The Repair Shop - who are Sonnaz and Jayesh?
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Meet ‘The Repair Shop’ stars Sonnaz Nooranvary and Jayesh Vaghela in series finale

Time to introduce the rest of the team...

The Repair Shop is onto its final episode of the series tonight (Wednesday January 26).

And during the course of the emotional and inspirational show we’ve been used to meeting all kinds of craftspeople.

From leather expert Suzie Fletcher and watch and clock repair Stephen Fletcher to carpenter Will Kirk and silversmith Brenton West.

However, what about the rest of the team. Who are Sonnaz Nooranvary and Jayesh Vaghela?

The Repair Shop - who are Sonnaz and Jayesh?
Sonnaz in the barn (Credit: YouTube)

The Repair Shop: Who is Sonnaz Nooranvary?

Upholsterer Sonnaz has been on show intermittently since The Repair Shop’s beginning in 2017.

The British-Iranian craftsperson quit her law degree at university after she developed an interest in the skill.

Originally from Dorset, she then took up an apprentice position at Sunseeker Yachts to hone her upholstery.

Read more: Will Kirk of The Repair Shop fame spending his first Christmas as a married man

In fact, her love of boats began early – she lived on an Iranian Navy merchant ship when she was a newborn.

Now she owns her own upholstery and design business – Sonnaz Ltd – and says on her website: “Reupholstery and restoration will always be areas we remain deeply passionate about.

“For those who commission either of these services, the craftsmanship that goes into all aspects ultimately prevents treasured items ending their usefulness in landfill.

“They live on to tell stories about their current owners, past generations, long-lost families and all manner of historical backdrops.”

Although Sonnaz is active on social media with her own Twitter, Instagram and YouTube accounts, she keeps her private life private.

That means we don’t know if Sonnaz has a partner or has children.

The Repair Shop: Who is Jayesh Vaghela?

First appearing in series seven, master hatter Jayesh impressed everyone with his knowledge and skill.

In fact, in his first appearance, he restored a hat worn by Ted Smith, a Japanese prisoner of war in WWII.

Seeing the thumb pressure on one side of the rim, Jayesh was able to determine that Ted was left-handed. Move over Sherlock!

This is no surprise, because Jayesh works as Assistant Manager in the world’s oldest hat shop – Lock & Co in London.

Established in 1676, Lock & Co have made hats for some of British history’s greatest figures, from Lord Nelson (the company designed the famous bicorn hat he wore at the Battle of Trafalgar) and Winston Churchill to Oscar Wilde.

Forty-nine-year-old Jayesh has Indian roots. But on his Instagram feed, Jayesh reveals that he attended Bolton University.

The Repair Shop - who are Sonnaz and Jayesh?
Jacobsen’s egg chair in all its glory (Credit: Eternity Modern/YouTube)

The Repair Shop: Who was Arne Jacobsen and how much do egg chairs cost?

In tonight’s series finale, Sonnaz gets to work on something very special – an Arne Jacobsen ‘egg chair’.

On a recent episode of Morning Live, she told presenter Gethin Jones that a woman brought in one of the chairs, given to her and her late husband on their wedding day in 1965.

“For both Jay and I, to be in the presence of an Arne Jacobsen chair has been on both of our bucket lists, so it was a real privilege to work on,” Sonnaz said.

But why the fuss?

Read more: The Repair Shop star Jay Blades announces he’s engaged to partner Lisa

Arne Jacobsen was born in 1902 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

After attending architecture school, a young Arne entered a chair design in the 1925 Paris Art Deco Fair.

However, his furniture-designing career really took off after World War II, and in 1958 he design the now infamous ‘egg chair’.

Commissioned by the Royal Hotel in Copenhagen, Jacobsen designed everything in the hotel, from the facade to the furniture.

If you want to buy an egg chair today, new versions of the chair cost as much as $10,000.

However, if you can find an original it’s going to be more. A pair of restored original egg chairs are currently priced at £50,000 on the website 1stDibs.

A Day in the Life || Behind the Scenes at The Repair Shop

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Nancy Brown
Associate Editor

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