We received an email from Devyn: I have a question for AT readers. I want to have these two 1970s bank lobby chairs re-upholstered and I have no idea who to go to for a fair price and quality work. I will be using fabric purchased from Knoll Textiles to retain the vintage look.
I definitely want to do business within the city. I looked all over AT Chicago, but didn't find anything on upholstery work.
We've used Felipe's Upholstery (773-252-3110) to have our sofas reupholstered in the past. They are a very simple design so the job was pretty staight forward. The price was good and the work was nicely done. Everything happened on schedule, too, which is always a bonus, especially when you are living without your sofas...
We asked around a bit and heard that "The Furniture Shop" at 4259 S. Western Blvd. is comfortable with doing reupholstery of vintage pieces. They are fine with you supplying your own fabric (the Knoll material should look fabulous) and can be reached at 773-376-2525.
This is just a start - we'd love to start building up some more information on upholsterers - can any readers recommend an upholstery service to Devyn (and the rest of us)?
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Devyn,
Try Urban Source on Chicago Ave. I think they've been mentioned on this site before. Talk to Rose, she's co-owner. Here's her email:
Rose@urbansourcechicago.com
They helped us with designing, selecting and installing our window treatments and we loved their work. I once asked her about reupholstering a chair and I know they have someone they work with who does that kind of thing. I remember a quote she gave me for a Wormley-style lounge chair that was around $550 for the labor only (estimated 7 yds of fabric).
They do great work with textiles and their "mission" is fairly unique - bringing designer/industry textiles to the general public. Good luck.
Matt
Devyn, when I wanted to reupholster several of my things, I went to the ASID website to find a good local designer and then found out who they used to upholster their stuff (since they make most stuff from fluff). I had two awesome Knoll-esque chairs done (about $50 in labor with existing cushions and I provided the fabric) and then I had a full bench seat constructed for my three seater couch. I gave the creator the measurements and emailed pictures. He told me how much fabric I would need for each item based on their dimensions and he even provided the foam for the bench cushion (which I picked and tested for firmness, etc) at another $100. My two chairs were much like yours, so I found the fabric I wanted (ordered samples from the GREAT Knoll myself--super professional samples) and ordered what I needed then turned everything over to Roger. Also, the upholsterer came to my apt to pick all the items up (chairs) and to take a look at the sofa to just confirm the ideas and such. Everything was less than $400 and I got the cool chairs like yours for ten bucks a piece at the Habitat store.
Dunno if that was helpful, but through the ASID I was at least able to find a good guy with good work and reputation tied to an accredited designer. Just my eight cents. Good luck!