Over a barrel!
Bobby’s furniture making sideline takes off on social media
A POLICE bobby has managed to turn his hobby into a new business transforming old whisky barrels into pieces of bespoke furniture.
It all began when James Donnelly, from Stoke-on-trent, restored a pair of whisky barrels as part of a personal project in his garden.
Friends took a liking, and the quirky furniture quickly took off on social media and is becoming increasingly popular.
The 27-year-old said: “Last year, I built a little seated area in the garden. I got two whisky barrels to put in the corner and then this metal bench to go between them.
“I restored the whisky barrels, took a couple of photos for my friends, and they were like ‘yeah that’s really good, can you do us one?’.
“So I did them one and I thought I’ll just put it on my Facebook page and see how it does, and then it’s just taken off from there.
“That was just under a year ago. I move into a workshop in about two weeks. I’ve got a website. It’s going really really well.”
The new workshop will allow James to keep up with the orders for items of furniture, ranging from the restored barrels as tables, to more bespoke projects like drinks cabinets and even clocks.
“I buy them in and they’re caked in dirt and rust and then I restore them,” he added. “I originally didn’t do any cuts at all. I just painted them, sanded them down.
“Then I started to venture out and I cut a hole in and put shelves in. Then I started to go further and put doors on, so a little cabinet.
“Now I’m just trying to find anything to do. The lid off the actual barrel, I’ve saved that and I’ve turned that into a clock.
“I don’t really like the term ‘rustic’, but I think they are. They’re quite quirky and they’re quite smart.”
James is now hoping to move into the wedding industry and have his creations used as part of a wedding set-up, which could help to expand his market from home bars and what he calls ‘man-caves’.
He said: “I’m still working for the police at the moment. It’s just doing this on the side.
“Eventually, I want to go into weddings as well, because I think it’s a very niche market.”