Upholstery class

Also known as making a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Earlier this year I went through a bit of a rough patch. Things weren't quite as I had imagined they would be, to say the least. One of the wisest snippets of advice I got was to focus on making myself happy and to do something I had always wanted to do but never found the time for. The indulgence of doing something solely for me, putting aside concerns that I should work later or worrying about someone else, was pretty novel. I think it's an easy trap to fall into thinking that doing things for yourself can just wait while you finish off a myriad of other jobs.

{before}

To cut a long story short I decided to do a traditional reupholstery course with the marvellous Edinburgh Contemporary Crafts. I can't sing their praises enough - Vicky, our instructor, was hands on and helpful at every step of the way. She provided tea and chocolate and the small class sizes meant that everyone got the help they needed throughout the whole process. She stayed late to help when necessary and squeezed in extra classes to make sure we all finished the process. An absolute gem.

I knew I wanted to make something beautiful and had found a gorgeous fabric in John Lewis and used chalk paint to paint the wood itself. The process took 10 weeks with a couple of hours a week for each session but hammering tacks, using an industrial staple gun and chiselling out any old bits of hardware was a bit like therapy. Watching something come together, that I had made with my own two hands, was an incredibly satisfying feeling and I joke that poor girls in my family are going to have to tolerate this chair being handed down through generations after the {literal} blood and sweat that went into the process. Want to see the finished product {and the hundred unfinished product stages in between?!}

Bx