Bespoke traditional & modern upholstered furniture with printed textiles all crafted with love
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Do you have a beloved piece of furniture that needs some TLC?
I am an upholsterer and soft furnisher based in east London providing a range of upholstery services, creating bespoke upholstery, re-upholstery and soft furnishings and original textile print designs, using traditional or modern techniques and materials suited to furniture for your home or business. My work is done with the utmost care and attention to detail. Whether it’s a complete refurbishment of your favourite armchair, completely refurbishing your dining chairs or sofa’s seat & back cushions – I can help!
If you are looking for someone who will take time to understand what you want from your furniture then look no further. I pride myself on my ability to listen carefully, so that we can create something together which truly reflects who you are as well as being practical enough to last many years without losing its appeal. As part of this process, if there is anything about your existing piece that might be worth keeping then I will always try to find ways in which these elements may be incorporated into our design together along with any new ideas that we come up with during our conversations. This way we ensure continuity between old and new while still bringing something fresh into the mix! You won’t find another service like mine anywhere else in London so get in touch today!
#TBT December ‘22: I Loved working on this Provincial Bench. It gave me the opportunity to play with colours and produce my very own stripe design which I had digitally printed onto plush Velvet, My sincere thanks go out to all @curvemediatv , Louise @shoreditchdesignrooms and @garethrees75 for their great advice and support and to @restorersteve For doing such a great job on repairs to the frame. Check out episode 18 “Clowning Around” of Season 6 of #salvagehunterstherestorers, now available to stream on @discoveryplus (I’ll stick a link in my bio- does anyone look at those anymore?)
Afternoon peeps! Hoping you’ve all had a great weekend.
This isn’t my “usual” upholstery post. I’ve got this pair of @squint_studio Night stands I don’t have space for so I’m selling the pair. They are a little brown beaten and pre-loved however I’d love them both to go to a good home. Price on enquiry. Message me for details .
For those that have recently started following me on here Thank you for following! May I reintroduce myself. I`m Ray Clarke. I love the craft, I love art. I love my family and friends and I particularly love upholstery, re-upholstery and bringing my own art to this craft through developing textile prints which I occasionally use to create statement one-off pieces. I love learning. I love practicing it and recently, through @sit_on_this_workshops and now finding my way teaching a leisure class at the prestigious @shoreditchdesignrooms on Friday mornings. If you are about and want to come and say Hi you’ll find me there as well as in my Bow-based workshop. Right now I`m rebuilding the seat in a living room of a Professor in Kennington while listening to some classical music on my @spotifyuk. Music is my constant companion, as I hope are you on this journey. Much love to you all and have a great weekend! Rxxx
#TBT : This pair of French Bergère armchairs taught me many hard lessons about customer service/managing customer expectations and working myself to exhaustion in November last year. They were originally upholstered by the grandmother of the owner of these chairs. my original estimate was for refurbish and recover, based on an image they supplied just showing them from the front. Upon receiving the chairs it became clear that the outside backs panels were fitted inside the frame and the condition of the original filling was so bad I had no choice but to start again from the frame upwards. Which took longer in terms of labour time. Anyways, what started out an enjoyable experience ended not so much.
My deepest thanks go out to @rae_upholstery @theupholsterycabin and @Garethree75 for all their help, advice and support.
Now covered in a beautiful velvet called #Scala in colour #Putty from @chase_erwin_textiles. Trimmed in a beautiful Squirrel gimp from those lovely people over at @vvrouleaux
Well January for me was hard, grey, dark & cold. As the light continues it`s return I am grateful for the opportunity to play with a burst of colours which have kept my spirits up during these winter months, through completing this commission, a cute little #Flocktail Chair, covered in #NorthmoreMajor linen, designed by @rachelparkerdesigns on behalf of those lovely people @studioflock.
Hope these colours brighten up your first February weekend as the light continues to make its way back.
Give your pilates students the best experience. Get your equipment reupholstered by yours truly. Contact me and get your Reformers expertly refurbished & recovered....
Good morning all! Just wanted to say Thank you for all your kind birthday wishes (It was Saturday just gone!) And thank you to @monfornothing and @bbc for broadcasting a repeat of a project I did with and for @jaybladesmbe. Where does the time go? It was great being assisted by the amazing @altyn_upholstery, who went on to produce some amazing work too! Just feeling grateful that being on that show did for me in terms of producing more creative ideas for transforming furniture and the exposure is always great. BIG Love to all @monfornothing. This episode is available to watch on #bbciplayer for another 28 days in case you missed it yesterday.
Have a great week! Rxxx #moneyfornothingbbc #farmhousestyle #chairs #Custom #woodstain #AtelierRayClarke #bbc #upholstery #restoration #transform #furnitureartist...
For those that don’t know: These pieces of exercise equipment were designed by Joseph Pilates . The piece on the left is the “carriage” of an exercise contraption called a “Reformer”. By performing specific exercises as the carriage runs along its runners using springs and levers to create resistance, a user can develop greater core strength and retrain and help realign the body in the service of gaining greater control over muscular and skeletal movement and Body Conditioning. Used as part of a system developed by the German Joseph Pilates in 1923 it has since massively grown in popularity in the west and I’m honoured to know a fair few teachers and practitioners of Pilates and Restoring and recovering this piece of kit is definitely not as straight forward as it looks! Lots of unbolting , cutting, stitching, cleaning, polishing and refitting. This particular example , now covered in #Neugahyde #Vinyl, I’ve just delivered back to its owner off Regent’s park earlier this evening in time for her new term of students to train with. I myself just need a long lie down. Hope you’ve all enjoyed or at least , less endured Your weekend. Many thanks to @rae_upholstery for her assistance, and to @rowenaupholstery for the additional emergency foam rescue when I came up slightly short. #ARC #AtelierRayClarke #Modern #upholstery #Exercise #equipment #Pilates #Reformer #Bodyweight #coreworkout...
First Job completed and collected out of my studio just afew moments ago. An ebay find which needed rewebbing . Now looking a lot smarter in @camirafabrics #Mainline#Flax fabric. My Thanks to @rae_upholstery for all her help and assistance with this.
Happy belated New Year everyone..Let’s go get it!! Rxxx...
Choosing my moment to chime in and hope you’ve all had a lovely, wonderful and peaceful Christmas and are enjoying your time and space be’twixedmas . THANK YOU for following and liking my work and see you all in #2024 Rxxx...
Delivered this last night also Just in time for my customer to entertain her guests this christmas: An original #everstaff #pianostool , striped of its original finish, sanded and polished with layers of beeswax. Upholstered a fresh new seat pad covered in @crestleather #newengland #black leather. Taking break after tomorrow. Xx...
Last few jobs delivered before Christmas: Not my usual bag but I enjoyed re-finishing the showwood and brass on this best of tables for a local customer. My thanks to @the_upholstery_cabin for all her help dismantling and giving them a good rub down.
Pleased to personally deliver this @parkerknoll Wingback #armchair Looking smart in @butefabrics #Tiree , Colour #merlot , and this antique #Ballandclaw #footstool , covered in @camirafabrics #Mainline#Flax in Colour #blackwall , Delivered to a lovely Local customer near to My studio on The Isle of Dogs. My thanks to @rae_upholstery for assisting me and to @the_upholstery_cabin , and all of you,for all your support.
Late night getting this pair of French #bergères #chairs ready for delivery Friday. Loving the grey #Squirrel #gimp from @vvrouleaux, complimenting this sumptuous velvet called #Scala , in colour #putty, from @chase_erwin_textiles. Just 8 more panels, the down feather seat pads to create (and alittle more Gimp to fit ) I always get alittle “antsy” towards the end of a big project: The temptation to rush to the finish can ruin work. Specially at this time of year, when it feels like everyone wants it before Christmas. Thanks for your support Rxx...
Among the current projects in my studio, I’m working with a lovely local customer who was looking for some smart but durable fabric options to refurbish and recover their Ottoman footstool (featuring ball and claw Mahogany legs)and an accompanying @parkerknoll #Wingback armchair. Tackling the footstool first, we’ve smartened it up with this gorgeous @camirafabrics #Mainline #Flax sustainable #Wool
My thanks to @rae_upholstery For the Rip-Down of both items Wingback next. Have a lovely weekend all!Rxx...
#TBT to this time last week, when dear Vicky of @the_upholstery_cabin treated us both to a masterclass with in my humble opinion, Legends & Total Baddass Rockstar Upholsterers and tutors @garethrees75 & @greg_cottageupholstery - It was an absolute honour and privilege to finally get to see their superb training facility @schoolofupholsteredfurniture out Near Henley.
@schoolofupholsteredfurniture You can not only complete @the_amusf Diploma courses (They are an approved AMUSF training centre)but also Advanced Diploma Courses, as well as day “Masterclasses” Like what we’ve just experienced, where you can bring your piece and get some proper in depth tuition and training from Gareth & Greg. Honestly folks, If you live nearby or even if you’re prepared to travel like us I CANNOT recommend training with these fine gentleman highly enough!! For me, re-learning and taking a more nuanced approach to traditional upholstery came in perfect timing on a pair of French #Bergere #Chairs you may of seen me working on. My heartfelt thanks go out to Vicky , and Gareth and Greg for their expertise,support and time last weekend. Even though a tyre blowout the night before threatened to scupper our visit we made it and My thanks also go out to @_gussie_dawta_ for letting me borrow Mum’s old Wheels to help get my work over and back.
This past weekend has been amazing: reaching new traditional upholstery insights and re-learning stitching and stuffing techniques, Heartfelt thanks to @the_upholstery_cabin booking us a session with the legend that is @garethrees75 @schoolofupholsteredfurniture. More on that in my next post. Meanwhile, on my return to my studio I’ve also managed to finish recovering this pair of #Scandart #midcenturymodern chairs for clients of @manjupple. In a smart fabric from @romo_fabrics Thanks Manjeet for the business support and to @rae_upholstery for her assistance while I squeezed these out between the Bergeres.
My thanks for your attention and support. Have a great rest of the week! Rxx
I’m still a newbie creating reels..It’s so time-consuming when you got so much actual work to complete on the bench and, like with this pair of French Bergere chairs, it can’t be rushed. Traditional Upholstery always takes longer to produce , hence the l pricey labour and materials costs- However When you really look at the costs over time it’s actually cheaper because the furniture is crafted to last longer as well as be more sustainable/ Kinder to the environment ,as the natural materials breakdown much better ecologically into Mother Earth. However so far so good. I often wish I could go quicker… but that comes with more practice and patience. Slow progress is better than no progress..
“Traditional for the soul..Modern for the goal”.. Despite having to painstakingly remove all the decorative nailing this is possibly going to be one of my favourite projects of this year and for a lovely customer who I’ve worked with before. This one of a pair of chairs were originally upholstered by my customers’ Grandmother and I feel honoured to be only the second upholsterer to work on them. My thanks to @rae_upholstery for assisting with the Rip down. Time pressed so I best stay focused and keep it moving..
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