EDMOND — For 25-year-old Blaine Pinard his dream of owning his own business not only came true earlier than he expected, but he is already making plans to expand.

Celebrating his first anniversary as a new business owner Pinard said taking over the helm of Restoration Station has been filled with a lot of work and a lot of fun.

A graduate of the University of Oklahoma Business School with degrees in entrepreneurship and accounting, Pinard said he met the former owner of the little store that stripped a lot of furniture, Pat O’Neill, through a friend.

“Pat was the former president of Quail Creek Bank and in 1994 he chose to pursue his hobby and left his banking duties to buy what is now Restoration Station from Jim Nees,” Pinard said.

O’Neill bought the business and worked it as a hobby until he and Ted Wires started restoring furniture actively in 1991, growing the business until he sold it to Pinard.

“I was in the right place at the right time,” Pinard said, “and I have learned a lot from Pat in the last year.”

Pinard said with his educational background he is bringing business and communication to the mix of his new store.

“I have added three new employees and now have a total of seven working for me,” Pinard said.

A one-stop shop Pinard said not only do his employees repair furniture, but they also can fabricate pieces that are missing, strip furniture of its former finish and refinish with a gleaming new coat whether it is a clear finish, a stain or a painted surface. Furniture can be upholstered to bring it back to life once more.

Pinard and his craftsmen take something that needs a little care and make it new again.

“I think of my shop as a complete refinishing stop for a piece of furniture that might have belonged to someone’s family or perhaps they found it at a sale,” Pinard said.

“You can’t replace things that are sentimental,” Pinard said, and that is where his workers come in.

He also does business with local designers who bring in items as well as the University of Central Oklahoma, Charleston’s and Red Robin restaurants.

“We are getting ready to refinish some library tables for the Mustang Public Schools,” Pinard said.

He added he has men who are also able to cane furniture, but at this time they leave most of that business up to Imogene Reddick who owns Reddick Family Chair Caning.

Reddick, who is now in her 90s, has been caning and rushing chairs since 1974.

“We can also dip furniture,” Pinard said, “and I honestly don’t know anyone for at least 50 miles around Edmond who still does that.”

Dipping furniture has steadily gone up in price because of the compliance regulations that have been put in place as well as the cost of the solvent itself, Pinard said.

“We also do in-business touch-ups for stairwells and doors and other stationary items that may be too large to be moved,” Pinard said, “and we also do a lot of fire and water restoration.”

The thing that has surprised him the most in the past year is finding out how many people didn’t know where Restoration Station was located.

“We are tucked away and no one knows where we are located although the building can be seen from Second Street,” Pinard said. “I am always surprised when someone asks me what I do and I explain to them that I restore furniture. They say that they have lived here 20 years or longer and have never heard of the business, much less knew where it is located.”

But Restoration Station will be moving soon. Unable to find space he could afford in Edmond, Pinard plans are to move the 5,000-square-foot business in the spring or early summer to a new 25,000-square-foot building on Northwest 49th Street and Cooper off Santa Fe in Oklahoma City.

“We will still be serving our Edmond customers,” Pinard said, “but expansion is necessary.

“Right now our turn-around time is 12 weeks out,” Pinard said, “and I want to be able to return customers’ items faster.”

With plans to grow and increase his number of employees to 18 after the move, Pinard also hopes to add a retail space to his shop. In addition to refinishing furniture for his customers he hopes to build new furniture out of reclaimed wood to sell as well as sell furniture he has found and refinished.

“I also plan to do a lot more commercial work once we have more space,” Pinard said.

With the business growth and expansion on the horizon, Pinard added, “I am fortunate to be where I am today.”

Restoration Station is at 109 W. Second St. off Santa Fe Drive (one block west of Broadway and one block north of Second Street). Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday. Furniture can be picked up and delivered for a fee.