My job: Glittering career crystal clear

Ross Thorby has spent 25 years cleaning and sourcing chandeliers. Photo / Ted Baghurst

Name: Ross Thorby
Age: Late 40s
Job: Ross M Thorby Chandeliers
Hours: Would average 30 hours a week
Employer: Self-employed

Describe what you do.

I clean chandeliers but also design one-off pieces and restore and redress old lights. I specialise in classical shapes, as well as being an agent for Swarovski crystals.

Also, I install chandeliers in marquees for weddings and other special occasions. And one of my favourite jobs was restoring Auckland's town hall chandelier.

Your work history?

When I left school I worked for 11 years for a bank, including debt collection. Then I went to Australia and fell on my feet working for a stockbroking firm, ending up as assistant to the financial planning manager. I left the job in 1990 because it was a high-pressure role and I could see myself having a heart attack or a stroke.

I thought, what could I do next? Then, as a member of the Randwick Historical Society, I went to a house that was full of chandeliers. I asked who cleaned them and the owners didn't know of anyone. So I cleaned the chandeliers, that was my first job, and then the owner recommended me to a friend ...

When I returned to New Zealand, I progressed from cleaning chandeliers to sourcing parts, to having my own line, and buying and selling.

I have been working with chandeliers now for 25 years and am regarded as an expert in the field. Most of my work is by word of mouth or through interior designers. I have been in Franklin Rd all that time and people know I am here.

Why is your job important?

The world is moving towards IT and mechanics and things that have no substance. And the old jobs are going. There are less and less people with the specialist knowledge.

What skills do you need for your roles?

You need an eye for design, detail and symmetry; plus patience and problem-solving. And you need good eyesight.

I am always looking at chandeliers and picking up knowledge. I know what is available and where to get them. But you don't go to school and learn about them.

When I travel overseas, I visit chandeliers and manufacturers. I saw the world's biggest chandelier at 8 tonnes in a mosque in Oman.

What is the most unusual request you've had?

I really enjoyed being asked to babysit a $75,000 chandelier bought into New Zealand for a TV ad. My job was to put it together for the shoot, look after it and then pack it away for the plane.

My favourite job was for a North Shore house overlooking the water. The owner wanted a big crystal chandelier to hang over the dining table. It was the only bit of glitz in the whole house and it looked amazing. It picks up the blue and lights of the sea and also the pool behind it.

What are the job's challenges?

Getting it right! And giving good service and leaving a client happy. You have to problem-solve when it is an insurance claim or a job with broken parts. You are looking for a solution to maintain the piece's integrity.

Most rewarding part of the job?

Walking away from a happy client and a gleaming chandelier.

Worst part of the job?

Once a month someone will ask if I have seen the Only Fools and Horses episode where they put up a chandelier, and Del Boy drops it.

Everyone asks me that ... and no, I have never dropped a chandelier!

Have you got any interesting or amusing tales?

A man from the North Shore rang me in the middle of the night, from Italy. He wanted to know if a chandelier he had seen was good value.

He emailed me a photo of this beautiful chandelier and I said buy it!

It was a Baccarat and he bought it off George Clooney who was doing up his lakeside home. I saw the same chandelier in an article in the Architectural Digest valued at a lot more than he paid, and he realised he had got a really good deal. It really backed up that I obviously knew what I was talking about.

What is on your agenda for the next 12 months?

I am going away in 13 months so, for now, I am hunkering and saving up for that.

My busiest time is from October on because everyone wants their light cleaned for Christmas. I also sell Christmas lights and I am the convener for Frankin Rd's lights.

At that time of the year I am working 50 to 60 hours a week.

Advice to someone wanting to do same thing?

This isn't really a career path. It's about finding something to do that you love, and finding someone to pay you for it!