Behind the Scenes in the Workshop

When I was asked by my friend Nadine Sickert if I was interested in her documenting my life as an upholsterer with her amazing photography skills, I couldn't resist such an offer. We arranged a day when I wasn't so busy to put down my tools and show her the workshop of Maddy King Design.

After relocating from the inner west of Marrickville, I set up shop in the industrial suburb of the Northern Beaches of Brookvale. I have been here for almost 2 years and really enjoying the buzz of this area, but you can still feel the coastal breeze in the air and minutes away from some of the most amazing beaches that Sydney has to offer.

I have a private space within a communal building where I share the building with some friendly trade businesses, so there is always someone around to talk to or help lift a sofa!

The Northern Beaches is full of talented artists and trades people. I found a local artisan/sign maker Graham from Cutncr8 to create this sign located outside the premise. You can see here and inside my workshop that I try not to use plastic and disposable materials when possible and I reuse/re-purpose materials.

My logo was designed by the gifted and talented Kelly. Who has also helped me in many other ways building this business including the hard task of stripping the old upholstery off the furniture.

Now step into my workshop and see what a female upholsterers workplace looks like from the eyes of the photographer Nadine Sickert.

Upholstery is one of a few trades that uses hand tools rather than machinery. An upholsterers workshop comprises of a staple gun with air compressor, sewing machine, overlocker, hand tools, a cutting table and a work bench.

Sometimes the hardest job is helping the customer choose the fabric. There are days when it happens instantly without any effort and then there are occasions when its a challenge but its also one aspect of the job that I really love.

A tedious task is to strip the furniture of all the fabric and sometimes all the padding right to the bones of the frame. To do this I use a wooden mallet, staple remover and side cutters. While I did my 4 year apprenticeship, I spent a lot of time doing the hard yards of stripping furniture in the first year!

Now when I do it as part of a job, I enjoy the process and it allows me think about the next process or whether or not I should be heading to the beach on a hot summers afternoon.

I try and encourage my clients (if it suits the brief) to choose a fabric that is hand-made/ printed in Australia or fabrics that are eco friendly and especially with Australian wool! So I try and have samples on hand to show to clients.

Here are my trusty tools. From left: tack hammer, side cutters, wooden mallet, regulator, staple remover and scissors. A regulator used to be used when making a coconut fibre or horsehair seat base layer on top of seat springs and edge rolls. Where they would poke it through the hessian and push the fibre to the front and stitch it in place. I get to use these traditional techniques still sometimes. I feel very lucky that I had a chance in my apprenticeship to learn these skills.

Thanks for taking the time to tour my workshop. And the biggest thank you to Nadine Sickert Photography for giving me the chance to show you around and creating such an amazing collection of photos.

Please feel free to ask me any questions about upholstery or anything else! And anyone is welcome to come by the workshop anytime to sticky beak some more. However I will be relocating my workshop at the end of March to Dee Why.

Thanks again,

Maddy King

You can find Nadine here: https://www.instagram.com/nadinesickertphotography/