Two decades ago Steve Wyatt was a different man from the popular owner of furniture restoration space, Restored Retro, you can chat to today at Dolphin Shopping Centre, Poole.

It took ten years but Steve put half a lifetime of addiction behind him, started to use the skills he had learned in furniture restoration and went into business with a partner he met in rehab.

Credit: Restored Retro

This may not be a traditional start in the world of a business but it’s a testament to the hard work of Steve and excellent opportunities within Dorset that his business is going from strength to strength.

Steve Wyatt, talking about his journey, said: “An antiques dealer suggested I try Bournemouth Vintage Emporium, so I started in the garden with £100 and a sander.

“I put my pieces in the Emporium as small pitch, which doubled in size after a month. Creative Director and Stylist, Jo Armitage told me about the Kingland project, the Dolphin and Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) scheme, which provided ten retailers with free rent and business rates for two years.”

“The scheme and opportunity available in Dorset is almost unheard of. We’ve been welcomed into Poole with open arms, the support we’ve had from John Grinnell and his team has been fantastic. We quickly learned what was expected of us and what we expected of them.”

“Everything that comes up, I am quite cautious about and I talked to my girlfriend, my dad, my brother and they said do it. I got the keys for Restored Retro on the 18^th December 2020 and then we went into lockdown; We could not open three and a half months.”

Steve kept going, buying pieces on the Internet, spending days restoring beautiful pieces he could not display and building up a following online.

One year and 800 pieces later Jay Blades called, having met Steve eight years earlier, to congratulate him on his recent success. Just like that, Restored Retro became the first stockist for Jay Co, selling about 70 chairs in 18 months.

Then, just before Christmas 2022 Steve learned the shop next door was becoming available, and the extension was set up and run it exclusively for Jay Co over the New Year.

Steve remains humble about his business: “It’s been a rollercoaster and it’s been hard work, because I source, restore and sell. We do not buy furniture and put it on the shelf. Each piece has at least one day of restoration and some pieces have a lot longer

“We have to be so selective with ideas and who we go with when opportunities come up. We are in talks in doing something a little bit bigger, and we have some big stuff in the pipeline with Jay and Co.

“We work with some big business. We work with the Big Issue. When something comes along that is right, you just know. Who knows what’s going to happen. With these times, the consequences of the pandemic, the war and the cost of living, it’s going to be an interesting next few months.

“It’s extremely important that people support local businesses through these times. Shop local and think about where you can put that money.

“People call in and see me all day long, we keep in contact with businesses and that’s how you should do it.”

While Steve was a former Big Issue vendor and is massively supported by them, often travelling to London to share his journey with the team, his base is still very much here in Dorset.

And in that, readers will recognise one the keys to his business; the understanding that being a part of the community is the only way to succeed. Whether you are a national company, finding space and time for new enterprises, or an individual spending all day, every day, pursuing and monetising your passion and talents, working together benefits everyone.

Steve ends with: “None of this would have happened without the opportunity with Legal and General and support from John Grinnell and his team. They’ve been phenomenal.

“They’re not just about taking the rent, it’s about supporting and moving forward. We’ve learned a lot in the last few years and I‘m sure they have too.”