Rosie Shaw Upholstery

Sharing this project from last year, a large Art Deco club chair, reupholstered in casamance_official Chiado fabric in Navy. You never know until you start stripping back a chair exactly what you're dealing with and how much work will be required....this one had three layers of upholstery fabric to remove and needed a full rebuild of all the internal upholstery. An imposing chair with an iconic shape and the new velvet jacquard fabric, with its Art Deco inspired design in keeping with the era of the chair, a fitting choice.

Ok, so clearly my January 2024 resolution to post my work regularly didn’t quite work out…20 months later, here we go… just finished this very handsome mid century cocktail chair. Wood refinished and this one is reupholstered in abrahammoonsons timeless Herringbone wool in Dark Olive.

More posts to come over the coming weeks/months as I attempt to re-engage with social media….one good thing about not posting for over 20 months is that I have a heap of great projects to share as I’ve been very busy in the workshop despite being silent on the socials 🙂

🎉🎉We made it, Door #24 at last! Behind it lies a treat of a chaise longue for you to finish off my 2023 Upholstery Calendar. It almost looks like a present, so I had to make it the final reveal. It is finished in the beautiful Pampas fabric in Teal, by Andrew Martin . This very heavy-weight woven fabric is basically the thickness of a rug, so working with it was pretty hard on the hands, not to mention my now blunt scissors. Absolutely worth it though as it works so well on this chaise. There was no chance of being able to make a workable double piping out of the Pampas fabric, so we opted for a complementary blue made from a Romo Linara plain.
And that is a wrap as they say. These last few days, I've been scheduling my calendar posts from my bed, after finally being caught by a winter virus🤒, so it's been a bit of a crawl to the finish line this year… But, before I sign off, a big thank you for all the wonderful support from my customers and peers throughout this last year, not to mention family and friends🤗🤗. 2023 marked 10 years since I set up my business 🥳 and I am so grateful that my career change has worked out the way it has. I'm excited to have lots of interesting projects already lined up for the first few months of 2024. But, before it all starts again, it's time to put my out of office email on and give my arthritic hands a rest for a couple of weeks while I enjoy the delights of christmas. Wishing everyone a very happy one - see you on the other side (with hopefully less 🤧)

Time to open Door #23, the penultimate offering of this year's Calendar. Today we have a set of 8 dining chairs, including 2 carver chairs, which have been reupholstered in Christopher Farr Cloth Lost and Found Perennials Performance Weave in the colour Azzurro, a stunning fabric designed by Kit Kemp. This project needed a lot of planning and thinking time before taking my scissors to the fabric. The fabric has a vertical stripe in the pattern as well as the more obvious horizontal stripes, so there was lots of lining up to get right and, of course, the chairs needed to align with each other too. Not taking the time to do this would have left them looking off and a busy mess. But, with this fabric, it is not just the pattern that is unforgiving - it is a tough, hard wearing fabric which can also be used outdoors, and so it has very little give and is very difficult to push a needle through. This meant that it was tough to work with and all the sections that needed to be hand sewn to finish took time. A good reminder of the difference that a fabric choice can make to the size of the job! Although this one took longer than I first anticipated, the transformation was so satisfying and my clients were super pleased. Seeing the chairs back in their home and the impact they now have on the space is brilliant. What were previously fairly bland chairs are now statement pieces that match the stunning home they reside in.

Good morning! Today's offering, behind Door #22 is a Victorian Ironback armchair. After years of being patched up and having new layers of fabric added on, this chair was in desperate need of restoration and, with ironbacks, each layer of upholstery on the back needs to be pinned and then hand stitched into place🪡🧵. Also, this one needed a full traditional rebuild of the seat. It is finished in Omega III velvet by Linwood • Fabrics, Wallpapers & Cushions, in the very vibrant shade Prussian 💙💙.

Another day and another door - Today, behind Door #21 is another Edwardian Armchair. Stripping back this piece revealed layer after layer of previous upholstery. It was time to start afresh rather than adding a new layer! It is finished in Linwood • Fabrics, Wallpapers & Cushions Fable Weaves Tanuki fabric in the colour Candy.

We've reached the 20s and the final stretch 🥳. And behind Door #20 I have a selection of some of the bespoke cushion projects I've worked on this year, for both domestic and commercial settings, including Rise & Bloom Shoreditch - I highly recommend a visit here, or to their East Dulcich branch, to enjoy their delicious coffee and pastries in comfort 😁

A very good morning to those still accompanying me on my Upholstery Advent Calendar marathon (and a big thank you to you). Today, behind Door #19, is a pair of early 20th century Thonet bentwood chairs. These much loved chairs, which my client remembers from her childhood home, were in a very sorry state. They'd been DIY reupholstered/recovered a few times and the wood was in need of some TLC. After a good cleanup and some much needed oil on the wood, they were much happier and they have been finished in Linwood • Fabrics, Wallpapers & Cushions Omega velvet fabric on the seats in the colour Winter Moss alongside Linwood's Hopscotch in Gooseberry Green on the backs. The hardy velvet is an excellent option for the seat and complements the pattern of the more delicate fabric on the backs well.

We're now into the last week of advent 🥳 and behind Door #18 is a very handsome Edwardian armchair with lovely inlay detail on the frame. Gone is the dated material, it is now reupholstered in a timeless striped ticking fabric with ticking double piping trim. A lovely clean fresh finish for this very sweet chair.

Door #17 of my 2023 Upholstery Advent Calendar opens to reveal a little bedroom chair, reupholstered in Linwood • Fabrics, Wallpapers & Cushions Tango Weave fabric in the colour Ocean. I made dark blue double piping for the trim rather than fixing decorative nails, to complement and frame the striking fabric design. 💙💙

The weekend already 🙂. Here bringing you Door #16 - today’s offering is a pair of Art Deco bentwood chairs, fully reupholstered and with new seat and back cushions. Finished in Camira Fabrics brilliant Main Line Flax fabric, one in the colour Barbican and the other, Bayswater. This very hardy fabric, a woven blend of pure wool and harvested flax, sets the wooden frames off beautifully.

Good morning all - behind Door #15, today's offering is a Victorian balloon back chair, fully restored and given a very different look with G.P. & J. Baker Thornham fabric in Warm Grey, a beautiful hand block printed linen. I made the double piping trim from the unprinted edge of the fabric length to give a simple clean finish against the newly finished wood. It was really nice to find the J. Maple & Co makers mark on this chair. They were a very successful furniture manufacturer from the Victorian and Edwardian eras, based on Tottenham Court Road.