From trash to treasure: How a 24-year-old entrepreneur is bringing worn out antiques back to life

When a piece of furniture gets worn down over the years, most people would throw it out and replace it with something brand new.

But one person's trash is another person's treasure, and that's definitely the case for Quinn Monteith.

Monteith, 24, runs a business called Monteith Upholstery, where he restores furniture, car interiors, antiques and even family heirlooms at his workshop in Neebing, a municipality just outside of Thunder Bay, Ont.

His fascination with restoration started in childhood, with weekend trips to antique stores with his mom.

"It just kind of started off with buying antiques, and then every curious child always takes things apart to see how they work," he said.

"And well, if you do that enough times, you have to eventually learn how to put it back together."

That curiosity led him to buying and restoring anything from record players to furniture, and "doing a little bit of absolutely everything," when it comes to repairs. 

Monteith said he learns news skills through online videos and by talking to people as much as he can, but he also turns to classic books he's accumulated over the years.

"If I'm working on something from 1830, I probably have a book that will tell me some of the tricks and different chemical compositions used in the finishes ... back in 1830 to help fix something," Monteith said.

Listen | Quinn Monteith's full interview about his resotration business

Part of his motivation for restoring and repairing old items, is a desire to keep things out of landfills, Monteith explained. 

But there's also a huge reward that comes with breathing new life into items that can hold deep personal meaning for customers. 

"It's weird seeing a grown man just about cry in front of you because that is the last thing [he has] of his great-grandfather. And now, it's fully functional. It's no longer that piece in the back of the garage," said Monteith.

"It's a lot of satisfaction in just seeing something come back to life that's going to be handed down for generations, and then people just light up like Christmas trees."