Upholstery can be a rewarding hobby or profession. If you'd like to learn more, take a workshop if you can. This is a great way to learn the basics of upholstery from a professional. Videos and books can be helpful but there is nothing like getting hands on experience with a professional.

With plenty of practice, you can learn how to transform old furniture into beautiful new pieces. Upholstery is a skill that takes time and practice to learn. Don't get discouraged if you don't get it right the first time. Be patient.  Consider your skill level and experience.  Don't try to be too ambitious on your first project. You may want to give up.

Removing all the old upholstery is hard and dirty work. It's part of the re-upholstery process so try not to get down hearted if you have to remove lots of staples and tacks. 

Our upholstery workshops are held in our Ellesmere workshop where we have moved to recently. We offer a four week booking of 2.5 hours per week, for a minimum of four weeks. You may need longer depending on your project, but 10 hours gives you enough time to see if you love or hate it. If you've never upholstered before then short stints are a better way to learn. It gives you time to rest rather than having a whole day which you will be shattered at the end of it. We want you to finish your project and not give up at the first hurdle if you are worn out having spent 7 hours upholstering. Mark has been doing this for 36 years and knows how tired he is at the end of the working day.

All tools are provided so no need to invest in tools. If you fancy having a go, then please do get in touch to discuss dates, and what sort of project you may have in mind. 

Natural fabrics are the most eco friendly, organic cotton, organic linen and wool, but a new range of eco fabrics are now becoming available. Fabrics made from recycled bottles are now available from a range of companies.

Linwood have introduced their new Omega Velvet collection, their first eco velvet fabric. Omega III is now woven with recycled polyester in the pile, removing 10 large plastic bottles from the environment for every metre woven. Their new Omega velvet is also inherently FR which removes the chemical back coat for fire retardancy, which is kinder to the environment and produces a softer, low chemical, more luxurious velvet. It’s taken years of research to develop, but they wanted to produce the best plain velvet fabric – a velvet that feels good, looks good and doesn’t harm the earth. It is extremely hard wearing, a 100,000 rub test which means its also suitable for contract use. 

Kirkby Design has a range of eco friendly fabrics. The Fleck collection has been re-engineered as a sustainable addition to Kirkby Design’s plains portfolio, Fleck Eco has been adapted to become a more environmentally conscious, textured chenille that retains the much-loved speckled aesthetic of the original Fleck fabric. Created from 47% Sustainable Tencel lyocell, 28% Recycled Wool, 20% Recycled Acrylic, 5% Recycled Polyester
As part of The Romo Groups commitment to reducing the impact on the environment of this collection, they have partnered with Trees for Life. For every metre of fabric sold a percentage of proceeds will be donated to support reforestation projects in the Scottish Highlands. For more information, please visit www.treesforlife.org.uk.

Linwood also have a recycled leather in their collection called Saddle. The collection is made using leather off cuts from shoes and bags, which are usually sent to landfill. It is available to buy by the metre making it a cost effective option.

These are just a few of the fabrics we have used personally and are happy to recommend. There more companies taking the initiative to offer eco friendly fabrics which is what the industry needs. Please do get in touch if you need any help or advice in choosing the fabric which suits your lifestyle.

I'm not always very good at showing before and after photos as I often forget to take after photos, but this small Danish mid century sofa really shows what can be done if you have the imagination.

Much of our unrestored Danish furniture doesn't get into the shop. Customers can see our stock on the website, then visit our workshop, and if they have the imagination they can choose the fabric and finish. This means you have a truly unique piece of furniture in your home. Now I know its not always easy to see past the often grubby old fabric, but if you look at a Danish sofa or chair, you can see the shape. This is what we love about much of the Danish chairs and Danish sofas we have, their shapes. They are often not huge pieces of furniture either which is what we specialise in. Small sofas and chairs are not always easy to find. If you have a small space, or indeed you are not six foot tall and want something comfortable and supportive to sit it, Danish chairs and Danish sofas are well worth considering.

The Danish sofa or Danish chair is stripped back to the frame, which means every piece of upholstery is removed. The frame is re-glued and repaired if required, legs sanded, stained and polished to the customers requirements. The frame is then upholstered so it complies with the UK fire regulations, and the final cover of the customers choice to finish. Hand stitched piping is often done to finish a piece off with studs or braid as requested or required. A completed Danish sofa or Danish chair ready for another lifetime of use. When you have quality frames, and use quality fillings and fabrics, this is what you have, a Danish sofa or Danish chair which will last.

The photographs below show what is possible if you have the imagination. If you'd like to see our currently availability then please take a look, or get in touch if you would like us to source something for you.

Danish chairs