Moms at Work
A Knack for Wood
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Suzy loves to discover female-owned businesses that make our life easier. This week, it's Furniture Medic to the rescue. Amy Coilparampil of Monroe travels all over Fairfield County making housecalls to visit "sick" furniture.
Amy emailed Suzy answers to our questions about her homespun biz.
How did you get into this business? Over the years, furniture "finds" at tag sales turned into repair/restore hobby. When I didn't make the cut in a corporate lay-off, I was looking for something and a Furniture Medic came to our home to repair damage from movers. Conversation started, interest peaked and it turned out they were selling their franchise to move West. Everything happens for a reason.
Is this your original career? Ha! No. I used to manage corporate travel for an international air cargo company.
What is Furniture Medic? I'm mobile, which makes a big difference when there's a small gouge in a very big dining table that doesn't have to be moved in and out of the house to be repaired! Movers, kids and pets are some of our best revenue generators -- nicks, dents, gouges, dresser drawers that won't open, semi-chewed furniture legs and the like. From chair re-gluing to complete refinishing, I work on just about anything made of wood, repair leather and some light upholstery repair as well. I like to think that I've got a knack for the artistic part of the job - faux finishing the repair to re-create the wood grain to create an almost invisible repair.
Check out Amy's restoration of a rocker owned by JFK:
How do you charge customers? Primarily by the job with a minimum fee of $150 but occasionally will get a laundry list of little items for which I will charge by the hour.
Anything else you'd like our readers to know about Furniture Medic? We're a cost-saving alternative to replacing furniture that may have minor imperfections that can be "image enhanced" or a leg missing that can be remade or repaired if you have the original. I'm an authorized repair person for Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn, Neiman Marcus, Grange and Baker, Knapp and Tubbs and do a majority of their warranty work in the county.
See more before and after photos on www.furnituremender.com.
Contact Information:
Amy Coilparampil
Furniture Medic by ElJay
127 Bart Road, Monroe CT 06468
203.268.9698 office
203.268.9562 fax
e-mail: or
Amy emailed Suzy answers to our questions about her homespun biz.
How did you get into this business? Over the years, furniture "finds" at tag sales turned into repair/restore hobby. When I didn't make the cut in a corporate lay-off, I was looking for something and a Furniture Medic came to our home to repair damage from movers. Conversation started, interest peaked and it turned out they were selling their franchise to move West. Everything happens for a reason.
Is this your original career? Ha! No. I used to manage corporate travel for an international air cargo company.
What is Furniture Medic? I'm mobile, which makes a big difference when there's a small gouge in a very big dining table that doesn't have to be moved in and out of the house to be repaired! Movers, kids and pets are some of our best revenue generators -- nicks, dents, gouges, dresser drawers that won't open, semi-chewed furniture legs and the like. From chair re-gluing to complete refinishing, I work on just about anything made of wood, repair leather and some light upholstery repair as well. I like to think that I've got a knack for the artistic part of the job - faux finishing the repair to re-create the wood grain to create an almost invisible repair.
Check out Amy's restoration of a rocker owned by JFK:
How do you charge customers? Primarily by the job with a minimum fee of $150 but occasionally will get a laundry list of little items for which I will charge by the hour.
Anything else you'd like our readers to know about Furniture Medic? We're a cost-saving alternative to replacing furniture that may have minor imperfections that can be "image enhanced" or a leg missing that can be remade or repaired if you have the original. I'm an authorized repair person for Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn, Neiman Marcus, Grange and Baker, Knapp and Tubbs and do a majority of their warranty work in the county.
See more before and after photos on www.furnituremender.com.
Contact Information:
Amy Coilparampil
Furniture Medic by ElJay
127 Bart Road, Monroe CT 06468
203.268.9698 office
203.268.9562 fax
e-mail: or
