Dominic Chinea: The Craftsman Bringing Metalwork and Restoration to Television
Dominic Chinea has built a distinctive career by joining creativity with practical skill. Best known as the metalwork expert on BBC One’s The Repair Shop, he is also a vehicle restorer, set designer, prop maker, presenter, author and business owner. His work reaches far beyond television. From traditional signwriting to historic machinery, he has developed a career centred on making, repairing and protecting useful skills for the future.
Dominic Chinea at a Glance
Dominic Chinea was born in May 1986, making him 40 years old in 2026, the British craftsman grew up near Southend in Essex. Dominic Chinea studied graphic design and first developed his professional experience in set and production design. His love of classic vehicles later guided him towards car restoration, metal fabrication and engineering.
He joined The Repair Shop in 2017 and became one of the programme’s most recognisable specialists. His work covers metal objects, signs, machines, vehicles and unusual pieces that need careful repair. He has also presented Make It at Market, Jay and Dom’s Home Fix, The Repair Shop on the Road and Dom Chinea’s Cornish Workshop.
Away from the screen, he runs Ranalah and has written Tools: A Visual History and Machines: A Visual History.
Dominic Chinea’s Early Life and Love of Vehicles
His interest in making began long before television. Dominic Chinea has spoken about growing up in a village outside Southend, where cars became an important part of his teenage years. He owned Volkswagen vehicles before gaining his driving licence and saved money from a newspaper round to buy his first Beetle.
That early enthusiasm developed into practical experience. He worked at Karmann Konnection, a specialist Volkswagen and Porsche workshop, where he gained a deeper understanding of bodywork, engines and restoration. He also learned that older vehicles demand patience. A successful repair often requires research, careful measurement and the ability to solve problems without damaging the original character of an object.
The Camper Van That Shaped His Career
During his student years, he bought a 1966 split-screen Volkswagen camper from California. The vehicle was lost at sea during its journey to Britain, but eventually reached him. He rebuilt its gearbox and engine and carried out a range of changes, turning the difficult experience into another stage of his practical education.
Classic vehicles became more than a hobby. They introduced him to welding, fabrication, paintwork, mechanical repair and traditional coachbuilding. These skills later became central to his television work and to the projects he undertakes in his own workshops.
From Graphic Design to Set Design
Chinea studied graphic design at South East Essex College. His creative education helped him understand typography, layout, colour and visual storytelling. At the same time, his practical interests encouraged him to work with wood, metal, paint and machinery.
He moved into set and production design and worked with Rankin Studios. His responsibilities included building props, backdrops and installations for editorial photography, events and creative productions. He also worked on music-video sets, with credits connected to projects by Rita Ora, Iggy Azalea and Azealia Banks.
This stage explains why his television work combines technical accuracy with visual presentation. He considers an object’s shape, lettering, surface, colour and history, making sure it works while remaining faithful to its original purpose.
Dominic Chinea and The Repair Shop
The Repair Shop brought his different abilities together. The programme follows craftspeople restoring treasured possessions with personal meaning.
His specialism is metalwork, but his contribution is wider than that title suggests. He works on signs, lamps, machinery, vehicles, tools, mechanical objects and unusual household items. Some projects need welding or shaping, while others require delicate cleaning, missing parts or recreated lettering.
His Role in the Workshop
He is valued for a calm approach to difficult repairs. He examines how an item was made, identifies weak points and chooses methods that protect original material. He also works with experts in wood, clocks, ceramics, leather and upholstery.
Since 2024, he and Will Kirk have shared foreman duties on the programme. This has given him a stronger presenting role, allowing him to welcome visitors, explain restoration decisions and help guide the workshop. His relaxed manner and enthusiasm for learning have made him popular with viewers.
Television Work Beyond The Repair Shop
His television career expanded through programmes focused on making, improvement and traditional skills. In 2021, he joined Jay Blades for Jay and Dom’s Home Fix. The daytime programme offered practical ideas for improving homes and turning unwanted materials into useful objects.
Make It at Market
In Make It at Market, he helped amateur makers consider whether a creative hobby could become a sustainable business. Participants worked in fields such as weaving, glassblowing, blacksmithing, woodwork and textiles.
The programme explored more than the making process. Participants also had to think about pricing, quality, customer demand, production time and presentation. His role was to encourage them while helping them understand the business decisions behind a successful craft venture.
The Repair Shop on the Road
He later became a key presenter on The Repair Shop on the Road. The spin-off takes the spirit of the original programme into different communities and places greater attention on local makers, heritage and traditional skills.
Dom Chinea’s Cornish Workshop
The 2026 series Dom Chinea’s Cornish Workshop follows a major change in his personal and professional life. He and his wife, Maria Domican, moved from Kent to West Cornwall with their dog, Wendy. They bought an old stone farmhouse and began transforming a large agricultural barn into a working workshop.
The programme features engineering, vehicle repair and community projects, including an old four-wheel-drive vehicle, church bells and a bespoke ice-cream vehicle. Engineer Sam Lovegrove and local tradespeople also assist him.
Ranalah and the Revival of Traditional Machinery
One of his most important business projects is Ranalah. The company was established in 1935 and later became connected with aircraft sheet-metal work. Its traditional wheeling machines were designed to shape curved metal panels and became associated with British coachbuilding and aircraft production.
He relaunched the company in 2021 with the aim of preserving its heritage and making traditional metal-shaping equipment available to modern makers. Ranalah machines are made in England and are designed for people working in vehicle restoration, sculpture, fabrication and training.
His corporate work also includes Dominic Chinea Limited, incorporated in 2014, and Ranalah Limited, incorporated in 2021. Recent company records show appointments to Dominic Chinea Properties Limited and Dominic Chinea Holdings Limited in August 2026. These records describe business structures and do not prove personal ownership of particular property.
Dominic Chinea’s Books About Tools and Machines
His first book, Tools: A Visual History, was published in 2022. It explains the purpose and development of important hand tools, showing how simple equipment has helped people build, measure, repair and create.
Machines: A Visual History followed in 2024. It examines machines such as printing presses, sewing machines, potter’s wheels, grain mills and other inventions that changed industry and daily life. Both books combine historical detail with clear illustrations and practical explanations.
Dominic Chinea Wife
Dominic Chinea is married to Maria Christine Domican, a creative producer. The couple married in October 2017 and previously lived in Kent. Their move to Cornwall has become a central part of his recent television work and business plans. Dominic Chinea keeps much of his private life away from television. His dog Wendy is often mentioned, while his social media focuses on restoration, vehicles, tools, craft events and workshop projects.
Dyslexia and the Value of Craft
Dominic Chinea has spoken openly about being dyslexic and about finding greater confidence in practical and visual work than in traditional academic settings. His experience has shaped his belief that craft can support confidence, creativity and wellbeing.
He has also discussed the link between making and mental health. In his view, working with the hands can give people purpose, focus and a way to rebuild confidence after difficult experiences. This idea is central to his work on programmes that help people develop creative skills.
Current Work and Lasting Influence
In 2026, Dominic Chinea continues to combine television, restoration, writing and business. He remains connected with The Repair Shop, promotes his Cornish workshop, runs Ranalah and supports heritage-craft events. He has also been involved in events that celebrate endangered skills, traditional making and sustainable repair.
His influence comes from the way he makes restoration easy to understand. He explains technical work in a friendly manner without removing its seriousness. Whether he is repairing a family heirloom, rebuilding a vehicle or shaping a sheet of metal, he shows that skilled work can preserve memories while creating new opportunities.
Dominic Chinea’s career is built on curiosity, patience and practical ability. His journey from graphic design and set building to television and traditional machinery proves that creative and technical skills can work together. Through programmes, books and businesses, he encourages people to value the objects they own and the skills needed to repair them.
Also Read
