After more than 50 years of working with wood and upholstery, furniture maker Dennis Dunn reckons he has hands like Kevlar.
As a young boy, he enjoyed turning wood and making his own furniture with his father in the family garage.
So when he finished school at age 16, he pursued a career in the furniture industry and started working as an upholsterer for Butterfields on December 4, 1972.
The Dunedin company later went on to become Otago Furniture, which makes commercial quantities of chairs, tables, couches and other furniture for restaurants, hotels and retirement villages across the country.
But after 50 years in the business, he has decided it is time to retire - this Friday, to be precise.
Mr Dunn is usually a man of few words, but when asked how he felt about leaving what had effectively become his second home, he was surprisingly vocal.
The place was full of life-long friends, he said.
"It’ll be hard to stop coming here every day. The fun I have with the guys ... the banter."
He would really miss the place, he said.
He planned to return regularly on Fridays to have a beer with his colleagues and "keep up with all the gossip".
"That’s if they’ll let me in."
As for retirement plans, Mr Dunn said he had plenty of them.
"I’ve got a lot of tidying up to do around the house and things like that - and I’m going on a trip over to Aussie next month.
"I’ll spend a bit more time with my grandkids as well."
He was also looking forward to spending more time in his garage, making his own furniture for family and friends - like he did in his youth, he said.
