The 2 day workshop starts at 9am and finishes at 4pm each day. This is for a maximum of 4 people due to COVID restrictions. A 1-1 or group of 2 weekend workshop is also available via private appointment for 3 hours once a fortnight (dates at the bottom of this page).

You need to bring a piece of furniture to reupholster, the top fabric and your enthusiasm. To make sure you bring the correct amount of fabric, a ‘how to measure your chair’ handout is provided when you book.

The workshop is very hands on and physical, so please wear suitable clothes and shoes as we don’t want a dropped tack ending up in your foot.

Lunch is provided and during this break you get to visit our alpacas. Their fibre is available for use as stuffing in your chair as alpaca fibre is fire retardant, has no lanolin & is a hollow fibre so it retains the warmth. This natural material is also better for the environment than man made fibres.

Helen Cooksley is the tutor for this workshop and she has been teaching upholstery since 2016 at JA Milton, Ellesmere and Shrewsbury College.

The 2 day workshop is £300 and the 3 hr workshop is £68 per session.

Included in this price is your lunch (for the 2 day workshop only), use of tools, use of some materials such as staples & tacks. Items such as coir fibre, horsehair, foam, alpaca fibre, webbing, wadding, calico and hessian are additional costs and price is worked out on measurements of what you have used.

Please be aware that depending upon a number of factors such as the size of your chair, your speed at removing the old materials and adding the new fabric & the condition of the inside of your chair you may not finish your chair in 2 days. You may wish to remove the top fabric at home before the workshop but you don’t have to.

This workshop is designed to help you understand and practice the craft of upholstery so you can finish your chair at home if not completed over two days. If however you don’t feel confident to do this, I offer additional 2hr slots available mid week to have help on hand to completing your chair. This is £40.

The 3hr workshop is for small items like a footstool, dining chair or piano stool. You may not complete these in this workshop but you will go home with the knowledge and skill to continue at home. However in many cases, you will go home with a completed item.

Workshop Dates (maximum of 4 people) are:

  • 27th & 28th April (spaces available)
  • 16th & 17th May (spaces available)
  • 16th & 17th June (spaces available)

The book a place message or phone to check availability on the date you wish to attend (the website is updated regularly) and then to pay in full, click on the link:

https://pay.sumup.io/b2c/X4R2ME5CVN