When I was a kid, I loved to take things apart in order to see how they worked. The trick was to have them still work when I put them back together. That was true for my saxophone (sorry, Mom!), television, bicycles, stoves and anything else I could get my hands on.

A family friend taught me when I was little that most mechanical problems have a simple solution if you take the time to reason your way through it. That principle has guided me over the years and is why I spend a lot of time demystifying basic work on these stoves. To know how to fix a thing is to appreciate it and understand that you can own it – make it a part of your life.

For me, the big moment came when my wife and I bought an ugly house. We decided to make it beautiful by building our new kitchen around a Chambers Model C I would restore for her. The decision was easy – the model C is not only a beautiful piece of design, but it is without question one of the best stoves ever built – and nothing today is its equal.

I tore that stove down to bare sheet metal and rebuilt it piece by piece. As friends looked on, questions started: Can you fix mine? My neighbor has one, can you help her? And so on.

It was supposed to just be a hobby – making these great pieces of engineering come back to life and be put to use like they were meant to. Bring useful beauty into people’s homes.

But demand kept growing so much that, as of January 2021, my years of experience working on vintage stoves is now officially my full time business. And because I was raised by friends and family who shared their knowledge, I like to share mine with others so they can understand how it all works and maybe even tackle things themselves.

These aren’t just appliances to me, they are a part of your home, just like mine is the centerpiece of my home. When I work on your stove, I’ll make sure it cooks as well for you and your friends and family as our stove does for our loved ones.