This year, we were thrilled to partner with Upholstery Education to offer the inaugural scholarship for the six-day San Diego Master’s Course. We are grateful for this partnership, which made such an extraordinary opportunity possible for an emerging professional. Hannah kindly wrote a blog post sharing her experience, and we hope you enjoy reading about it below.
------
Hello, my name is Hannah and I recently attended the San Diego Master’s Course via the National Upholstery Association’s inaugural course scholarship. This scholarship enabled me to attend the six day Master’s Course, taught by Armand Verdier and Gareth Rees, where we explored traditional and modern upholstery techniques. With Gareth, we explored modern methods where we learned foam cutting and shaping techniques with viola and square shaped seat backs. With Armand, we explored traditional methods of manipulating horse hair, layering natural materials and stitching these materials together to build a square seat back from scratch. Both instructors were lovely to learn from and they were diligent in explaining why we were aiming for specific aesthetics, how we could achieve them and answering any questions we had.
Being in close proximity to this level of instruction, reminded me just how much knowledge and skill it requires for upholsterers to produce high quality work. There is a great deal of knowledge required to reupholster antique pieces and ensure that the result is in keeping with the aesthetic of the time period. Having access to instructors with this level of knowledge and skills was invaluable and they were wonderful to learn from. It also reminded me just how much I have to learn!
A favorite moment of mine was when Gareth and Armand shared their presentations on French and English furniture trends throughout history. It was exciting to listen to master upholsterers, who are so knowledgeable and passionate about their work, walk us through why certain design aesthetics came in and out of fashion and how as upholsterers it is important that we have that context in order to reupholster pieces accurately.
Another favorite part of the course for me was when we started learning traditional stitching. It is a unique skill that very few people even know is a part of the upholstery process. I certainly didn't until I started researching upholstery. It was really fun to learn these stitching techniques and building a seat back entirely from a wood frame, horse hair, hessian and my own stitching felt very satisfying.
I also had a wonderful time getting to know the other students and we went to a lovely dinner with everyone and had a great time. It was invaluable to meet people interested in upholstery, to learn their backgrounds and what they plan on doing in the future. It was so helpful to make these connections within the industry and I can’t imagine a better group to be a part of if you are an aspiring or current upholsterer. The organizers were also happy to answer any questions we had, were eager to share their knowledge and provided us with great snacks and positive attitudes the whole week!
This course was amazing in so many ways, but particularly when it comes to education, skill building and networking. Getting to meet the instructors in this setting and being able to ask questions and get their perspectives was so wonderful. It was also great to meet all of the students from all over and build a network! It truly was one of the best learning experiences I have ever had and I would highly recommend attending one of these courses!
I am so grateful to the NUA for offering this opportunity, and I can’t wait to see the other great ways they are able to support individuals interested in pursuing upholstery as a career! This really was an unique opportunity and I would not have been able to participate in this course otherwise.
