rewarding. I am currently a contractor for Everything But The House, EBTH.com. An on-line auction site based in Blue Ash, OH. My job as their restoration specialist is to make repairs to items with minor damage within the warehouse. I started my business in 1984. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been a smooth road. When I started my business the style pulse was rich-looking, expensive, gleaming furniture – think the TV show Dynasty. I refinished old pieces of furniture to look their best. Waxing the finish, repairing veneer, polishing the brass work. Then the style compass moved to “Shabby Chic,” defined as a romantic alternative to the more opulent styles. Faux distress marks, nicks, mismatched patterns became the new trend. That was a difficult trend to work through. Then IKEA became very popular with young people, and suddenly they did not want Mom and Dad’s old brown furniture. I have surfed the waves of design trends for many years. Beautiful objects and classic design will never go out of style with a certain clientele. Those are my clients. 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I work for private clients restoring antique furniture in their homes, offices, sometimes a church or a retail shop. In-house repair and waxing are my basic services. I also do Kintsugi repair. – the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery using a bonding agent and powdered gold. Silver polishing is also a service I provide. I am most proud of being a woman-owned business, still in business today. What sets me apart is my unique set of contacts. My work is almost all referral. To have someone’s trust, to be invited into a lovely home to work in, and enjoy my surroundings has a special quality that I am grateful for every time. 

Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
A favorite childhood memory would be going into Boston to the Museum of Science. 

Contact Nancy Chase at nchase@fuse.net

Image Credits
Nancy Chase
James Nissen-Petzer