An introduction

[JDUpholstery]

I came upon this forum recently and thought it would be a great community to get and share advice with fellow upholsterers, My name is JD, 3 years ago I lost use of my legs due to a disease called Multiple Sclerosis...being thoroughly bored sitting in a chair all day I bought a cheap wal mart sewing machine and started doing crafts. Over the next couple years i regained use of my legs and went from chair to crutches, during this time my hobby expanded to restoring an old boat. I decided I could do my own upholstery, and did with some success considering the cheap sewing machine I was using.



After doing the upholstery, I had a friend approach me about doing his, I purchased a more solid machine, a Singer 500A, still not commercial grade, but one tough machine...and did his pontoon



As you can see I lacked space, this was my living room I was working in...needless to say, a firend told a friend and I did another...this time even better, still using the singer



Did this one in my living room as well, my wife was not amused, so I purchased a new home with a 2400 square foot commercial building located right on our main highway, our payment was not substantially different so it gives me a working area and my wifes home is kept neat.

over the last few months It has grown, I continue to add to my shop, purchased a Consew 206 RB5 and built a cutting/sewing table



and hung a shingle out front



Funny how things work out sometimes...I started this as a hobby on my own boat, and it has grown out of control! I also do fiberglass and aluminum hull repairs, but it is becoming a back burner to the amount of upholstery work I have, and I haven't had time to finish my own boat either....

Anyways now that you have my life story...not quite...I hope I can become a productive member of this community and maybe even learn a lot too...(completely self taught, I am sure I have done things the hard way, wrong way or even the holy %$#@ what did I do there way)

[sofadoc]

Wow! Great story JD. Welcome to the forum.

As for making pics clickable, move your cursor over your photobucket pic until you see a set of thumbnail options. Click on the bottom one that says IMG THUMB. The word "copied" will briefly appear, then fade away. You're now ready to paste it here.

Welcome again.

[JDUpholstery]

Thanks Sofa Doc, I edited it to fix the pics to be clickable! I have done some other jobs as well they are in my other photobucket album so feel free to check them out. Laugh, cry, ask why, I am definitely still novice and have a lot to learn, have been watching videos on youtube and reading a lot on the subject that I find on the net, but a resource like this could prove invaluable to me so glad I found it!

[MinUph]

Welcome aboard JD. Nice story and I hope you do well.

[JuneC]

Welcome!  I'd say the progress in the quality of your work is remarkable  :-X  I think you'll find that many of the people on this board who've been doing various types of upholstery for 20+ years will tell you they're still learning, still trying to improve their techniques and results.  Good for you getting back on your feet!  Looking forward to pics from your next project.  

As for not finishing your own work, tell me about it...  Our own boat has been sitting in the boatyard on blocks for a year now.  Can't seem to get to it - too many customers and little hiccups along the way.

June

[Mike]

Hi jd kinda started the same as you sorta mu dad was in a accedent paralized In a chair and bored was messing with momma old home maching then he decided to prplace his boats top canvas and had me remove it for him. As he couldn't walk so then he decided to open a. Erry little shop down the bay on the lake where we lived   And bought a ils singer industrial   And I'd stop on my way home from work to see how he was Doing then as time went on I spent more time helping him to do somthing and picked it up for myself   And he decided to steP out   That was 21 years ago. So self taught I'm still learning tricks I didn't have this back then. But. Just learned a cool trick this spring how to make two
Colored piping.    Do you do and canvas covers at all ?

[lc]

Yes JD welcome !
I have found so much wisdom and above all encouragement when things are not going well..We have the elite pro's on here and the ones who just want to learn the trade. or just a small project to try ..

Take all the advice you can from the pro's ., they sure won't let you down.
The people on here treat you as an equal.
I have been in the trade over 25 yrs and I am on here constantly off and on looking for advice.
Your in the right place and I certainly respect your determination !! No matter what we all learn something new on here.
I think its because we are in our small shops by ourselves and our competitors in our own area sure aren't going to want to tell us their tricks of the trade eh ? so having this outside resource is quite refreshing and full of amazing ideas. !
Enjoy and learn some interesting ideas from here
..it took a few moths off of me lol and it's nice to know we're not alone in our struggles.

[JDUpholstery]

Thanks all for the welcome, I live by the saying that if you don't learn something new every day, then life isn't full...I doubt I will ever truly master this art, but it is something I truly enjoy, and since I am my own boss, my handicap does not get in the way, if I want to work 2 hours then go take a nap, I can! the area I live is close to a lake community (Cherokee Village) with 7 private lakes, and 35 miles from one of our states larger lakes (Norfork)

So the work is there, and the area has no other upholsterers, it seems every one that has tried has failed, but since I am not doing this to get rich, I have no risk of failure. All I have to do is make enough each month to cover the difference in mortgage and utilities having a shop this large has added (about 500 bucks) and I am happy!

[Mojo]

Welcome aboard JD. So very glad to hear you have gained use of your legs again.

The key to fighting these battles and winning is always maintaining a never give up positive attitude. Been battling leukemia for 13 years and they still have not planted me in the ground yet. I am too stubborn, too ornerous and love hanging around harassing people.

I wish you the very best and hope things continue to go your way. Stick around here as we have some of the most awesome people here you could ever find on the internet.

Chris

[kodydog]

Welcome JD. I managed to redo a sofa and recliner in the living-room before the wife said that's it time to get a shop. Gotta keep em happy. Isn't that how we all get started?

[timtheboatguy]

Welcome JD,
Your story is encouraging, thanks for sharing.

Tim