Sit on This!

This season, we’re bringing you a series of mini video podcasts spotlighting the key suppliers to the upholstery trade. Each episode gives you insider info on the latest tools, materials, and innovations to help keep your workshop running smoothly and efficiently.

This month, we’re chatting with Mirka, makers of high-performance sanding solutions with a difference. Tune in to hear what sets their kit apart (you might also see us trying the tools out 🤪)

Mirka

You Tube Sit on This!

In this episode Vicky & Ray meet Patricia Alban, founder of The Bespoke Footstool Company and the heart and soul behind Sammy’s Foundation.

Patricia shares her journey and found love of upholstery & soft furnishings and through personal tragedy and is building a powerful legacy

for a new generation of neurodiverse craftspeople. In this inspiring and moving chat we talk about the therapeutic side of making, the importance of bespoke craftsmanship and the community-driven spirit at the core of her work. Whether you’re in the trade or simply curious about creating furniture Patricia is a shining example of how lifes adversity can create inspiring stories, leaving a lasting legacy for future generations of craftspeople of all ages and abilities.

To make a donation to Sammys foundation please click on this link:

Oakleaf Enterprise

Heritage Crafts

Sammys Foundation

The Bespoke Footstool Company

Our profound thanks go out to all our Sponsors

⁠Martins Upholstery Supplies⁠

⁠BeA Group

In this episode Vicky and Ray talk with the Young Upholsterer of the Year (2024), Libby Payne. Libby offers her valuable insight and thoughts on how to encourage young people to the craft as a career option.

Bob Folds Scholarship

Heritage Craft

Lawson Wood

Sponsors Links

⁠Martins Upholstery Supplies⁠

⁠BeA Group

Ray Clarke

Vicky Grubb

Sit on This!

We’re back! And in this first episode of Season 2, Ray and I dive into some of the most exciting conversations we’ve had with the makers, suppliers, and innovators shaping the upholstery industry today—and tomorrow.

This episode is packed with snippets from our live podcast recordings and interviews at the Furniture Components Show in Telford and the Hire Interiors Show in Cumbria. We talk to the people behind the products we actually use in our workshops and ask: where is upholstery headed next?

*A heads-up: some of the audio isn’t as crisp as we’d like (live recording vs studio life!), but we’ve polished it as much as possible—we promise the content is worth it!*

Huge thanks to all our brilliant guests:

Chris from Enkev

John from Pathfinder

Tony and Paul from BeA

Rachel and Clive from Cable & Blake

Rhys from AE Sewing

 We got so much out of these chats, and we hope you do too.

Sponsors Links

Martins Upholstery Supplies

BeA Group

In this final episode of the season, recorded at the HIRE Cumbria event in the Lake District, Vicky and Ray sit down with Stephen Ball of Cumbria Upholstery who' s incredible story proves that resilience knows no limits. After serving a horrific life-threatening climbing accident, Stephen rebuilt his future, turning determination, ingenuity and pure grit into a successful upholstery business in the North of England. Listen along with us in front of this live audience to his inspiring journey.

Cumbria Upholstery

https://sites.google.com/view/hire-cumbria/home

Our heartfelt thanks go out to our sponsors for this episode

https://www.bea-group.com/en/

https://martinsupholstery.co.uk

In this month’s Chair Stories, Vicky sits down with student Sam, who shares her deeply personal journey through upholstery. After losing both her mother and father to COVID, Sam brought in her father’s cherished Parker Knoll wing chair, hoping to restore it. Join us for a heartfelt conversation about grief, resilience, and how the craft of upholstery—along with a love of books—has helped Sam find healing. Grab a cuppa and listen in.

Fiction Prescription

In this episode, we chat with Linda from 7 Upholstery. Unlike most upholsterers who are self-employed, Linda has spent the last 18 years working a 9-to-5 in the trade. So, what’s it like being employed as an upholsterer? How has her skill evolved over the years, and what has she learned along the way?  
Join Ray and Vicky as we talk shop and dive into Linda’s unique experience in the industry.

7 Upholstery

⁠BEA Staple Guns⁠

⁠Martins Upholstery Supplies

Ray and Vicky took a trip to Sheffield, UK, to visit the legendary William Whiteley & Sons, one of the world’s oldest scissor manufacturers.

In this fascinating episode, we dive into the history, craftsmanship, and surprising details behind this essential upholstery tool—everything you never knew you needed to know about scissors!  

Also available as a video podcast on our new YouTube channel, Sit on This! Productions. Tune in and watch the full experience!

In this episode, we sit down with the legendary Cristina Venegas, the Dame of Drapery behind Drapes of Wrath. If you've ever wondered what it’s like to be an upholsterer in the film industry, this one’s for you!  Cristina has worked on some of the biggest productions, including The Crown and Marvel’s Loki.  We dive into the artistry of drapery, the pressures of deadline-driven upholstery, and what it takes to be one of the few female Drapesmasters in the industry. Don’t miss this fascinating peek behind the curtain!

Thank you to our Sponsors

BEA

Martins

Other interesting links connected to this podcast

Kays Directory

Royal Scottish Conservatoire of Scotland

Sit on This website

ARC

The Upholstery Cabin

This month Vicky has a coffee and a chat with Anita, a more recent upholstery student, who works in a creative field, teaching embroidery at the Royal School of Needlework.

Royal School of Needlework

Restoration of a Bon Marche Chair