Quality service since 1989· Approved insurance repairer· Onehunga · Auckland-wide pickup & delivery· French polish · upholstery · leather · antiques· EU-standard HVLP finishing· Vol. XXXVI · Est. 1989· Quality service since 1989· Approved insurance repairer· Onehunga · Auckland-wide pickup & delivery· French polish · upholstery · leather · antiques· EU-standard HVLP finishing· Vol. XXXVI · Est. 1989
Dovetail Restorations
Call 09 636 6100 Request a Quote
Vol. XXXVI · Auckland Est. MCMLXXXIX
An Auckland Workshop № 01 — The Restoration

The art of putting
a thing back together,
properly.

For thirty-five years, Dovetail Restorations has worked from a small Onehunga workshop on furniture other people had given up on. French polish, full upholstery, leather, antiques, marine — repaired, refinished, returned. We restore pieces the way they were made: by hand, by trade, by people who know what they are looking at.

Request a Quote → View Portfolio
Dovetail Restorations workshop — furniture restoration in progress
Workshop · Onehunga
Vol. XXXVI
Approved Insurance Repairer EU-standard HVLP Spray Low-waste workshop · 10 yrs In-house upholstery North & South Island pickup International despatch on request
№ 02 — The Workshop

A small workshop
with a long memory.

We have been repairing Auckland's furniture since 1989. Our shop sits on Selwyn Street in Onehunga, and over the years we have grown it slowly — never further than the work would justify. Today we run an in-house polish room, a full upholstery floor, a leather bench and an antique-restoration corner. Every piece is assessed by name, quoted plainly, and worked on by the craftsperson best suited to it.

We use high-velocity low-pressure EU-standard spray guns, partner with quality paint and varnish suppliers, and keep a workshop committed to low-waste disposal — a ten-year practice we are quietly proud of. We are approved repairers for every major Auckland insurance company and relocation firm, and our pickup and delivery covers the Auckland region, the North and South Islands, and (on request) international.

Years on the bench
35
trading since 1989
Resident craftspeople
4
named in this paper
Trades practised
8
polish, upholstery, leather…
Low-waste workshop
10y
recycling commitment
№ 03 — The Craft

“We use Dovetail Restorations — always reliable, always available, never a job too small or too big.”

Matteo · Restaurant Manager, The Jervois Steakhouse
№ 04 — Services Practised

Eight trades, one bench.

Most furniture problems do not need a new piece of furniture. They need someone who has seen the problem a hundred times before. Below is the list of trades we keep current in the workshop — every one of them practised in-house, by name, by the person who's best at it.

01

Furniture Polishing & Stripping

Stripping and re-polishing of timber furniture — including French Polish, veneer restoration, mid-century pieces and exact custom colour matching. Sprayed using EU-standard HVLP equipment with our partner paint and varnish suppliers, and finished by hand.

Stripping & re-polishing French Polish Veneer restoration Custom colour matching White haze & ring removal Flood & fire damage Wall units & bookcases Mid-century restoration
02

Upholstery Services

Full in-house re-upholstery and fabric services for residential, commercial and hospitality clients. Custom squabs made to measure, and longstanding relationships with major fabric houses including premium suppliers like House of Hackney.

Re-upholstery Custom squabs Chair & lounge suite recovering Midcentury chair recovering Chaise longue re-upholstery Corporate upholstery Hospitality furniture
03

Marine & Yacht Upholstery

Specialist upholstery for marine, yacht and super-yacht interiors — fabrics, foams and finishes chosen for the salt-air, sun and high-traffic environment of life on the water.

Marine upholstery Yacht upholstery Super-yacht upholstery
04

Leather Repair & Restoration

Comprehensive leather services across pigmented, aniline, nubuck, suede and veg-tan finishes. Industry-standard cleaning agents and leather paints, plus full re-dye, cleaning, conditioning and re-upholstery.

Pigmented leather Aniline leather Nubuck Suede Veg-tan repair Aniline re-dye Cleaning & conditioning Leather reupholstery
05

Rattan, Cane & Riempie

Hand recaning and structural repair of rattan, wicker, cane and riempie furniture — including the old-school footstool and chair frames that are getting harder to find tradespeople for.

Cane chair recaning Wicker & rattan repair Riempie footstools
06

Antique & Specialty Restoration

Careful restoration of antiques — keeping the patina that gives a piece its age, and bringing back the structure and finish that gives it another generation of use. Includes marble, gilding, art, glass, ceramics and porcelain.

Antique furniture Marble repairs Veneer restoration Gilding Art restoration Glass & ceramics China & porcelain Bespoke jewellery boxes Split kava bowls
07

Insurance & Transport Damage

Approved repairer for all major Auckland insurance companies and relocation companies. We assess, photograph, quote and report on transport, flood and fire damage claims — and handle the workmanship end-to-end.

Insurance damage claims Relocation & transport damage Flood & fire damage
08

Outdoor & Exterior Furniture

Repainting and exterior-grade refinishing of outdoor deck furniture and exterior timber. Properly prepped, properly sealed, properly finished — to survive an Auckland summer-to-winter cycle.

Deck furniture repainting Outdoor table refinishing Exterior timber

If your piece is not on this list, ask anyway — we will tell you honestly.

Send a Photo, Get a Quote →
№ 05 — From the Bench

A page from
the portfolio.

Selected pieces from recent jobs — leather re-dye, dressing-table polish, magazine-table refinish, and antique leather work. Every job we take is documented; ask to see more on request.

Dressing table stripped and re-polished — Dovetail Restorations
Pl. I · Dressing table · stripped & re-polished 2018 — present
Leather repair before and after — Dovetail Restorations
Pl. II · Leather repair · pigmented Bench job
Aniline leather re-dye restoration — Dovetail Restorations
Pl. III · Aniline re-dye Full restoration
Magazine table set repolished — Dovetail Restorations
Pl. IV · Magazine tables · repolished set Hospitality
Enquire about your piece →
№ 06 — The Bench

The hands that do
the work.

Our workshop is small on purpose. Four resident craftspeople — most of them with us for two decades or more, and a combined hundred years on the bench between them.

Sahid Khan, Polisher & Restorer at Dovetail Restorations
Plate I

Sahid Khan

Polisher & Restorer

Twenty years with Dovetail, thirty-plus on the bench. If you have asked us to French-polish something, chances are Sahid has touched it.

30+ yrs · French polish
Mark Mighorst, Polisher & Restorer at Dovetail Restorations
Plate II

Mark Mighorst

Polisher & Restorer

Twenty-plus years polishing. Specialist in custom colour matching — the difference between “close” and “exact” is usually Mark.

20+ yrs · Colour match
Romeo Guzman, Master Upholsterer at Dovetail Restorations
Plate III

Romeo Guzman

Master Upholsterer

Thirty-plus years on the upholstery floor — chair frames, lounge suites, midcentury, hospitality and the occasional yacht squab.

30+ yrs · Upholstery
Avi and Adam Koifman, founders and management of Dovetail Restorations
Plate IV

Avi & Adam Koifman

Assessment & Management

Avi founded the workshop in 1989; Adam runs the floor today. Most quotes that go out of Dovetail have one of their two pairs of eyes on them.

Est. 1989 · Founder / Manager

“Craftsmanship at its best! Highly recommended. Thank you Tom and Avi!” — Kim

Meet the team in person at the workshop →
№ 07 — Voices

What our clients
have written.

We have been lucky to work for hospitality groups, restaurant managers, antique collectors and ordinary households who keep their furniture. A selection — in the words our clients used.

We use Dovetail Restorations — always reliable, always available, never a job too small or too big.

Matteo · The Jervois Steakhouse

Dovetail Restorations have handled the wood restoration and furniture repairs across our hospitality business for five years.

Paula Sigley · The Nourish Group

This team restored my rimu dining suite that we have had for over twenty-four years. Their service was wonderful, nothing was too much trouble, and the workmanship was outstanding.

Audrey · Auckland

Thank you so much for the care and attention you and your team gave to my toilette mirror. It is absolutely amazing and I cannot thank you enough.

Vivienne

I recently had my mahogany lounge suite and coffee-table woodwork revitalised by the Dovetail team — very satisfied with the result.

Alister

I was surprised at how well it came up considering the state it was in — and I like that some of the original dings are still there, showing its age.

Carol

We had our table and chairs stripped and restained after sixteen years. The team did a beautiful job — they picked it up and communicated with us the whole time.

Raewyn

Craftsmanship at its best! Prompt service, very helpful and obliging people to deal with. Highly recommended. Thank you Tom and Avi!

Kim
Hospitality partners

We work with restaurant groups, hotels and yacht-fit-out firms across Auckland. Ask us for a hospitality reference list.

Request reference list →
№ 08 — The Process

What happens after
you call us.

No surprises. No silent weeks. A small workshop with a written quote, a single point of contact and a phone that gets answered.

Step I

Photos & chat

Send us a few photos of the piece. We will ask the right questions and tell you honestly whether it is a job for us.

Step II

Assessment

Avi or Adam assesses the piece in person at the workshop, or on site if it's too big to move. Insurance? We document everything.

Step III

Written quote

A clear written quote with scope and timing — no “from” pricing, no surprises later in the job.

Step IV

On the bench

The piece is worked on by the right craftsperson, on a named bench. Pickup and delivery is included for the Auckland region.

№ 09 — Enquiries

The usual questions.

A short list of the questions we are asked most often. Anything else, please ask.

Do you pick up and deliver?

Yes — across the Auckland region, including the North Shore, South Auckland, Eastern Suburbs, Pukekohe and Franklin, West Auckland and Rodney. We arrange pickup and delivery for the North and South Islands too, and international on request.

Do you handle insurance claims?

We are an approved repairer for every major Auckland insurance company and the major relocation companies. We can assess, photograph, quote and report on transport, flood and fire damage directly to your insurer.

Will you keep the original patina on an antique?

Where possible, yes. Antiques are normally worth more when their original surface is preserved. We talk you through the trade-offs before any work starts.

Can you match an existing colour or finish?

Yes. Custom colour matching is one of Mark Mighorst's specialties — we keep a wide range of stains, paints and finishes from major NZ and international suppliers and mix to sample.

Do you take small jobs?

Yes. A ring on a tabletop, a wobbly chair leg, a single recane on a cane chair — small bench jobs are welcome. The phrase Matteo at Jervois Steakhouse used was “never a job too small or too big.”

How long will a job take?

It depends on the piece. A simple re-polish can be days; a full antique restoration or major upholstery job runs to weeks. We confirm a timeline with the written quote.

№ 10 — Visit the Workshop

7 Selwyn St,
Onehunga.

Drop in to the workshop, send us photos by email, or call the line — Avi, Adam, Sahid, Mark and Romeo all answer to it depending on the day.

Workshop

Dovetail Restorations Ltd
7 Selwyn St
Onehunga, Auckland 1061

Get directions →
Telephone
09 636 6100
Correspondence
Reveal email address

click to reveal — we obfuscate to keep the spam down

Hours & appointments

By appointment for assessments — a quick call or email lets us have the right craftsperson at the bench when you arrive.

Call 09 636 6100 Email the workshop
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