By Loumay Alesali
Medill Reports
Antique furniture restoration is the business that Ziggy Osak started after turning his hobby into a passionate career.
He opened his first workshop at his home garage in Evanston in 1984, then started his first shop on Main Street in Evanston in 1987. The store is named Evanstonia because Osak loves the town and its abundance of Oak trees.
Osak painstakingly restores furniture for people to use again in their daily lives. He also thinks he is saving trees from being cut down to make new furniture, along preserving fine antiques for new generations.
He has moved his shop to North Ravenswood in Chicago where he gives new life to furniture dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries.
Photo at top: In the showroom people get to see finished furniture and pieces that Osak is still working on. (Loumay Alesali/MEDILL)
