About Gayle Furniture Paul Gayle Is A Renaissance Man In An Age of Computers A throw back to the days when a man took pride in his work and what he produced through his efforts…not short cuts to save time and increase profits. Paul owns Gayle French Polishers and Furniture Refinishers, a small Jacksonville company that refinishes furniture. Although, in Paul’s case, refinish hardly seems the proper word. His work is an art form learned from the masters while Paul was still a teenager. Paul, a native of London, has a four year degree in “French Polishing,” the proper term for his craft from The London College of Furniture. As a young man, Paul dreamed of becoming a builder, but opportunity lay elsewhere. At sixteen, a friend from church offered Paul not just a job, but the opportunity. He would take Paul as an apprentice as a French Polisher, restoring and refinishing antiques. He began work at H.K. Furniture, a dealer in high-end antiques, and he was taught all aspects of the craft. “We worked on everything you can imagine,” Paul says in his charming English accent. “We worked in hotels, restaurants, churches and government buildings. We restored everything from floors to kitchen cabinets.”Oak, mahogany and rosewood became Paul’s marble to shape … Paul learned quickly and showed a definite talent for the craft. He learned to work with a wide variety of timbers. Oak, mahogany and rosewood became Paul’s marble to shape and restore. He learned to mix stains to match the exactness that nature had given to the woods. His work saw him bringing new life to worn and tired timbers in such places as the State House and the Dolphin Square Hotel. The Prime Minister held court in the former, Princess Anne lived in the latter.   Giving back to the community