A DAD-OF-THREE was handed a perfect Christmas present last month after his transformed piano was gifted back to him by the upcycling company where he volunteers.
Tom Flaherty, from Parr, has been volunteering at The Restore Project in Sutton for the past few months, which upcycles, repairs and re-decorates pre-loved furniture items back to community at affordable prices.
One of the first projects Tom decided to work on was to upcycle an old piano donated to the organisation by Nutgrove Methodist Church in Thatto Heath.
Although Tom struggles with mobility issues, he was determined to overcome this and repurpose the instrument into a completely new and interesting appliance.
Spending around three months meticulously perfecting his project, Tom successfully transformed the dusty and disused instrument into a modern and chic home bar, complete with LED lights, a varnished counter and a wine rack.
Aware of how much time and effort Tom had spent on rebuilding the piano, the team at Restore decided to gift the piano back to him as a Christmas present and to thank him for all his hard work.
Julie Wareing, project manager at Restore, said: "Tom is the most affable, pleasant gentleman you could ever wish to meet.
"Due to his mobility issues, it was a tough job from him physically, but he overcame this and took so much care with everything."
Other volunteers helped with the project's finishing touches, and the team have recently been sent another piano for Tom to recreate his design.
Julie added: "Tom put his heart into his project and his family were so proud of him, so we had to give it back to him.
"He's so grateful to us for giving him the opportunity to work on things he is passionate about, but he is so talented and we are lucky to have him."
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