Sew Much More

450 - Wes and Jes Breitenbach - Crown Upholstery


Listen Later

In 1999 Jes and Wes were on a quest to work for themselves and have more control over their own time. That's when they created Crown Upholstery. After 25 years they have  definitely worked, but they have yet to gain much control over their time. Jesica is the 5th generation in her family to be enticed by the upholstery lifestyle. Growing up in her grandparents shop, in Glendale Arizona, she witnessed first hand the freedoms upholstery had to offer as well as the hard work one has to put in to be successful in this craft. Wes was raised in Maryland and had never known upholstery to be anything other than something you did to the interiors of cars.  The sirens of upholstery began to sing to him on a visit to Jesica's grandparents house. He saw their home based shop and the countless processes that go into this craft and quickly fell in love. Having a background in auto mechanics he was already primed for the problem solving journey that upholstery provides. He took a few classes taught by Jesica's grandfather, Frank, and then began his apprenticeship with him after Frank saw the enthusiasm and attention to detail Wes had. Within a few years of walking into an upholstery shop for the first time, Wes was starting his own. It began in a tiny one car garage that shared space with laundry machines, holiday decorations and lawn equipment but it did the job. Jesica had experience in accounting and she's much better at organization and management of things so that made the decision of who would be boss really easy.  They moved across country a couple of times searching for a place to settle down and eventually landed in east Tennessee. In the 17 years living and working in Knoxville they have established a reputation for quality upholstery and excellent customer service. For the majority of their upholstery career they have been a home based business. In 2018 they purchased their first commercial space. A 1920's grocery store with an apartment above. They were officially a business based home. Within a few years, and after hiring another upholsterer Crown Upholstery was ready for more growth.  Jesica found and purchased another building in the same neighborhood. This allowed them to bring on another full-time upholsterer. Jesica was now coordinating the schedules of 3 upholsterers along with everything else that goes into running a business. They still live above the old upholstery shop but it is now a Hair salon that Jesica manages as well. There's a reason she won Knoxville's Women owned business of the year 2024. Even when they aren't working together they still enjoy spending time together. Whether it's camping, sifting through junks shops or riding bikes.  They are rarely seen very far apart. 

Crown Upholstery is on Instagram and Facebook

SBA - Small Business Association Kim's Upholstery

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Sew Much MoreBy Ceil DiGuglielmo

  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8

4.8

74 ratings


More shows like Sew Much More

View all
Happier with Gretchen Rubin by Gretchen Rubin / The Onward Project

Happier with Gretchen Rubin

12,909 Listeners

Seamwork Radio: Sewing and Creativity by Seamwork

Seamwork Radio: Sewing and Creativity

712 Listeners

A Well-Designed Business® | Interior Design  Business Podcast by LuAnn Nigara

A Well-Designed Business® | Interior Design Business Podcast

762 Listeners

Get Your Hopes Up with Christy Wright by Christy Wright

Get Your Hopes Up with Christy Wright

2,230 Listeners

Decorating Tips and Tricks by Bespoke FM

Decorating Tips and Tricks

808 Listeners

Business of Home Podcast by Business of Home, Dennis Scully

Business of Home Podcast

428 Listeners

Threads Magazine Podcast: "Sewing With Threads" by Threads Magazine

Threads Magazine Podcast: "Sewing With Threads"

258 Listeners

Profit Is A Choice by Michele Williams | Business Coach | Podcaster |Speaker

Profit Is A Choice

55 Listeners

The Sew Much More Podcast: 30 Minutes With Workroom Tech by Ceil DiGuglielmo and Susan Woodcock: Custom Workrooms

The Sew Much More Podcast: 30 Minutes With Workroom Tech

35 Listeners

Trade Tales by Business of Home, Kaitlin Petersen

Trade Tales

72 Listeners

Check Your Thread: Sewing More Sustainably by Zoe Edwards

Check Your Thread: Sewing More Sustainably

91 Listeners

Making Space with Hoda Kotb by Hoda Kotb, TODAY

Making Space with Hoda Kotb

10,469 Listeners

Window Treatments for Profit with LuAnn Nigara by LuAnn Nigara

Window Treatments for Profit with LuAnn Nigara

26 Listeners

The Interior Collective by IDCO Studio

The Interior Collective

281 Listeners

The Mel Robbins Podcast by Mel Robbins

The Mel Robbins Podcast

19,472 Listeners