I used to run a big workroom. Now I run a small one.
On purpose. No ladder. No empire.
Just fabric and frames. Teaching. Community. Kids still little enough to need me at dinner.
Growth doesn’t have to mean bigger.
#reupholstery #smallbusiness #madeinnyc #mompreneur
A beautiful stripe story from friends Ruti and Emma in NYC. Ruti is dedicated to restoring old furniture rather than buying new, and when Emma discovered a set of vintage chairs for her brownstone, they wanted to honour the original stripe that once covered them. Together they reimagined it with a fresh new, warmer stripe, the result is a piece that feels both timeless and completely new.
New furniture is designed to be thrown away. Upholstery is designed around what’s worth keeping.
Most furniture today is inexpensive because it’s built to be. Fast materials, glued joints, soft woods, and construction that can’t be taken apart or repaired. The goal isn’t longevity but rather speed, scale, and replacement.
That doesn’t make it “bad” but it does make it temporary.
Upholstery lives on the other end of that spectrum. It works with pieces that were built slowly and intentionally - frames meant to be opened up, repaired, recovered, and lived with for decades. Sometimes for generations.
So how do you decide what’s right for you?
Ask a few simple questions:
✨Is the frame solid and well-made?
✨Does this piece truly fit your body, your space, and your life?
✨Would you rather invest in something you love, or replace it every few years?
Reupholstery isn’t about competing with fast furniture on price. It’s about choosing fewer things, better things, and keeping well-made pieces in use instead of in landfills.
#reupholstered #madeinnyc #toughchoices
Not pictured: the call from the school nurse because one child bumped heads with another, answering a video call on a smartwatch as he navigates leaving school alone, shortening a karate belt, packing snacks before I walk out the door every day, and turning into a pumpkin for pickup.
Motherhood is so often made up of the unseen things: the mental load, the small adjustments, the constant problem-solving, the preparation, the emotional presence.
It’s holding so many details together at once while still trying to build, create, work, and care for yourself somewhere in the process.
This season is beautiful, exhausting, meaningful, and often invisible.
To the mothers carrying both the visible and invisible work: I see you. Happy Mother’s Day. 💛
#mothersday #workingmoms #entrepreneurship #mompreneurship
Motherhood and entrepreneurship both ask for so much of the same parts of us: our patience, creativity, flexibility, and emotional energy. Some days it feels impossible to show up fully for both without losing pieces of yourself along the way.
I’m learning that success doesn’t always look like having it all. More often, it looks like knowing what matters most in this season, giving deeply where it counts, and allowing grace for the rest.
My children are watching me build - not just furniture, but a life rooted in purpose, reinvention, and meaningful work. They are learning that success can be about joy, creativity, and creating something real with your own two hands.
To all the mothers building businesses, raising families, making homes, creating art, and rebuilding themselves in the process: You are making more than people see.
Happy Mother’s Day. ❤️
#entrepreneur #mompreneur #mothersday
Two clients, two chairs, one shared center fabric 1 reimagined in different colorways to fit each home, each personality, each vision.
Proof that the right textile can speak two totally different languages depending on how you frame it. Which one are you choosing? 🎨
#madeinnyc #customupholstery #reupholstery #upholsterybrooklyn #chairmakeover
After ➡️ Before.
Can't get enough of this transformation in @blockshoptextiles . This dining room just got so much cooler.
#reupholstery #chairmakeover #beforeandafter #madeinnyc
These once-ordinary seats got a full personality transplant in this wildly fun @blockshoptextiles Sunbrella fabric. Bold brown, black, and white in all the right ways. Graphic, funky, a little unexpected - basically the kind of chairs that make the whole room cooler. 🙌🏽
#madeinnyc #customupholstery #reupholstery #upholsterybrooklyn #chairmakeover
After ➡️ Before
From flat grey linen to rich @elitisfrance green and a full function upgrade to match. These once-fixed seat cushions were rebuilt into fully removable cushions for easier cleaning, better longevity, and a piece that works harder for real life.
#customcushions #chairmakeover #beforeandafter #upholsterynyc
After ➡️ Before
This chair belonged to my client’s grandmother, which made preserving its story just as important as transforming its look.
Instead of replacing a meaningful piece, we gave it a bold new chapter with playful two-tone upholstery, upholstered legs, and carefully considered details that honor its history while making it feel entirely fresh.
Proof that heirloom furniture doesn’t have to stay stuck in the past to keep its sentimental value! Rather, it can evolve beautifully, hold onto the memories, and become a statement piece for the next generation.
#chairmakeover #beforeandafter #upholsterynyc #madeinnyc
