One of the first things I did as an upholstery student was to strip down a traditional dining chair. My chair had been sourced by a fellow student as one of a pair. I remember picking it up at Waterloo station. It was covered with a black bin bag as of course it was raining in London that day. I took it back home on the tube and used it as a seat for the journey. Thankfully, it held up throughout. Having seen the state of a fair number of traditional chairs since; this is no longer something that I take for granted. The frame was a beautiful 18th century shield back style armless dining chair. I hadn't appreciated the number of layers and fixtures I would find in such an unassuming, relatively small and compact seat. Held together by a massive number of tacks, staples, and cord; this dining chair was truly traditional and stripping down the layers gave me an appreciation for the amount of work that goes into upholstering a traditional chair. Something to look forward t...
All things upholstery, in and out of the workshop - a student's perspective.