This striking portrait shows trainee Amo in the workshop where New Hanbury Project students learn woodwork. Each Thursday lunchtime it is transformed to a retail space for Restoration Station – our vintage furniture social enterprise. The emergence of a stylish shop from the dusty workspace is one of Amo’s responsibilities as a Restoration Station trainee. He has also been working on re-upholstery and restoration projects.

 

Trainee opportunities with Restoration Station aim to help people in recovery back into productive ways of life – not just paid work, but education and volunteering, a sector in which Amo is very active. And SCT benefits a great deal from skilled people volunteering their time.

 

Amo was photographed by one such volunteer – Roj Whitelock – who got in touch after his company made donations to SCT at Christmas time:

 

“I’m Creative Director by day but in my spare time I am driven by my passion for photography. Having read some the inspirational stories on your website I felt that I would like to run a photography project with SCT.

 

“I am especially interested in the positive aspects of what the charity does – the change it can help to bring about – and the nature of recovery itself. It’s important to me that every portrait I shoot for SCT is created with respect, understanding and an open mind.”

 

The shoot with Amo is the first of a series that Roj has planned. We hope you enjoy the images and recovery stories that we will post here over coming weeks.

 

You can see more of Roj’s stunning photography on his website.

 

Our thanks to Roj for his brilliant photography, and to Amo for sharing his portrait.