Our Shrewsbury shop has been re painted and the sign has been redone this last week. Its amazing how many more people have noticed the shop, we've only been here 22 years! It had been due to be done last month, but the great British weather got in the way. Our name above the shop front is the original from 22 years ago so really was due to be redone. This time though it has been had painted by Andy Field, the sign writer. He's been doing this for 40 years, so an expert in his field but he does know everyone, which meant everyone stopped to have a chat. Not a problem, we much prefer to do business with people who are local and are experts. Its much easier to have something printed off and stuck on the front, but we decided to go down the hand painted route and we are very pleased with the result. Here's to the next 22 years.

Traditional Danish sofas have been renamed by ourselves as Shropshire sofas. We use this term fondly as they are a very  traditional style, and the houses they tend to go into are traditional old houses which don't always have the space for a larger sofa. These traditional Danish sofas are cosy and often fit into a nook or crannie of an older house. They are not deep which can often be a problem with modern sofas. They are also very shapely and elegant, will seat two people comfortably as they tend not to have large arms. We buy they because we like them, and small sofas are not easy to find, so if you are looking for small, stylish and comfortable sofa, perhaps one of our "Shropshire sofas" could work for you. 

Here is the latest one with before and after photos. Hope you like it.

When we first opened 20 years ago, Edwardian sofas were popular. This was due to the fact they were small, comfortable and good for posture. The problem we sometimes had was that when the frames were stripped, the rails could be warped, full of wood worm or just broken beyond repair. Although its great to re-use old frames, they often have a life span which comes to an end. I think if a sofa has lasted 100 years then that's pretty good going! Sometimes it just isn't economically viable to replace rails and there is still no guarantee than once rails are replaced, the frame isn't wobbly!  Any wood we haven't used goes to a local artist who creates interesting pieces to sell, so the timber isn't wasted.

With this in mind and the fact they were a popular style, Mark decided to copy this style of sofa.  A beech hardwood frame, traditional coil sprung seat and feather cushions on top for comfort. The original Edwardian sofas didn't have cushions, just a sprung and stuffed seat. In the 21st century, most customers would find this too hard which is why we make feather cushions so its more forgiving. There is still the support with the traditional sprung seat. These sofas also have a higher seat which is good if you need a sofa that bit higher than some of the modern squishy sofas.

The fact they are small means they are perfect for home owners who live in a cottage, or smaller home. The proportions are correct for this type of property, and with slim arms, you can have a sofa which seats two quite easily.

We have a huge choice of fabrics so you can be assured that you won't have the exact same sofa as anyone else (unless you have two)

Stylish, practical and elegant.

When customers want to visit our workshop it can be a bit worrying. Not everyone has the imagination and vision to see what can be done beyond the grubby, and often pretty disgusting fabric! For those who have the vision, a truly unique sofa could be yours.

This Danish sofa was seen by a couple who had not lived in the area for long. They wanted something different. We had a few sofas for them to choose from but they loved the shape of this 1950's Danish sofa. The next step was choosing fabric which can be difficult if you're not sure what you are looking for. They looked through lots of samples, narrowed down a few choices, which they then had fabric samples sent to them. We like customers to have fabric samples so they can see what the colour looks like in their home. Fabrics often look different colours in different lights so its always good practice to make sure they are seen where the piece of furniture is going to sit.

We were delighted when the customers chose this pink velvet from the Omega collection which is from Linwood Fabric. There is a huge array of colours, bright and muted and its a very hard wearing, stain repellent velvet.

Mark stripped the sofa back to the frame, repaired where it needed repairing and re-upholstered it so it complies with UK fire regulations. The pink velvet top cover was moulded and stitched into shape, legs stained and polished and you can now see the transformation.

We were pleased with the result but most importantly the customers loved it. A very unique sofa which you'll probably not see anything like this again.

I'm trying to improve my before and after photographs so you can see what can be done if you have the imagination and that is what you need, imagination.

These Danish arm chairs have always been popular, probably because the are small but also comfortable. Perfect for everyday use, and most comfortable with a good book.

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. They often have a lovely grain in the wood. Whoever made the chair or sofa had taken time to choose the timber and think about where it would look at it best.

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.

You probably know we make a range of our own sofas and chairs, so when we are making pieces for the shop, its always difficult to decide on what fabric to upholster them in. The pieces are for sale and we also take orders from these sofas and chairs in the shop. 

Our latest love seat has been upholstered in a purple velvet. Now we know this is not a fashionable colour, but quite frankly we don't follow fashion trends. We are known for colour and something different. The purple velvet is just so rich which is probably why the Victorians loved it so much.  The velvet love seat is upholstered in a colour called deep purple and is from the Omega range from Linwood Fabric. Omega velvet is a sumptuous collection of richly-coloured velvets, produced by one of Italy’s leading mills. Made from polyester, Omega is particularly hard-wearing and durable but is designed to look and feel like more expensive cotton velvet. This stain resistant velvet offers a colourful new spin on an enduring classic. This velvet is perfect for families due to the 100,000 rub test. No need to worry the children will wear it out and with over 100 colours available, there is the perfect colour to satisfy everyone's interior needs.

We just love this fabric on the love seats we make. Cosy and soft if you want to snuggle up in, particularly as the nights are drawing in. We have the fabric books available for you to see in our shop, so please call in and we can arrange free fabric samples.

Purple velvet love seat

Covid 19 and lockdowns have made running a business so difficult over the last 18 months. We can now see a light at the end of a tunnel, but what has been amazing is the support of both local customers and visitors. We have been here for 20 years and I think this year I have seen more visitors than ever. What is also great is that they are enjoying the Shropshire experience and are spending in our local shops. All very welcome and needed to help all of us recover from this dreadful pandemic.

A lovely couple from Essex had just arrived on holiday as we were changing stock around in the shop when they came in at 7 pm. We were more than happy for them to have a look, so we chatted and they promised to come back the next day. They did come back and fell for our handmade 1920's style sofa. As it wouldn't fit into their car, we agreed delivery for when they returned home. We headed off to Essex at 5.45 yesterday morning, very little traffic and arrived three and a half hour later. They had the perfect space waiting for it and were happy for me to take photographs. 

If you are looking for a handmade sofa, then please have a look at what we can make for you. Shopping independently and with small businesses does not send us into space, but helps provides for our families. Thank you.

1920's style sofas 

1960's style sofas

I was very excited and happy to have a request featured on SCALA Radio today. Its been a week of celebrations, Mark's birthday on Sunday, our eldest sons birthday this Sunday and its our 20th business anniversary this week too. With this in mind, I thought I'd drop Mark Forrest an email to see if I could have a request. Today he called me and we had a great chat. He asked me about our business so you can imagine I was thrilled to give ourselves a plug. We talked about how we must be doing something right to still be here after 20 years and I told him that Mark was currently making sofas at our workshop. 

Our boys had bought Mark the  Midge Ure Orchestrated CD which we had heard on SCALA Radio a couple of weeks ago. Well I can tell you now its an amazing CD (yes we still listen to CD's) As 1980's teenagers, Ultravox were huge, but I have to admit that I much prefer the orchestrated version. Maybe its my age but I think Midge Ure's voice has improved with age. If you've not heard it then do have a listen. It gives me goose bumps.

You can hear me on SCALA at 12.30 which is 2.5 hours into the show. SCALA Radio 

It looks like everyone is jumping on the environmentally friendly, sustainable living band wagon. Call me cynical, but when have the big manufactures cared about anything but profit? I now see that a large national "sales ends soon" company are offering a range of sofas which are made from sustainable wood (its actually quite difficult to buy wood which isn't from a sustainable source). They don't actually say what type of wood they are using, so sustainable it may be, long lasting doesn't mean the same thing. Their springs are made from recycled steel. They are still only zig zag springs which don't last and are one of the cheapest ways of putting springs in a sofa. Fabrics are made from recycled bottles. The fabric is still plastic, and whatever fabric you use, a huge amount of energy and chemicals is used to produce these fabrics. I love the idea of recycled fabric and using plastic is better than it going into landfill.

I'm all for saving the planet as much as we can, but I do believe you have to delve further into this matter. Where is your furniture made, UK or quite often the Far East. Lets face it, its much cheaper to have sofas mass produced in countries which don't have the same employment standards as we do in the UK. These are then shipped in containers from the other side of the world. Not very environmentally friendly. I often wonder how much these workers are paid to make this type of furniture. 

Wool is a better fabric to use in my opinion. Its a natural product and will compost without harm. Many wools are made in the UK, but the wool does come from the other side of the world due to the UK not having the correct sheep to produce enough wool needed for the demand. Not as green as we would like, but it is all compromise. If you are wanting to have a more sustainable lifestyle then small things do help. Not replacing furniture every five years because you want a change. When buying replacement, do you want new or restored? If you want new, buy new which will still be around in 30 years not 10 years. Each and everyone of us have to make these decisions if we want this planet to survive, but if we all try and make small changes, these can make a difference.

Shop locally, buy quality and as Vivienne Westwood once said, "Buy less, choose well, make it last" Handmade sofas

Our handmade 1920's style sofas are probably the most popular style we make. They are not too big, or deep but are comfortable and can be made to the size you want.

When we first opened almost 20 years ago, we sold restored and re-upholstered original 1920's sofas. Customers loved them but if they didn't like the fabric we had covered them with, or they were too big or small, we lost a sale. After a few years of selling the 1920's sofas, we were struggling to find them. Some we bought had warped rails, broken rails which meant the framed had moved, so some had to go to a friend for her wood burner. When a sofa lasts 80 or 90 years I don't suppose its bad value for money .

After some consideration as to how we could solve this problem, we came to the conclusion that customers bought our sofas because they liked them. The size fitted and we always used fabrics which were a bit unusual. Mark had been taught furniture making when he took his City & Guilds in the 1980's so he decided he would look at a frame and make one. You may think its an easy process, but getting the angles right, making sure joints fitted correctly, making sure rails were in the correct place so they could be upholstered, all took time to work out. He made a prototype and made a few adjustments, and today we have our 1920's style sofa which can be made to size. 

A square back or more rounded back, a lower back to fit under a bay window, not quite as deep due to not being 10 feet tall are adjustments we have made for customers over the years. 

When your 1920's sofa is made by owners who care about quality and attention to detail, you can be sure that we will talk to you and make sure its the perfect sofa for your home.

Why in this day and age of smaller homes and small rooms are sofas from many of the national retailers so huge? I do giggle to myself every time I see that sofa advert with Owen Wilson sat on a huge sofa in front of a window which looks out to sea (I had to google him as I didn't know who he was) . How many of you have that view and a home that size which would fit that sofa? We can all dream but that aside, there is nothing worse than having to sit on a sofa or chair which is not comfortable.

Many sofas and chairs are very deep which is fine if you are six foot tall or have long legs, but for most of us, they can be just too deep. We have lots of customers who say they cannot find a sofa or chair so their feet touch the floor. If this has been a problem for you, then you could consider one of our traditional hand made sofas. Because they are based on older traditional designs, they are smaller and not so deep. Because we make the frames ourselves, we can alter them to suit your needs. Because we make them ourselves, we have 1000's of fabric to choose from. Because we are a family run business, you can speak to us, come and see us and even see your sofa frame.

If it sounds complicated, its really not. If it sounds expensive our prices are comparable to high street chains, but if you are comparing, make sure its like for like. We do not use chipboard, our frames are beech. We do not use serpentine springs, but a traditional coil sprung seat. This means your sofa is made to last. We don't make furniture to throw away in five years time.

If you are looking for a restored sofa, we do tend to buy small sofas. If you see a sofa on our website which has yet to be restored and re-upholstered, then you can choose the final fabric. You can visit our workshop and see the sofa in its original state. You do need some imagination, but having an old piece restored is much better for the environment than buying a sofa which is not going to last.

Before you dash off to the nearest retail park, then do consider speaking to us and coming to see us. We don't have a huge showroom, but what we will do is give you the best advice we can and help you find a comfortable sofa for you.