LLandovery Sheep Festival

I took a stand at this year's Sheep Festival in Llandovery. It's a brilliant event, very close to where I live and very relevant to what I do - particularly now that I'm billing myself as a Welsh Wool Specialist.

I was very pleased to be supported by Melin Tregwynt whose products I use and specify wherever possible. Thanks to Eifion for supplying the banners - I clearly didn't make the Balzac chair in the picture but I guess it's only a matter of time before one comes my way. And when it does, maybe I'l cover it in one of these terrific fabrics that I was promoting.

I decided to do some 'live upholstery' to create a bit of interest. It's not exactly the Greatest Show on Earth and I certainly couldn't compete with Sheeptacular with it's dancing sheep, but then, who could?

But I did get plenty of interest and comments about the traditional method in which I was stitching and stuffing this bench.

People are quite fascinated by the magnetic tack hammer, particularly kids - get them one of these mums and dads, they'll soon put down those Nintendos.

Probably best not to teach them to 'spit tacks' though eh?

Many thanks to everyone I met for showing interest in this great old profession and don't forget to bring your chairs into my workshop like you all promised...

(Many thanks to Fiona for organising another brilliant event - onwards and upwards).

Painted Dining Chairs

A set of painted dining chairs in plaid wool.

Most of my customers come into the workshop with an idea of what they want but also seeking some advice. Usually they're not that interested in what goes on underneath but keen to ensure they get fabric that is appropriate for the furniture both in the way it looks and how long it will last. Occasionally someone comes in saying 'please re-do these chairs in this fabric'. In this instance, a customer came in with a set of chairs they'd already painted, bringing with them both the fabric and braid for the job. As it turned out it was a very good fit - it isn't always...

Don't ask me to like it - I'm really not into ch*bby ch*c, so painting such well-made, hand carved beech chairs would never be my choice, but I have to concede, these were probably heading for landfill and are now looking like a set of desirable country-kitchen chairs. So fair play to this customer, and they got the colour scheme spot-on.

 And who am I to say what anyone should do to their furniture? I am very happy to do whatever you want me to do - you're paying the money and you shall have what you want. I will insist you get a solid, lasting job and of course I will stitch a toy soldier on the inside, but otherwise, you call the shots.

I never forget that.

Bus Stop Chair at Cresselly, Pembrokeshire.

This is a smart yellow 1950's dining chair made by Ben Chairs, Frome that I wombled out of a skip, now available for bus travellers on the A4075 at Cresselly.

Yes, this is the chair I tried and failed to drop in Castlemartin (see previous blog entry) - this is a much nicer bus stop though don't you think?

The chair was in good condition in its original yellow vinyl so rather than reupholster it, I adorned it with drawings from the 1980's arcade game 'Asteroids', remember that?

They used to have these chairs in the sports centre where I grew up and where I used to hang out and play arcade machines.

Hence, 'Asteroids', a childhood reference you see.

And why not eh?

It's not visible in the first photo, but this is also the first chair to display my posh new labels, kindly printed for me free of charge by Roger at the excellent and wonderful  Papercut Bindery 

Failed Bus Stop Chair at Castlemartin, Pembrokeshire

I dropped this yellow chair in a nicely colour-matched bus stop in the village of Castlemartin, just beyond the MOD firing range. I photographed the chair (thankfully I couldn’t get an angle to film myself in the gorilla outfit) and was just pulling away in the van when a scarlet-headed man came blistering towards me shouting,

“WHAT’S THAT CHAIR DOING THERE?”

‘Uh, oh’, I thought and slowly scrolled the window down.

“YOU CAN’T DUMP THAT THERE, I KNOW IT WAS YOU, I SAW YOU DO IT, I’VE GOT YOUR NUMBER AND I’M PHONING THE COUNCIL.” He was livid. Bright red, shaking and screaming. 

I got out of the van.

“PUT IT BACK IN YOUR VAN.” he ordered as I stepped towards him, “YOU CANNOT DUMP IT THERE.”

I was calm. He was not. He was wanting to kill me. He was a good deal bigger than me in all aspects. I tried smiling but it didn’t help. I don’t have the type of face to placate angry people, I have the type of face that makes them think I’m going to have a fight with them. I’m not, I’ve never had any fights, but by all accounts, when confronted I look like I’m about to have one (which may be why I haven’t had any fights).

He backed off quickly shouting, “I’VE GOT YOUR NUMBER PLATE.” He stumbled in the road and we both looked down at his feet. He was wearing slippers. He was furious in slippers.

“It’s ok,” I said as calmly as possible, “Don’t be upset, I’m not trying to upset anyone, quite the opposite in fact. I’ve reupholstered the chair and brought it here so anyone waiting for a bus can sit down on it.”

He gave this no consideration, his mind was made up - I was doing wrong.

“It’s fly-tipping, that’s what it is, and I won’t let you dump it there.” He was now shouting less but getting redder and more resolute.

What to do next? I’ve often thought about what the police might have to say about all this, but had not thought through an altercation with a furious man in slippers. How could I explain? Suddenly a simple idea came to me.

“It’s an art project,” I offered, (It isn’t, but it seemed feasible as an explanation).

He lunged forward, planted his big glowing face right into mine and bellowed “YOU’RE AN ART PROJECT.”

I was beaten, that was now very clear. I exhaled slowly and deeply, picked up the chair and walked calmly back to the van. As I drove away I saw his big red head give me a small wobble of winning smugness.

“Fair enough,” I thought, “at least he’ll feel vindication for all his upset.” And I felt a little bad that he’d had to go through that.

But the yellow chair… it looked so good in that yellow bus stop…

Victorian Iron Back Chair in Bute Tweed

A Victorian iron back chair reupholstered in Bute tweed.

This chair belonged to a customer's grandmother and had been handed down through the family. It was very tired looking with a spring poking through the seat. She bravely decided to go for a contemporary wool fabric, bringing this great little chair into the 21st Century.

As any upholsterer will tell you and iron back chair is a serious undertaking. The back is made in iron strips so there can be no tacks, each stage must be hand stitched to the next. (For an excellent blog post on these chairs see The London Chair Collective here).

This chair was made with real horse and hog hair, a time consuming but quite wonderful process that gives it a hand-made feel in keeping with its age.

To add something extra, the customer asked for an accent piping and we found a great match using Melin Tregwynt Carew wool.

What would the Victorians say?

This was a commission.

Parker Knoll Armchair in stripes

A small Parker Knoll armchair reupholstered in striped velvet fabric.

Something of the boating blazer about it don't you think?

Delighted to say they all line up, even the piping.

Can't say fairer than that.

This was a commission.

Feather bolster cushions in Bute fabric by Timorous Beasties

Here's a pair of feather bolster cushions I made in the terrific Ramshead fabric by Bute and designed by the equally terrific Timorous Beasties.

I don't usually make cushions for customers unless there's some fabric left over from an upholstery project but I've been wanting to use this fabric for ages so jumped at the chance.

Bute have somehow found a way to weave a pattern that looks like a ram's head - how on earth did they do that?

Right, who wants a chair done in this? Just imagine how good that's going to look. Think about it, the chair you sit in every day covered in this fabric. This can happen...

This was a commission.

1970's Wingback Armchair in Bute wool fabric

A 1970's wingback armchair reupholstered in Bute Argyll fabric, designed by Jasper Morrison.

Jolly smart.

This was a commission.

Bus Stop Bench at Sarnau, Carmarthenshire.

A deep-buttoned seat-pad softening up the bench for bus travellers waiting opposite the Cana Chapel at Sarnau.

Made from vinyl offcuts and random coat buttons, it's entirely waterproof but I decided not to fix it to the bench because it looks like the swallows are still using the nest inside - if they are it could get rather messy.

Deep buttoning with different sized buttons into odd cuts of waste foam stuck haphazardly onto board while inebriated does not give you the best finish so this is as much of a close up as you're getting.

But why not eh?

The Last Gallery

In addition to my upholstery and the myriad other things I seem to do, I am involved in running (and owning) a contemporary art space -  The Last Gallery in Llangadog with my wife, artist Julie Ann Sheridan

 

After six years running the space we felt we needed a break so we took a sabbatical this year and are still pondering our next move. In the interim I have moved some of my furniture in alongside artwork by Julie, Claire Spencer and Roger Lougher.

The gallery is usually open 9-5 whenever I'm in the workshop, excluding lunchtimes when I tend to walk the dog. Why not come over for a look?

Footstools in Melin Tregwynt fabric

Kidney-shaped stool in Carew Aqua lambswool

£50


Antique footstool in Tote Pink lambswool

£50

Fifty quid? Can't be bad.

Reupholstery of the pink stool revealed a previous owner who had written their address on the calico, the stool was owned by Mrs.H Smart of 40 Emlyn Rd, Stamford Brook, London NW2.

If this is you I would be very happy to give you your stool back upon production of two forms of identification (driving licence, utility bill, etc).

Ercol Armchair in Bute wool fabric

A 1970's Ercol 'Tall Back Easy Chair (478)' in the Old Colonial dark wood, recovered in Bute Troon dogtooth fabric.

Very smart.

This was a commission.

Victorian Chaise Longue

A Victorian chaise longue reupholstered in Sanderson cerise velvet.

I reckon velvet is right for a chaise longue, it's regal enough and French enough. Napoleon is purported to have said "a throne is only a bench covered in velvet" and this velvet covered bench would have been ideal for him - the base is 5' 7", exactly his height.

And bright pink would suit Napoleon fine, don't you think?

I bet Napoleon loved pink. My customer did anyway.

This was a commission.

Bus Stop Chair at Y Groes, Powys.

An ugly but comfortable chair now available to bus travellers on the A483 at Y Groes, Powys.

This chair came free with a bunk bed I bought for my daughter. Although sturdy it has no aesthetic qualities of any description. So to celebrate this odious 1990's greasy-pine farmhouse pastiche I used a horrible jungle-print velvet stripped from a customer's sofa, cheapo brass nails...

...and a really horrible plastic spider on the leg.

And why not?

1920's bergere suite in Bute wool

A 1920's bergere suite with double-sided canework now reupholstered in Bute tweed.

This is a high quality suite was manufactured by Beresford and Hicks of Curtain Rd, London, in the heart of what was then the 'upholstery district' in East London. The space is now occupied by SCP no less.

This had been kept in a barn for the last year or so - getting the spider's webs and mould out from between the canework took some time. The back cushions are fixed in a way I've never seen before so reupholstery took some working out, but the customer wanted the backs to keep their 'feather look' so they're made with rubberised hair and cotton wadding for a puffed-up look.

Nice arm detail.

This was a commission.

Kids car seat in Eleanor Pritchard wool

With an offcut from this project I made my daughter a very fashionable cover for her car booster seat.

She is WELL PLEASED.

Prince of Wales investiture chair

Here's my dog Lewis on a Prince of Wales investiture chair that I reupholstered for a customer. For the monarchists among you it may seem inappropriate to have a dog on the chair but unlike the Prince the dog is actually Welsh, so some might say he is well qualified to sit on it...

Designed by Lord Snowdon and used by royals and other notable attendees of The Prince Wales’s 1969 investiture ceremony at Caernarfon Castle, the investiture chair was manufactured by Remploy and was made of a vermillion stained plywood and supposedly covered in Welsh wool. This is why the customer brought it to me hoping I could source more Welsh wool for it.

To try to trace the original fabric I contacted lots of Welsh mills and other people in the know but drew a blank, no-one had any idea who produced the wool fabric. When I finally got the chair I realised it wasn't covered in wool at all, but a cotton/polyester mix with textured weave. I could find nothing suitable produced in Wales but found an ok match from Scottish manufacturer Wemyss

**UPDATE - JAN 2016 - Lots of people have contacted me since asking if I can source a fabric for these chairs so I got in touch with CADW and various other organisations including St.Fagan's and still no joy. If anyone does have a source please let me know. Until then I'm recommending Danish manufacturer Kvadrat and their Tonus fabric. It's expensive at over £100 per metre (min order 1m) but if you can bring your chair to me for reupholstery I can supply this about half price because it only needs half a metre. Hope this helps. Mick.

***UPDATE - APRIL 2016 - I now have the original fabric in stock and can supply it - see this blog post for details 

So if you have one of these and it needs reupholstering, it looks like I'm your man.

Just don't tell Charles about the dog.