Built From the Ground Up

I arrived in Australia in 1990 with almost no English. What I knew, I'd picked up from television and movies. I came from Lebanon, where I left school at around 15 to work in my family's furniture manufacturing business — this was during the civil war. While other kids were in classrooms, I was learning how wood becomes a chair, how fabric becomes a sofa, how raw materials become something a family gathers around. That knowledge came with me when I landed here.

I taught myself English the same way I learned everything — by watching, listening, and doing. And I built a life in Sydney the same way I built furniture: from the ground up, with my hands, and with patience.

For me, upholstery isn't just a trade. It's a belief that good furniture shouldn't be thrown away. I love taking a tired, worn-out piece and bringing it back to life — restoring it so it can be used and loved for another generation. I like to think I'm building future antiques.

"I like to think I'm building future antiques."

In 2016, I joined the NSW State Emergency Service after watching SES volunteers helping people on Henry Lawson Drive in Milperra. Something clicked. I've always had a passion for helping people and mentoring young people toward a better future. My values are simple: God, family, country. I've raised my children to respect their elders and to love each other.

When you bring a piece of furniture to me, you're not just getting a repair. You're getting decades of craft from someone who genuinely loves what he does, and who understands that the things we keep say something about who we are.