Paul McCarthy is Trefler’s Chief Operating Officer. Paul joined Trefler’s in 1985, and has been an integral part of the company’s growth for more than three decades. Starting out as a restorer himself, Paul began his career with Trefler’s when it was still operating with just two specialists in a modest 1,200 square foot studio space. Today, Trefler’s full-service facilities proudly operate within a 10,000 square foot studio, employing over a dozen, incredibly talented team members.

Paul’s personal relationship and appreciation for antiques, craftsmanship, and family heirlooms was instilled in him at an early age by his mother’s love of decorative objects and the arts.

Because of this connection, Paul explains the reward that comes with each successfully treated object. “My enjoyment is in hearing the stories behind the items that come in, since most are restored for sentimental reasons, and seeing our client’s satisfaction and surprise when they get their items back.”

Laura Sheehan-McDonald has been with Trefler’s since 2000. As both Vice President and Head Conservator, Laura leads the studio, the artists and the logistics alongside executing a workload of regular restoration projects. 

Specializing in painting, color matching and faux painting, Laura works primarily within the the Decorative Arts and Furniture Departments on restorations that require refinishing, in-painting, faux-finishing and gilding. 

She graduated from the New England School of Art and Design, with a focus in Fine Arts and painting. Since, she has undergone apprenticeships with senior conservators at Trefler’s, as well as additional training in frame restoration techniques and gilding at the Elliot School.  

She approaches every project with a single question and a mission in mind, asking “how do we maintain as much of the original piece as possible,” while creating a flawless result.

Bernard Murphy is Head Conservator for Trefler’s Furniture Restoration Department, where he specializes in structural and cosmetic repairs, as well as designing and fabricating custom furniture, art displays and frames. 

Bernard joined Trefler’s in 2016, prior to which he spent two decades as a high-end art framer. In his words, “For me, the transition to restoration came from a desire to use these skills on a full-time basis.” His woodworking and hand-finishing skills allows him to engineer tailored solutions for framing, art displays, and modification of furniture.

Bernard has been working with wood since age seven, through personal and professional exploration of the material, he has developed an impressive breadth of knowledge, skill and craftsmanship that is apparent in each project he approaches. 

Ely joined Trefler’s’ in 2020. In his dual role, he restores furniture and assists with furniture deliveries and pickups. A lifelong tinkerer, Ely began learning woodwork early on from his father who was a carpenter, and later studied photography and woodwork at MassArt. He has a special proclivity for solving structural problems. He says, “In this line of work I see a lot of old repairs that have compromised the structural integrity of the piece, my job is to figure out a way to reengineer, and rebuild them to work as they did new, if I’ve done my job right, no one will ever know that I’ve done anything all” In his spare time, Ely loves restoring antique cars and exploring antique markets.

Liza joined Trefler’s’ furniture department in 2022 after apprenticing in carpentry. They are a lifelong craftsperson with fabrication skills ranging from silversmithing to fiber arts. Drawn to both the creative and the analytical, Liza studied studio art while earning B.A. in biology. They enjoy the problem solving, aesthetic choices and manual skills of woodshop work.

Liza shares, “I especially enjoy refinishing projects that highlight the beauty of wood. I have a lot of respect for natural materials and it’s really satisfying to see them well cared-for.”

Chris Keiffer is a Senior Conservator for Trefler’s Furniture Restoration Department. He works primarily on structural repairs and finishing furniture and antiques.

Chris trained with the Furniture Institute of Massachusetts, and has been an integral part of Trefler’s furniture restoration department since 2015.

In his words, “one of my favorite things to do is to work on very old pieces of furniture. I like to try to save the original wood and finishes as much as possible. When necessary, I attempt to reproduce and repair any damaged or missing pieces in a manner as close to how they were originally done as possible.”

Sarah Robison is Senior Conservator in Trefler’s Decorative Arts & Books Department. She has been with Trefler’s since 1994, and specializes in a wide variety of materials, including porcelain, ceramic, glass, marble, frames, bound materials and books.

Raised in a craft oriented family, Sarah began developing hand skills and structural ability from an early age. Her formal training includes a Bachelor’s in Studio Art, as well as a two year program in Bookbinding and Book Conservation at the North Bennet Street school in Boston. 

In Sarah’s words, “I particularly like the challenge of putting something together that has been broken into many pieces. It’s satisfying to take something that is pretty much a pile of shards and see it start to take shape and then become whole again. For books, I really enjoy working on cloth case books. And I also love that many of the books I restore are sentimental, like children’s books and cookbooks.” 

Marilyn has worked in sales for Trefler’s since 2019.  Her varied role involves managing the outside sales function, including overseeing all outside sales staff and handling the day-to-day, behind-the-scenes details of many client projects.  Marilyn schedules all home and claim inspections, on site restoration services, and art handling and installation work, regularly working with insurance agents, public adjusters, moving and relocation companies, interior decorators and designers, concierge staff and online re-sellers.  She works closely with our studio team to help convey client expectations and results.

Marilyn has a background in education and museum work, and in addition to her time at Trefler’s, she is a professional organizer and owner of Creative Simplicity Organizing & Productivity.

Allison joined Trefler’s as Office Manager in 2019. With a background and experience in places as diverse as the Boston Public Library Print Department, Blackside, Inc., the Museum of Science, and several years as an Auction Assistant at Skinner Inc, -the focus in each chapter has been a respect for the preservation of what is needing attention, whether it is a photograph, an event in history or a display of birds’ nests and eggs, or, as at Trefler’s, a restoration of porcelain, furniture, works on paper and/or oil paintings.

In his dual role as Sales Associate and Studio Operations Manager, Jim regularly meets with clients during in home inspections and interfaces with public adjusters and insurance agents for claim related projects. He manages logistics for every item that comes through the studio, including packing, handling, and transportation of artworks and objects. Jim works closely with our team of conservators to review and estimate projects and then helps to manage project details from start to finish.

Jim’s educational background includes a BFA in Film and Video Production. His studies and interest in the arts and media encouraged him to join Trefler’s in 2019. In his words, “What drew me to restoration was the attention to craft it requires – while still being a creative process.”