One Year Upholstery Diploma Course 2017

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1 One Year Upholstery Diploma Course 2017 The Traditional Upholstery School One Year Upholstery Diploma is designed to offer invaluable training to those looking to start a career in upholstery. It will qualify students to a high level of practical skill with a strong understanding of the legal requirements involved in being a professional upholsterer. This diploma is equivalent to the Association of Master Upholsterers & Soft Furnishers (AMUSF) Level 2 qualification and the previous City & Guilds Level 1. Content for these courses has been developed over many years to give good grounding in traditional upholstery. Course work is primarily practical and designed to build up a repertoire of essential upholstery skills. Emphasis is on the confident execution of these skills to a professional standard. You will not only learn how to do something but why it is done, and how it fits into context with the numerous variations of upholstered furniture. With these basic building blocks in place, you will graduate feeling confident to tackle a whole range of furniture. In order to ensure excellent teaching standards, classes are kept to a maximum of five students. The dedicated workrooms are light and well-equipped. Your tutor Joanna Heptinstall trained as an upholsterer 15 years ago. She has worked professionally as an upholsterer since then, for private customers and interiors companies. In the last five years she has combined this with teaching upholstery. She is a full member of the Association of Master Upholsterers (AMUSF). Joanna s aim is to develop the Traditional Upholstery School to becoming a verified centre for AMUSF training. The One Year Upholstery Diploma course at the Traditional Upholstery School is a 227hour course with a minimum of 6.5 hours per week to be completed within one year.

2 Course content PRACTICAL WORK Candidates will as either exercise or actual pieces: Upholster a drop-in seat sample piece* (traditional methods and materials) Upholster a drop-in seat sample piece* (modern methods and materials) Upholster a stitched and stuffed seat without springs sample piece* (traditional) Upholster a stitched and stuffed chair with springs (traditional) Upholster a pin-stuffed seat or back (traditional) Upholster a deep-buttoned footstool **(modern) Upholster a scroll arm exercise frame (traditional) Upholster a sprung TV/fireside/nursing chair with seat and back, but without arms (traditional methods) Machine sew a box cushion with zip and piping (rectangular or T-shape) In addition to their own practical pieces, students will receive extra practical exercise in upholstering a range of furniture shapes with the aim of increasing their confidence and adaptability. * Sample piece means that students will work on an exercise frame provided by the school. This sample piece is theirs to keep. Students may opt to work on an actual chair, as long as that chair is a suitable style and condition for the project. ** For the purposes of learning this technique, the footstool is required to have a frame base which can be webbed, rather than a solid wood base. Frames can be made up to order, through the School, if required. Wooden legs are available in many sizes and styles. STUDENT PORTFOLIO Throughout the course each student is required to compile a portfolio in support of their practical work. This document will become an excellent reference tool as they continue with their upholstery. This portfolio may include: A detailed list of materials used and costings for each item of furniture.

3 A description of the processes involved including references to the use of tools, handling of materials, and health and safety awareness. Photographic evidence - pictures should be taken at every stage of the project to create a detailed record of work involved from start to finish. A written description of each process. Sketching, colour coordination and scale drawings. Cutting, pattern matching and finishing of fabrics, where applicable. In general, keeping this portfolio up to date will require an additional one hour s homework per week. THEORY AND SUPPORTING WORK Students will be required to keep a portfolio of notes and examples supporting their knowledge and understanding of the following: Basic design skills: sketching, use of colour, scale drawings, contemporary style. Choose one project to create a design board with samples, drawings, colours etc Health and safety issues relevant to the work place Basic sewing machine skills Samples of piping, double piping, fabric pattern matching, hand made trimmings. An understanding of the Fire Regulations specific to a professional upholstery workshop Keeping and managing a workshop schedule Communicating effectively with customers Knowledge of current fabric brands and manufacturers Ongoing joint or individual exercises: Create a portfolio of upholstery work (using magazine cuttings etc) Create a portfolio of fabric samples, brands and types, labeled Build up a library of catalogues from major fabric companies, both retail and trade Visit at least one major trade show for fabrics and interiors

4 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS What furniture will I need to do the course? x1 stuff-over dining chair with springs x1 chair or piano stool with a pin-stuffed style seat or back x1 footstool for deep-buttoning. It is quite likely that most students will opt to have a frame made in order to source a suitable project. This can be done through the Traditional Upholstery School, which will advise on suitable sizes, sourcing of legs, etc. x1 fireside or nursing chair with upholstered seat and back but no/or wooden arms. x1 suitable cushion pad (foam or feather) for creating a box, zipped, piped cushion. This can be for an existing armchair or made as a floor, bench or window seat cushion. The first three practical projects on the course are done using sample frames provided for you. So you do not need to bring two drop-in seat chairs or one stuff-over chair with no springs. However, students may work on actual chairs for these projects if they wish, provided that they are suitable alternatives to the practice frames. The School also provides scroll arm exercise frames as part of the course. Students are encouraged to source suitable projects in good time so that they can be checked for suitability and the frames repaired if necessary. What tools will I need to do the course? The Traditional Upholstery School has hand tools available for students to use on the course. It is usual for most students to acquire their own set of tools early on, as they can then get on with upholstering at home too. The Traditional Upholstery School is happy to order hand tools for students from its trade supplier on request. A typical set of hand tools includes: a magnetic hammer, wooden carpenter s mallet, wooden slot-and-peg web stretcher, tack claw, ripping chisel, regulator needle, doublepointed needle, range of curved needles, sharp fabric scissors, tape measure, fabric marking chalks and pencils, bead-headed pins. Do I have to buy materials such as stuffings? For the first three projects using exercise frames, all materials such as foam, hair and calico are provided, with the exception of top fabric. If you choose to work on an actual

5 chair instead for these projects, the student is required to provide upholstery stuffings and materials. For all subsequent projects, the student is required to provide all upholstery stuffings and materials. All upholstery stuffings, materials and sundries such as hair, hessian, calico, webbing etc are available to buy at the School on an as-you-use it basis. The materials are sourced at trade and prices are kept lower than average retail prices. Students may source their materials from the School, or bring in their own. How much homework is there? The course is designed so that most of the practical work can be achieved during class time. Students may take their projects home to finish the process they are working on. The main bulk of homework is in keeping portfolios up-to-date. As a guide, one hour a week should suffice. Do I have to have any experience at all? No, you do not need to have any upholstery experience to start the course. As sewing and fabric handling are a major element in upholstery, the more confident a student can be in their sewing skills and use of a sewing machine, the better they will manage. Can I visit the School before I book? Yes! Potential diploma students are encouraged to visit us, especially when diploma courses are running, so they can get a feel for the school and ask current students questions. Additionally, some of our one-day workshops are scheduled with a returnable fee if a diploma course is booked. If you would like to call in and see us, do call first to arrange a suitable time. Any more questions? Do get in touch. Should you, as a potential student of the Traditional Upholstery School, have any questions at all, please do get in touch. You can Joanna at joannaheptinstall@btopenworld.com or phone her at