In case you’ve just discovered my website and have been looking it over, you may have noticed it’s been.. ahem… a YEAR since I posted, you would be justified in thinking that maybe The Chick was no longer in business.

You would be wrong!

The Chick has, in fact, been VERY busy, and had to determine what to concentrate on in her first full year as a real business. I decided to concentrate on the DOING of upholstery, with daily postings on Facebook. It takes a lot to figure out how to best manage your time as a business-owner, and I feel like maybe I’m starting to get the hang of it.

It’s truly been a full year, with lots of clients and work, and even a new shop! I’ll make sure to post soon, and show you what I’ve been up to. After all, a new year is upon us, and when better to start something than at the beginning?

Until next time,

Lindsay

I know the question that’s on your mind. Sure, you’re here to see the pretty before and afters, but what you really want to know is: How much does reupholstery cost?

Truthfully, reupholstery is not necessarily always the cheapest venture – but it is less expensive than buying new QUALITY furniture. It really is an investment.  You see, much of the furniture on the market today is little more than plywood wrapped with cheap foam. It’s not meant to last forever, so it doesn’t. Conversely, much of yesteryear’s furniture was built to last lifetimes. (I’m sure that’s not the first time you’ve heard this.)  As such, sometimes the cost of reupholstering a piece of furniture from yesteryear can run around the same price (or even a bit more) than what you can purchase new.

So, why reupholster? Various reasons – you found a fantastic vintage midcentury modern piece with amazing lines for a steal at a thrift store, but the fabric’s torn or it’s dirty, and you’d really rather not know where it’s been; you got grandma’s chair that she used to read to you when you came to visit; you encountered an amazing oak dining set at an estate sale for much less than you could buy new, and it fits perfectly into your tiny dining area… Obviously, the reasons are endless. This is what you need to know: if the furniture you’re considering reupholstering is well-made, has sentimental significance, or is perfect for your space, reupholstering is definitely worth considering!

You’re probably wondering if I’ll ever get to the topic you really are reading for: So what’s my investment going to be? The answer is that it varies, sometimes greatly.  Obviously something large like a sofa would be more of an investment than an accent chair. Ultimately, the amount of labor that will be involved to tear apart the piece and put it back together is what determines the investment. If something has a lot of fabric, it will be more than something that has less fabric.

I hate to try to put numbers out there for non-specific pieces. Every piece of furniture that I work on is basically a prototype. I’ll probably never work on another just like it. Maybe I’ve done some that are similar, but never the same. Each piece is like an archaeological expedition, and I’ve got to sift through everything (sometimes some pretty gross things, but that’s another post), and figure out how to put it all back together.

One of the factors I have to consider when I’m figuring out an estimate for your investment include not only the cost of basic labor and fabric, but the actual condition of the piece I’m presented. This includes the materials inside the furniture, like the springs and foam, if they can be used again, or if they need to be replaced. Does the piece has significant damage to the frame that needs special repair work? Are the springs sprung? All of this is very labor intensive, and will add to the amount of time I have to spend on the piece. After all, if you’re going to have it done, shouldn’t I do it right? Your furniture is important to you, so it’s important to me.

“But Lindsay, I don’t even have a piece of furniture I want to reupholster yet –

I just want to know how much it costs so I can see if it’s worth it!”

I understand.  Believe me, I do! You want to know if you should even bother looking at old pieces at estate sales if you’re going to find out it would have been cheaper to just buy new. Bottom line is this: Yes, you can buy SOME new furniture for less than I will reupholster SOME old furniture. But what is the quality of the new furniture you’ll buy? If you want high quality, but don’t want to pay the high prices of new high-quality furniture, your best option is to buy old high-quality pieces and have me or a colleague reupholster them for you. You will save A LOT of money purchasing high-quality vintage pieces over high-quality new pieces.

If you really want numbers – specific numbers – the best thing you can do is send me a photo of the piece you’re considering, along with the dimensions.  From there, I can give you a good estimate of what type of investment you’re looking at. Don’t be afraid to ask. You just may have found that diamond in the rough you’ve been looking for!

Today I received my very first business cards for the Chick. (Yes, I’m calling my business “The Chick” – she is her own entity now. 🙂 ) I can’t tell you how much more real my business became just because of these little rectangular pieces of cardstock! What is it about that glossy little piece of paper with your information on it that makes you seem more “business-y”?  It could be that it goes back to the days of old when people all had calling cards to make proper acquaintance. It could be that it’s a physical extension that’s more than cyber-space.  It means you’ve made contact. Or maybe it means that I finally can actually hand something to someone when they ask if I have a card.

Too many times, in casual conversation at the dog park, the store, the doctor’s office, the State fair, when I have mentioned that I’ve been learning upholstery and am turning it into a business, people are practically searching my pockets and purse to get a card! The words literally have barely left my mouth, and the person I’m talking to is already asking, “Do you have a card?”  I mean, for many of those conversations, I had just mentioned I was learning, the business side hadn’t even come up yet. Why are people so desperate to ask for my card? (They certainly never responded this way when I was painting murals…) Is upholstery as a business dying?  Are upholsterers a dying breed? Is the idea of supporting a novice just so appealing?  My answer to all these questions, my friends, is a big, resounding “NO!”

The reason, I have come to understand, has to do with the appearance of a lack of upholsterers. Back in the day, schools had credential and diploma programs for people to go through to learn the business and art of upholstery. Sadly, finding such a course is near impossible here in the United States. Many years ago, schools started to close up those options. The reason why? I’m not sure. I don’t think it was a lack of people wanting to learn. Whatever the reason, in order to learn, you must be proactive.

In the past, with a lack of credentialed schooling, you might be able to find a veteran upholsterer who was willing to take you under their wing as an apprentice. But again, we’re hard to find – aren’t we? A search for upholstery classes might find you some videos on YouTube by a DIYer making things up as they go (and hey – we all need to learn somewhere!).  Or you may find a class that is taught by someone who knows what they’re doing, but the videographer does not. HOWEVER, like me, you might be lucky enough to find local classes taught by a skilled upholsterer, or find out that your State has a professional upholsterer’s association. Or you might even encounter a fantastic resource in Craftsy, where you can learn from my mentor, Cynthia Bleskachek, in a highly-detailed video setting for practically pennies! (You can find Cynthia here: http://www.craftsy.com/ext/CynthiaBleskachek_5027_H)

So what does all this amount to? Are upholsterers really that hard to find?  Well, yes and no. Since becoming one, I’ve discovered many others in my local area. How? Certainly not by encountering them while out shopping. Many upholsterers now don’t have a storefront you can wander into.  Many of us (myself included) literally work from our garages and basements. We need to keep overhead low, and that can be difficult when you have to pay rent.

Understandably, many of these folks have enough business that they don’t need to advertise anymore – in places like the Yellow Pages. The Yellow Pages are something of the past – most folks nowadays don’t look to an antiquated book for business. We go to the internet.  And that is where I think we upholsterers tend to sink or swim. We need to get your attention – and keep it – and many of the upholstery websites I’ve encountered are utilitarian, but not necessarily interesting.  Those folks who have lots of business actually doing upholstery, don’t always have the time to create a website.  Many of them have been doing upholstery longer than I’ve been alive.  They work by word of mouth – the very best way possible! The problem with us as consumers nowadays is that we don’t tend to talk by word of mouth – we talk by word of the internet, so we miss out on some of the most seasoned professional upholsterers.

My point is this: Be proactive.  Ask around. Check out different avenues on the internet.  And for goodness sake, when someone mentions they upholster, ask them for a card!

Okay, so I’ve been thinking about how I actually want to set up this webpage.  Part of me says, “Lindsay, be business-minded.  Put all your services offered and leave it at that.”  The other part of me says, “No way!  That’s not FUN!” So, I think I’d like to see if I can include ya’ll a bit more.  I’m thinking posts of current projects, furniture I’m thinking about, maybe even a “how-to” once in a while… and PICTURES! Always pictures!  ‘Cuz what’s fun about just a bunch of words about how something LOOKS?  Eyeballs up here, Missy!

I’ll start with one of the projects that got me the most excited. This was a fabulous set of chairs that belonged to a friend of mine, who had inherited them from her grandmother. My friend (a beautiful soul who was willing to take a chance with this newbie!) had picked out an equally fabulous nubby teal fabric to use! (You might as well know now, teal and aqua are my favorite colors, so plan to see it around here, a lot!) Meet Charlie: 

Charlie’s the dog, not the chair.

Let’s call the chair Charlie, anyway!  So then.. here’s Lucy:

Ha! You see what I did there? Charlie and Lucy?  Heehee… erm… ahem… Anyway, I was so excited to start, I forgot to snap a pic of Lucy before I took the legs off.  (And I just noticed you can totally see some of my other projects in the works in the background!  Stay tuned for updates on those!)  Charlie and Lucy had been loved very much, but they needed some new fabric and foam to usher them into the newest generation.

Wanna see them now? Heeeeeeeers… CHARLIE!

And here’s Lucy! (Including her legs!)

In reality, they’re the same color, but I told you I hadn’t entirely figured out this tech thing!  Want one last look of them side-by-side? (Because I know you’re totally scrolling up and down and up and down!)

That’s some good Mid-Century Modern right there, folks.  Good stuff!

So… I really did write a post when I first made the website live – really, I did.  It was super late, and I was tired, but excited. I thought I had written something rather witty (or as witty as one can be at 2am… ahem.) Turns out I am SO not a techie! I love working with my hands. I prefer working with my hands. See the stuff I’m much more familiar with?

Upholstery is a good match for talents such as these. I hope you’ll all be patient with me as I figure out how to Tech in this new-to-me hands-on world of upholstery and painted furniture!