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Family aims to keep traditional skills alive

BBC A woman with tied-back brown hair works on reupholstering a sofa lying on its back, stretching patterned red fabric over the frame, surrounded by tools in a workshop.BBC
Gemma Day is carrying on the upholstery skills learnt from her parents, and the family now wants to share them with others

Gemma Day and her parents Paul and Wiggy have decades of experience between them, fixing and upcycling upholstered furniture.

But Gemma is realistic that an increasing number of people want to do such jobs for themselves, and that her family will not be around forever to do it.

The family firm, Days Upholstery, is now setting up courses to share the skills developed over 50 years since Gemma's father Paul was an apprentice.

"As we as a family are getting older, and moving to a point where we're finding it a bit physically challenging - especially the old man over there - it just seems like a natural progression," she said.

The Days put the increased popularity of DIY upholstery down to a combination of lockdown home improvements and TV shows highlighting their skills.

Wiggy Day told BBC Radio Shropshire: "The Repair Shop has been a good advocate for us, because it shows what the job actually entails.

"It's not just throwing fabric on furniture, it's more detailed.. it's actually more technical."

Two women and a man stand together in a workshop in front of a half-upholstered sofa. Behind them, a yellow shelving unit holds tools and materials, while to the right, a curled red hydraulic pipe hangs from the ceiling.
Gemma, Wiggy and Paul Day work together in their Oswestry upholstery business

Mr Day said he fell into the trade almost by accident in 1976: "Initially, I wanted to be a cabinet maker. But there were no openings, and my uncle, who worked for a company in Weston Rhyn, said there was an opening for an apprentice so I jumped at it."

He went on to work for other companies - once leading a re-upholstery project at the Dorchester Hotel in London - before setting up the family firm in 1993.

Gemma did not initially join the business, but was soon called up to help: "From school I went into antiques, and then when my brother left for the marines, my dad said: 'You - you're going to come and work for me now.'

"I've been upholstering now for over 20 years," she added, as Paul joked: "She'll get it right soon!"

The family's upholstery school is teaching people how to work with headboards and foot-stools, with more in-depth courses where people bring their own repair projects.

Gemma has previously taught in colleges and independently of the firm, and said it gave people a real sense of achievement.

"They enjoy it. I think they get more satisfaction out of seeing the end result of something that they've done themselves."

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