Have you heard? October is Upholstery Awareness Month! In an effort to celebrate and promote the field of upholstery we put out a call to our members to share some of their favorite projects.

You may be wondering how Upholstery Awareness Month came to be. Legend has it last year during a conversation between two upholsterers, Bruno Palin-Lopez and Louise Cornick, the idea was born. They decided there should be an Upholstery Awareness Month and they made it so. It was quickly adopted by many upholsterers on social media.

This year the NUA would love to help keep it going. We invite you to join us in publicizing professional upholstery of all kinds during the month of October. We will be using the hashtags #upholsteryawarenessmonthNUA and #nationalupholsteryassociation on Instagram so feel free to use those hashtags in your own Instagram posts so everyone can follow along. 

Here’s a few of our member project submissions we’ve received. More will be shared on our social media throughout the month of October so stay tuned.

 

A favorite French chair. “I upholstered this chair with traditional European techniques, using Timorous Beasties fabric…. It was oh so rewarding to see this broken down chair come back to life.” -Amy of Ruby Jute  

“I was able to duplicate factory interior of a 1967 Oldsmobile Delmont 88, including the crest in the seat backs. I did front and rear seats, door panels, sail panels, kick plates, sun visors, door handles, and headliner. But I only thought to take pictures of the front seat. I took a lot of pride in the finished job because it was a particularly tough job due to rust and water damage to the original interior parts and fabrics. The car has been in numerous area vintage auto shows and generated more auto upholstery jobs for me.” -LeAnn Hayes

 

"The floral chair has a wrought iron frame where all the elements had to be hand-sewn on it." -Tina Ortman of Sturdy Stitching Upholstery

 “This is my own reclining Swedish type chair that my husband and I bought 30 years ago that became worn out and drab; it is now sitting proudly in my home workroom/office. It was originally upholstered in a tan leather, but I wanted to do something really unique for its next act. I found the fabric at a local store here near Oceanside, CA called Upholstery Fabric Outlet (UFO), and fortunately had enough for an accent pillow too. The other pillow is fabric from the same store and matches a cornice board above this room's window. It was a great learning experience, using the old leather as a pattern and sewing all pieces together to fit the still-in-good-shape cushions.” –Debbie, of Debbie Lousberg Upholstery Services

 

 “This is one of my favorites. I love doing picture backs with vintage textiles. This picture back is a hand beaded and embroidered silk scarf. The person who purchased the chair was over the moon happy. So gratifying!” -Monica Rhodes of Monday Wash

"This chair is upholstered in beautiful crest leather. There are 1120 nails on the front and back." -Rhonda of The Whimsical Chair

 

"One of my very favorite projects - this client had fallen in love with a beautiful old frame badly in need of an overhaul. She hung onto it for years, deciding who to trust for the job. Initially, she reached out to one of our advanced students, a professional named Gabrielle Lindberg (Cotton Seed Designs) who felt it was beyond her scope of practice, and referred it to me. It was a challenge! The frame went completely down to wood. Edge wire coil springs were retied and all foundation and padding were replaced with top quality modern materials from Fabric Supply in Minneapolis. The client selected a beautiful and sturdy textile from Greenhouse Fabrics. The tack band and outside were stitched on by hand to get the curves as smooth and neat as possible." -Cynthia Bleskachek of The Funky Little Chair

“We at @hardestydwyer are so proud of this custom sectional that we made for @kellyhohla for the 2019 @sfdecoratorshowcase. We also recovered the vintage Lady Armchairs in the photograph. It was a joyful collaboration to create a show stopping Wo-man Cave at this year's event. To us, this fresh and original sectional is a celebration of how lucky we are to have such inspired clients, building amazing spaces where our passion for our work is showcased so beautifully!” Photo credit @johnmerkl #theymakeuslookgood  -Hardesty Dwyer & Co.

If you are an NUA member and missed the initial email you can still submit a photo to be featured on The NUA Instagram or facebook. Submit your photo and a small description of why the project was special (the story behind it or materials used) via email to michelle@blueroofcabin.com. Be sure to include your social media handle so we can credit you most effectively. Use “Upholstery Appreciation Month” as your subject line and add your photo as an attachment. Submissions must be received by October 10^th.

Please note: Photos must be of your work and you must also have permission to use them. Let us know if special photo credit is needed (to a designer or photographer, for example). By submitting your photo, you are giving the NUA permission to use them.