Strictly Business

Instead of wrestling a recliner today I was up front on the battle lines.  I got to see first hand how to deal with customers and the steps it takes to get them what they need.  Each scenario is different and requires special planning.  Things such as how much fabric will be needed and hours of labor need to be taken into account to give an estimate and see if the customer is still interested.  Working with the customer requires patience but also enthusiasm.  A lot of the work is helping them decide which fabrics will work best for their particular need and explaining to them what needs to be done in order to accomplish their finished look. I became more familiar with cutting and measuring fabric, and also with the computer programs used to keep the business in line.  Each customer that came in needed something completely different, it kept the day interesting and helped me to learn a broad spectrum of tasks.

Chair Repair

These recliners weren't broken, just in need of a new attire.  My job today was to take apart and remove the fabric from a recliner.  In between my wrestling match with cushions and staples I got to sew some cord for the recliner's new look.  We salvaged scraps of the material to make a bias tape and sewed cord into it to give the chairs a nice edge.

In the works

The final product.

Deux Jours

Hit the ground running today at Home Remedies!  Started with another seat cushion for a chair.  It was a good warm up to go through all the steps.  It was exciting to have an order slip with my name on it, and super satisfying when the customer came in to get the seat.  After that a bunch of reclining chairs were dropped off, and I began to strip and de assemble them.  I worked on one chair ripping out staples and pulling off fabric and foam for the rest of the afternoon, with a delivery to break it up.  It was fascinating to see the many layers that make up the recliner and the way it was built.

Removing fabric from chair.

Chair deconstruction!

Day One

     This past Friday was my first day of work at Home Remedies.  The day began when proprietor, and my boss, Rachel Ambrose gave me the grand tour.  I got a little taste of what it's like behind the register learning about cost versus price, how to order fabric and all that good business stuff.  After the tour I got right to the nitty gritty.  I began by practicing with scrap material on the industrial sewing machine.  It took me a few minutes to get used to.  The foot petal was huge, and very sensitive; it went off like a racehorse. Once I got the hang of that my first task was to take apart a set of dining room chair cushions and reupholster them.  This was the perfect first project.  It was simple enough to get a strong understanding of the technique, and it needed to be done multiple times.  I felt pretty accomplished after the third one.  To make the day even more interesting I got to go on a delivery as well.  We brought some finished chairs across town and carefully carried them into their new home.  

Quite a successful day, I must say.

In the works!

At work!

Before and after!
 (Left is the finished product, to the right was the original)

Lowdown

This semester I will be learning to upholster furniture, sew professionally on an industrial sewing machine and be surrounded by beautiful bolts of fabric! Sounds like heaven, huh?  It's actually Home Remedies on  W. Commercial St.  in Portland, ME.  I will be interning there for the spring.  Take a look at their website!  www.mainefabrics.com