Introduction to Upholstery
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Need a faux-fur skull shaped ottoman to complete your goth-themed den but can’t seem to find the perfect one? Learn the methods of professional (and experimental) upholstery for furniture and sculpture, and these dreams can come true! In this class we will cover upholstery methods for both re-upholstering and constructing upholstered pieces from scratch, including basic sewing techniques, working with different densities of foams to create forms, stretching webbing, selecting, stretching and tacking fabric, and covering finishing methods such as piping, tufting, tacking and general tricks of the trade.
By the first day we will complete an upholstered slip seat by utilizing webbing on frames; by the end of the class, everyone will have completed a small re-upholstery project or an upholstery project of their own design. Preliminary woodworking, sewing and general furniture construction skills are not necessary, but be prepared to work with sewing machines and staple guns.
Come to the first day with an idea of what you might like to do, either your own design or a piece that you would like to re-upholster. They should be modest in scope; we don’t have time to fix up a whole chair or couch, but a bench or ottoman is a great way to learn the skills needed to move up in scale later. Project size is limited to 2' wide by 3' tall. We will develop these designs in class and begin construction (or de-construction) on the second day, with completion of the projects on the third and fourth days.
Interested in more examples? Check out students work from the class on our tumblr.
Get a taste of what our Upholstery classes are all about in this short clip: 3rd Ward Intro to Upholstery video.
Instructors:
Rebecca Carter, a freelance furniture designer and artist working out of Brooklyn, graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a degree in Furniture Design, and a concentration in Jewelry Design.
Ian Horowitz is an independent designer and fabricator based in Brooklyn. Working primarily in interiors and furniture, he holds a BFA in Furniture Design from the Rhode Island School of Design. You can view his work here.
Francesca Capone is a designer and artist with a BFA in Textiles and a concentration in English from the Rhode Island School of Design. She has worked in textiles for interior design as well as apparel design, has her own line of cold weather accessories at Carolina Amato, and is currently designing textiles at Coach. She teaches Upholstery and Digital Textile Design.
Elise McMahon has a BFA in Furniture Design from the Rhode Island School of Design. She teaches Introduction to Upholstery, Intro to Woodworking, and Bent Ply: Skateboard Making at 3rd Ward and also works as a freelance furniture maker/designer and upholsterer in Brooklyn.
Colleen White is a visual artist and professional freelance furniture upholsterer with a studio space at The Shirey studios and gallery collective in Bushwick. She Graduated in 2010 with her MFA in Fine Arts from The School of Visual Arts in New York City and after working in a professional upholstery studio in the LIC has ventured out on her own to to save one piece of furniture at a time from the landfill.
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