Why Do You Specialize ?

[Mojo]

I guess what I meant to say is why do you concentrate on one area of upholstery work ?

I know we have a few on here who do nothing but furniture while others do nothing but marine work. Some concentrate on auto's only.

Is this by design ? Is this because of your interests in these areas of expertise ? Do we have anyone who does it all ? The only person I can think of that does everything is Russ. Do we have someone else here that has the expertise to take any job ?

I sometimes feel lazy and inadequate as an upholsterer because I refuse to do Marine and Auto work. My concentration is on the custom cover, RV, furniture market. I really have no desire to expand from there. So I am wondering is this the way most others operate as well ? You find your niche and stay there ?

I sometimes am embarrassed to call myself an upholsterer because I do not know the other aspects of this trade and I limit my scope of work. Sometimes that plays into my lack of confidence as well with certain project work. But then I look at my situation and remind myself that when I got into this business I was going to 1.) do this work part time 2.) manage my schedule according to my chemo treatment regimen 3.) stay focused on the areas I enjoy and that do not tax my health 3.) enjoy my retirement.

I would really enjoy hearing from the rest of you and learning more about what and why you are focused on your specific market.

Chris

[lruthb]

I take on whatever comes my way. Am I the expert in all? Certainly not. With a little patience and some hard learning curves I have made my way enough to please my customers.

Lynn

[sofadoc]

In my younger days, I thought I wanted to be able to do it all. I kept gravitating back to furniture because that's where my niche was. I'd waste an entire day just getting a bucket seat out of a car, or replacing every last piece of wood on a boat.
I decided to stick with what I know. If my car seats needed re-upholstering right now, I'd trade the car off. I don't live near the coast, so most of the boats around here are left in a driveway to rot. People expect you to compete with Wally World on boat seats.
Most of my customers are women. When they introduce me to their husbands, the first question out the man's mouth is "Do you do cars?" When I tell them no, they immediately have NO further use for me.
I know that there are some who do it all, I applaud you.
Chris> don't feel inadequate, there are only a precious few who are REALLY good at all phases of upholstery.

[MinUph]

  When I learned the Upholstery business it was from my father and some old timers. The trade was brought here from the old country. They (the old guys at the time) were real tradesmen. To be an Upholsterer was to be able to do furniture, draperies, slip covers, woodwork, in short anything to do with fabrics, furniture, etc.
  I learned to do mainly furniture but enjoy doing cars, and boats. I do no canvas work except repairs. I guess I am a little less than the old timers that taught me. But I strive to do an excellent job at what ever I do.
  I have since found most people in the business do stick with their niche. It is probably what they get the most work with at the start and just continue on. I like the challenge of doing odd things. I like motorcycle seats (custom that is) and boats as long as they client is willing to pay my fee. Cars are nice also if they are custom. I think this is all because these clients really appreciate the work and the finished product.
  Right now I'm back to doing mainly furniture, but will do custom cars, boats and bike work when available.

[stitcher_guy]

Chris, I don't choose to do everything. It sort of falls in my lap. Although I will do repairs, I do usually turn away full recovering on furniture. There's a woman in town who has done furniture for years, and she is set up for it. My shop is more akin to cars boats, bikes, and other heavy items. But it's mainly because I just don't really get my jollies covering a lounger....unless it's going to be bolted in the back of a good ol boys pickup. lolol.

I do spread my work out between doing general upholstery work (repairs, dialy work, stitching whatever comes my way....except furniture) and doing large projects. I've never holed myself up to just doing the full, custom interiors on purpose. I have a philosophy regarding this: If I don't do it, who will?

I have a lot of customers stop in who have been to the alteration shop, dry cleaners, and a couple less-than-reputable upholsterers in the area without getting any satisfaction or their job completed. So I do them. I figure, money is money, AND what's to say they don't have a 58 Buick in their garage waiting for an interior?

[bobbin]

My interests lie more in the direction of custom interior design work.  I have a solid working knowledge of drapery work, but have not had the "real estate" required to do that sort of work easily (crawling around the floor is not the "easy way") so have declined much that's been offered to me until now.  Tabling and and adequate work space is crucial to doing it easily. 

I have particularly enjoyed the slipcover work I've taken on recently.  I'd always shied away from it in the past, again due to space constraints and a general nervousness about how to approach the work.  But now that I've done a few, I'm not so tentative.  After all, if I can fit clothing on human bodies and make it look great I can sure as hell fit a chair!

I have always enjoyed cushion work and yacht interior work; I like working through a complicated layout of seats, backs, berthing areas, etc..  It's fun and the final result is nearly always gratifying, esp. if the customer selects something other than Sunbrella for the fabric. 

I don't do new marine canvas work.  I don't know how to bend frames, have no desire to learn how, nor do I care a fig about going to a boat and then going through the motions required.  But I've patterned biminis, dodgers, side curtains, etc. in the past and have a very solid working knowledge of how to do the work.  I love repair work.  There is something about diagnosing the issue, and then working backwards to achieve a strong, lasting repair that appeals to my forensic mind.  I also particularly like to make awnings and fabric screen/plastic enclosure curtains.  Again, working through a complicated layout and producing curtains that look great, work smoothly and easily, and will extend the use of a porch or deck appeals to me. 

I've only dabbled in the most basic upholstery work, but it has always fascinated me and like Sofa. I am more drawn to furniture than automobiles or marine work.  I just like old stuff and see the "what could be" in discarded items... surely there is a place for someone like me in the field. 

Fun topic!

[Gregg @ Keystone Sewing]

It's important to be known for something.  Most professionals, like say a lawyer, or doctor, all specialize.  You don't want to see a podiatrist for a serious heart condition.  The same way you don't want to see a person known boat canvas guy to do an antique restoration on your automobile.

That said, with the economy, including myself, we have had a lot of people dipping into other areas.  I think that a lot of folks, including myself, have found that our skills do translate into other areas we never really paid a lot of attention to until now.  So I guess if you are good at one thing, you certainly have a leg up on a related interest. 

[kiwistuffer]

I do everything and anything that comes my way.Although trained as an apprentice in furniture upholstery I have, over the years gained experience in pretty much all areas.I live in a very rural part of NZ and simply take on whatever is offered.Works for me....

[seamsperfect]

I specialize in custom automotive. I have done home furniture, hated it as you never know what shape old wood frames are in foam, springs, etc.  I've done boats same thing with the rotting wood and replacing SS t threads. Airplane, not so bad. I really enjoy automotive and stay busy for months out with waits to get in my pipeline,  so I must be doing something right. ;)
Kevin

[southerncomfort]

I used to do everything homem auto and marine upholstery and canvas and now I only take canvas jobs and after the last two FULL  enclosures I'm burnt out.  I suffer from lack of confidence also however I keep getting calls for estimates so I guess I'm doing something right. 
Barb

[sofadoc]

I live in a very rural part of NZ and simply take on whatever is offered.Works for me....

I wonder if this is a reason that MANY upholsterers take on all types of work. They either live in a HIGHLY competitive market, or like kiwi, live in a rural area where you pretty much have to do it all.

Growing up , I remember it being common that an upholstery shop also renovated mattresses, and sewing machine repair centers also fixed vacuum cleaners.
How 'bout it Gregg? Wanna' take a stab at my Hoover?   ???

[Mike8560]

Well yes i did get started in marine work because ithas always been my thing. although i have dabled in some auto work for friends in the past, and if im slow I dont mind venturing out of my comfort zone and taking my time to try somthing new. but if im busy in boat work I wouldnt want to try somthing out of my area and make everyone unhappy. like with the RV covers you refered my way. if it was the middle of winter i wouldnt even concider it. btw I still havnt heaard back from him. I gueese he was deciding on how he wanted to go acrylic or vinyl ::)

[snowpea]

I started innocently at age 9 by stealing my mother's Singer until one day the thread broke and I had to confess that I broke her machine.  She laughed and showed me how to thread the machine.  Since then I have made dresses, curtains, Halloween custumes, storage cases, recovered couches, three wheeler seats, complete car interiors, boat interiors,  Where I live there are few choices for upholstery shops so I am flexible on what I offer.  It has to do more with me wanting to the the job or not.  I am well equipped to deal with wood and metal in addition to fabrics.  I am getting more involved in the equestrian world since I bought my first horse last month so sometimes I wish I had the capability to sew those ultra thick pieces of tack.  I can't afford to specialize in my geographic area.  During this coming year I might take a sabatical and build things for us instead of others.  I need to recharge my batteries before moving the business further.

[Mojo]

I am getting more involved in the equestrian world since I bought my first horse last month

Congrats Snowpea. I have rode horses for years. I believe the first horse I got on was when I was 4 or 5. I used to ride problem horses at the riding stables and break them of their bad habits in return for free rides. I have been kicked, biten, stomped, leaned on, thrown and knocked off many a horse
( and women too ). The thing about horses is that a ride can be so relaxing. It takes you into another world. Of course a ride can also be your worst nightmare too if the horse is in a mood. :)

I had a bad accident on a problem horse a few years ago and quit riding. I didn't want to risk busting my old ass and taking a year or more to heal. But I miss it a lot. :)

I love horses and have had a real urge to ride lately.

Chris

[PDQ]

I Spee because being a man I can't multi task very well, if at all, and therefore need to stay focused in only one field of expertise, otherwise I'm buggered. Just ask the wife, she'll back me up. ;)