On June 21st, I’m presenting a talk to the Furniture Society’s annual conference in Port Townsend, Washington. The theme of the conference is Rooted, Creating a Sense of Place. Tying into the theme, my presentation is titled The New Upholsterers. I’ve mentioned before that there’s a new generation of upholsterers out there who have been introduced to, and have fallen in love with the tactile and centuries old craft of upholstery. Some have come to upholstery from corporate jobs, some have moved over from an art and design background and some have discovered their passion for saving old furniture. That right there is part of what makes this burgeoning movement so interesting, diverse, and irresistible. I’ve been working hard to create a warm and welcoming sense of place for The New Upholsterers through Upholstery Club, traveling and meeting upholsterers in the UK, and Skyping upholstery newbies in other parts of the world. No matter what form their upholstery takes, everyone is welcome and there’s room for all.
I’ll be featuring three of the New Upholsterers in my talk. I chose Chrisie Cordrey, textile designer and upholsterer, as one of those.
Chrisie was featured in a post I wrote in March, 2012 , shortly after I returned from Southern California and having visited Chrisie right there in her upholstery class. Since then, she’s come a long way. Moving from Orange County, CA to a farming community in Hudson, New York, Chrisie is settling in and making a name for herself as, what I would call, an upholstery artist. Like alot of us, she’s simply hooked on searching for and finding the right materials for her craft. She scouts all over the northeast for terrific old textiles she can rearrange and reassemble into usable, unique and charming upholstery fabrics.
“It started with a love of textiles. It’s evolved to a riot of storied cloth on equally storied chair frames. And it goes on from there!” Chrisie Cordrey
Chrisie searches for, and appreciates that there are stories behind vintage pieces with careful hand stitching, colors, textures and patterns. Once she decides on the combination of fabrics to work with, she pairs the fabric with just the right piece of furniture and then gets to work. It’s more than an upholstery job, it’s designing and creating a new identity for an old piece of furniture.
Her playful style and homespun flair enable her to create a modern twist on re-imagined furniture.
Chrisie’s work can be seen and purchased at Ida’s Eye at 711 Warren Street, Hudson, New York.
Her headboard in the window of the shop is upholstered in a monochromatic patchwork of vintage textiles with just a nice little dollop of pink birds and black linen for interest.
Follow Chrisie on Instagram @chrisiecordrey.
Visit Chrisie’s FB page Corduroy Shop to see her day to day textile and upholstery adventures.
