The Guild

The Guild was formed in 1987 by a group of enthusiastic, qualified upholsterers. Its main aim is to promote the craft of traditional hand-made upholstery, and to protect both the customer and the future of the craft and its craftsmen and women. The organisation exists to uphold standards in excellence in all areas of traditional work.

Individual Membership

Membership is open to practising and qualified upholsterers of all ages, and people who have just completed their training are particularly encouraged to apply for membership. More details on the benefits and methods of applying for membership can be found on the Join the Guild section of this site.

Associate, Honorary and Corporate Membership

Various special levels of membership are open to people who, while not practising upholsterers, either work in allied fields, or have a particular interest in the traditional upholsterer's work. Again, for more details, please go to the Join the Guild section of the site.

Official Journal

The official journal of the Guild is the "Strippers and Stuffers Gazette". This is usually circulated once a year, and contains an update on shows and events, news, articles and often some technical help of interest to all. For more details, please go to the Publications section.

News

Guild Celebrates 20 Years!! The Guild celebrated its 20th Anniversary last year by holding its AGM at The Milford Hall Hotel, Salisbury, on 6th October 2007. Bruce Jack was elected as the new Chairman. Bruce has been an active Guild member for nearly 18 years. He would like to take this opportunity to thank all past committee members for all their hard work and commitment and he looks forward to serving with the new committee. The David Edgar Challenge Trophy was awarded at the AGM and this year was won by Greg Cupitt-Jones (retiring chairman). The AGM was a great success and was enjoyed by everyone, visitors, guests and members, including those who had had to take an exam during the morning session. The AGM was the culmination of a one-day seminar during which five invited speakers gave presentations on a wide range of subjects, all very relevant to the work being done by our membership in the field of traditional upholstery. Barry Jones, who is a founder member of the Guild, took the first session and set the atmosphere for the day. His talk on "The History of the Guild" raised our awareness on the need for greater recognition for craft work, recognition of the need for better government funding and the importance of organisations such as ourselves. Barry pulled his audience together with his light-hearted approach and good humour. David Soames, MD, Feathermade Ltd, updated us on the developments in cushion making. He outlined the changes made in the feather industry since 1975. He explained how current changes have been controlled by (a) technology and (b) by health and safety reguslations. His best products contain 70-75% duck feather and 25-30% down. His company uses computer-controlled filling machinery. Aline Angus, Director, Leather Conservation Centre, Northampton, gave the next presentation "Leather Conservation Techniques and the Possibilities". She outlined the history of the topic and showed work that had been done by the Centre and by its students, most of whom come from Europe and the USA. The LCC is part of The University of Northampton and has charitable status and was founded in 1975. Aline went on to show us some fascinating examples of leather conservation which the Centre has completed. John Kitching, MD, Northcroft Fabrics presented his talk on upholstery velvets. He explained how the use of velvets is loosely linked to fashion in our industry. Velvets are very much in vogue again today and are those mostly made from natural fibres. He outlined their distinct qualities; lined piles take on a rustic appeal, while wool/mohair are very popular and will often meet fire regulation tests. John used some superb samples to illustrate the range available. Arian Smith MVO, Assistant to the Master of the Household, Windsor Castle came next. Adrian’s talk described many examples of "Upholstery in the Occupied Royal Palaces". He explained that much of the work carried out in his department is on furniture that is in daily use. Alongside this, conservation techniques and the reuse of materials are considered whenever possible. Underlying Adrian’s excellent slide show presentation was the need to ‘control costs’ whilst maintaining, in several instances, rare and important pieces of furniture in the Royal Residences. Bertrand Chapman MBE, the Guild President, chaired the final part of the afternoon in a Question and Answers Open Forum. All our speakers formed the panel and this brought a very successful seminar to a close. Our sincere thanks must go to all those taking part and to Philip Wellesley-Davies for his work in arranging a thought-provoking and well-presented mixture of topics.

Future Dates

May 2008 - A visit to Glover Brothers has been arranged to take place during the month.

4th October - This year's AGM, the 21st, will be held at The Bedford Hotel, Tavistock, Devon.

Enquiries and Information

If you would like to know more about the Guild, about membership, to receive the latest information on shows and events, or have any general enquiries, please visit the Contact section, which offers various modern as well as traditional methods of communicating with us.