The Furniture Magazine, Issue 003

Festival of Upholstery 2026: what the trade asked for, and what comes next

The Festival returned on 2 and 3 October at the National Conference Centre, Solihull, with 35 exhibitors, six live demonstrations, six speaker sessions and three sets of awards. Chairperson Kirsty Lockwood answered our questions after the event.

Which demonstration or talk drew the biggest crowd? Susie Stanway’s live box cushion sewing demonstration was a particular draw. Sessions on reusing existing upholstery, running an upholstery business and sustainability were also fully booked.

What did the big-screen demonstrations change? They made the detail accessible to a much larger audience. We could zoom in on the sewing-machine work so that visitors could follow techniques they would otherwise struggle to see.

What did exhibitors and visitors ask for more of? Requests included more tools and equipment, access to recorded talks and more international contributors. There was also interest in the sharpening service and in further business support, particularly help with difficult client conversations.

Worshipful Company of Upholders, National Upholstery Awards: Melissa Neal first, Annabel Lloyd second, Susannah Douglas third.

AMUSF: Susannah Douglas, the Bob Fowlds Bursary. Anna Eckford, honorary membership.

Guild of Traditional Upholsterers, David James Award: Annabel Lloyd of St Albans Upholstery School first; Emma Wrafter second and Alexandra Brady third, both from The Chair School.

We’re looking ahead to the next Festival of Upholstery in October 2028.

Answers supplied by Kirsty Lockwood in writing and approved for publication. Photographs: Nikki, Royal Touch Photography, supplied by the Festival for publication. Editorial; nothing was paid for this piece.

The David James Award 2026: three student chairs, in the makers' own words

The Guild of Traditional Upholsterers' student award went to Annabel Lloyd of St Albans Upholstery School, with Emma Wrafter second and Alexandra Brady third, both from The Chair School. A Victorian armchair rebuilt as a leather club chair, two deep-buttoned mahogany armchairs, and what each maker is doing next.

Five francs, one chair and a changed life

How a family heirloom led Valérie Hayes into upholstery, in her own words.

In April 1947 the SS Île de France returned to Saint-Nazaire for a two-year refurbishment. Joseph bought himself a recliner for the princely sum of five French francs.

He kept that chair for the rest of his life, and when he died in 1990 I inherited it. Eventually some family friends kindly offered to arrange for it to be reupholstered.

Eventually, after more than six months apart, I asked for my chair back. It had not even been touched.

I enrolled in professional upholstery training, spent thousands of pounds and several years studying for my AMUSF qualifications, and used Joseph's chair as my second-year traditional upholstery project. Somewhere along the way, I fell in love with the craft.

Photographs courtesy of Valérie Hayes.

Hawksmoor seating, refurbished without losing a cover

At Hawksmoor Borough Market and Guildhall, Craftwood UK Interiors went back to its original drawings, rebuilt 80 chair seats from the bottom up, and fitted new leather overnight in ten-hour shifts.

Photograph: Craftwood UK Interiors. Banquette after refurbishment, Hawksmoor Guildhall.

A tambour whisky cabinet in Scottish elm

Paul Hodgkiss Designs was asked for a six-bottle cabinet that could stand open. With hinged doors it would have been 1,500mm wide when open, so Paul Hodgkiss went back to tambour doors, and lead tradesman Tony Blacker made the curves work.

Photographs: Jean Paul Photography.

What your upholstery course did not teach you

We asked on Instagram what the first job taught that the course did not, for a piece for people finishing their training. Here are the answers, as posted.

That being a good upholsterer and running a good upholstery business are two different skills. My training taught me how to do the work. My first jobs taught me how much happens around the work: quoting, sourcing, client communication, collection and delivery, unexpected problems, and knowing when to stop and ask for approval. The chair is only part of the job. (@valeriehayesupholstery)

Speed. I learnt the skills with the AMUSF but bench time in a commercial setting taught me how to work smarter and faster (@ironwoodupholstery)

Professional upholsterers also really care but they do it faster. Pins don't exist, and not everything has to be done to perfection. Sounds contradictory but it makes sense in the real world. (@bestmadeupholstery)

Never turn work down however difficult. There's always a solution. That's when you really start to learn. Work relentlessly and get faster. (@lindseygreenupholstery)

Also the very first thing I learn was to sweep the floor, it might sound mundane but in a Parisian workshop it’s paramount for the novice to understand the nature of the trade, it’s a clean trade. A floor should be always clean, like a tailors shop. (@brunopaulinlopez)

How long a job ‘should’ take when trading. (@bristol_upholstery_collective)

How much space is required for all the ‘ingredients’! (@bobbityhat)

That you don't know enough!! (@consciously_creative_now)

Who taught you? Two answers, and the chair one of them made

The question after that was who taught you, and what stuck. Two of the answers, as posted.

Oh my goodness there is so much but I suppose the biggest lesson I learned is...... It's ok to unpick something and try again. I'm always wanting to progress into the next stage, but in my first year of training @thomasevansupholstery, despite tantrums from myself, encouraged me to unpick my work and do it properly! To this day, when I need to undo my work, I still think of him, exasperated, but gently telling me to unpick and do it again! (@whitebarnupholstery, taught by Thomas Evans)

I still pull the thread to find my center line on hessian, N,S,E,W! (@foxandfurb, taught by Rachael South)

The lesson applied: Nadya Webster of White Barn Upholstery, Thornbury, Heritage Crafts Emerging Upholsterer of the Year 2025, rebuilt this Victorian chair from the frame up using traditional techniques for a customer in Bristol. Horsehair and linen scrim shape the back and arms; the seat has new springs under hand-stitched coconut coir and a layer of horsehair.

Photographs: White Barn Upholstery.

What George Smith looks for when it hires a new upholsterer

Six questions to a workshop that hires, for anyone finishing a course and looking for a first job at the bench.

What is the first job you give a new starter? We usually start with webbing up, stitching and lashing cone springs. At this stage, you are looking for confident tool handling, attention to detail and a willingness to listen and learn.

What makes one applicant stand out from ten with the same certificate? The practical skills test is often what makes the difference. There is no substitute for watching someone work.

Answers from Jim Athey, Managing Director, George Smith.

Apprentice joiner Luke Newton wins the Joiners and Ceilers Craft Competition 2026

A set of timber steps, built against the clock with hand tools, won the Worshipful Company's national competition for an Ipswich apprentice.

Apprentice joiner Luke Newton has taken first place in the 2026 Worshipful Company of Joiners and Ceilers Craft Competition, held at Cambridge Regional College.

This year's task was a set of timber steps, designed to test a wide range of joinery skills. Working against the clock, entrants had to read technical drawings, set out, cut accurate joints and assemble the finished piece, mostly with hand tools and only limited battery-powered equipment. The judges marked dimensional accuracy, workmanship, health and safety and presentation.

Luke was named overall winner. His prize was £1,000, a Worshipful Company certificate and an engraved set square, presented by Master Joiner Jeremy Baldwin at the Company's Artisan and Apprentices Dinner at the Royal Automobile Club in Pall Mall, London.

Luke is an apprentice with Taylor Made Joinery Interiors in Ipswich. His apprenticeship lecturer, Brian Tunbridge, is a liveryman of the Company.

The Company runs the competition to promote high standards in carpentry and joinery and to give apprentices a chance to measure their work against the best of their peers.

Photographs: Luke Newton and Brian Tunbridge, supplied by the Worshipful Company of Joiners and Ceilers.

From the lathe to the living room

Emily Rowley, a Turners Award maker at Cockpit Arts, on chairs, comfort and what comes next.

Photograph: Dan Weill

Chippendale class of 2026: where three graduates are now

Aileen Crowley, David Wraith and Emiel Blockeel on what they made, the first months after the course, and what they would tell the next intake.

Furniture photographs: Phil Wilkinson.

Uncommon Ground: twelve wood makers to see at Oxo Gallery

The Society of Designer Craftsmen brings more than 60 members to the South Bank from 4 to 15 November. Free entry.

Mark Ripley MSDC: Morton ladder-back chair. Photo credit David McKibben

Duncan Legate LSDC: Aite, Console Table made from Irish Walnut and English Oak. Photo credit Vizz Creative

Sean Evelegh MSDC: Two Log Table. Photo credit Josh Cameron.

Edward Wild MSDC: The English Walnut Sunburst Jewellery Box. Photo credit Edward Wild

Furniture spending is up. UK factory sales are flat.

FIRA's Q3 2026 Statistics Digest covers the UK furniture market to the end of 2025. People spent more on furniture last year; the extra did not reach UK factories.

£20.15bn: UK spending on furniture and furnishings in 2025, up 3.2 percent

£7.34bn: UK manufacturers' sales, flat on the year

72,000: people in UK furniture manufacturing, 17,000 fewer than in 2021

Imports reached £10.45 billion against exports of £3.4 billion. China supplied 40 percent of UK furniture imports; imports from Vietnam rose 16.2 percent.

Source: FIRA, Q3 2026 Statistics Digest, summary edition, 5 October 2026.

Three emerging upholsterers shortlisted for Heritage Crafts

Amy Drummond, Suzanna Page and Nicolle Wilson are the finalists for Emerging Upholsterer of the Year, and Fair Isle chair maker Eve Eunson is up for the Patron's Award for Endangered Crafts. Winners are named at Goldsmiths' Hall on 23 November.

Deforestation paperwork from 30 December

Timber and wooden furniture placed on the EU market from 30 December must be shown to be deforestation-free. Makers who sell into Europe or Northern Ireland, or supply someone who does, will be asked for the paperwork.

Who is winning library furniture contracts

The Barbican Centre's £150,000 library furniture contract went to The Design Concept through a Staffordshire framework, and Warwickshire has put FG Library Products and The Design Concept on its library refit framework.

Freight: Shanghai to Rotterdam up 6 percent

Drewry's World Container Index rose 3 percent to $4,485 per 40ft container in the week to 15 October, with Shanghai to Rotterdam up 6 percent to $3,522. Lloyd's List Intelligence reports Suez Canal traffic in September up 21 percent on a year earlier, still 39 percent below pre-crisis levels.

On the bookshelf: Barry Horton on restoration

Restoring and Repairing Antique and Fine Furniture, from a furniture maker and antiques restorer who worked for Leeds Museum and Hampton Court Palace before moving to France, covers authenticity, structural repairs, veneer, French polishing, gilt bronze and the recipes.

Staffordshire furniture framework: tenders close

29 October. Proactis eTendering, reference IA3675.

Uncommon Ground: Society of Designer Craftsmen

4 to 15 November. Oxo Gallery, London.

Harrogate Woodworking Show

13 to 15 November. Great Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate.

BWF Awards 2026

20 November. Kimpton Fitzroy, London.

Heritage Crafts Awards 2026: winners announced

23 November. Goldsmiths' Hall, London.

Icon furniture and gilding symposium: call for papers closes

31 January 2027. Symposium 4 June 2027, London.