Bradywicks has restorative
touch
Bradywicks Conservation and
Restoration of Art is owned and operated by Lynn Wicks of Santa Ynez, whose
wife Patti owns and operates the popular bakery Pattibakes,
also located in Buellton. They relocated from Los Angeles in 1971.
Bradyworks specializes in
restoration of furniture, sculpture and objects d’art, and can restore any
piece made of pottery or wood.
They
typically work on assignment for auction houses, private collectors and
insurance companies.
Raised
in Seattle, Wicks majored in crafts and design at CalState
Northridge. Prior to opening Bradywicks, he created
props for magicians for John Gaughan and Associates
in Glendale.
Yes,
he knows the tricks of that trade and proudly would not divulge any, which is
the magician’s creed.
Assisting
Wicks with restoration and conservation are Zybnek Jonak and his wife, Rachel, of Lompoc. Christy Creighton
runs the front desk and interprets clients’ needs in restoring or conserving
their treasures — and handles all the paperwork.
“We
couldn’t do it without her,” said Wicks.
Wicks’s original partner in 1971, Mike Brady,
went into real estate several years back, but Wicks retained the name Bradywicks.
The
difference between conservation and restoration is that in the restoration,
pieces are replaced, repaired or enhanced to make the object presentable.
Conservation is typical of museums, only conserving what is there, not altering
it in any other way.
One
of Bradywicks’ projects over the years was restoring
the painted face and nose of a sarcophagus from 500 B.C.
The
company also repairs metal objects, and repaired a hole in the side of a round
silver box from the Chinese Tang Dynasty (600-800 A.D.) using 20 saved pieces,
each the size of a flea, and a Tang mirror more than 3,000 years old.
Wicks’
favorite recent project was something of a puzzle, literally: Bradywicks was assigned to repair an early Victorian Cuban
mahogany table created by Johnstone and Jeanes, circa 1845, measuring 64 inches at its smallest and
opening like a camera lens to accommodate two different sets of leaves to make
into three different sizes, the largest measuring 8 feet.
The
table uses a mechanism patented in England and can become damaged in moving, as
the piece must remain horizontal.
Bradywicks designed and built a
state-of-the-art steel moving mechanism that holds the table in place, created
especially for the table to prevent any further damage.
With
regular customers ranging as far away as San Francisco and San Diego, Bradywicks is well recognized for its quality of work.
Restoration costs start at $170 an hour, and an estimate is provided free of
charge to customers that bring their item to the shop or e-mail a photograph.
They
do not provide appraisals, however.
Lynn
and Patti Wicks both attended Hollywood High School but, ironically, did not
meet until both were attending L.A. City College.
They
have two grown sons, Chris and Josh.
Bradywicks can be reached at
(805) 686-2425 or Bradywicks@yahoo.com
The shop is located at 84A Industrial Way in Buellton.