Eclectic Chairs and quirky cushions

My current obsession: Welsh tapestry blankets

2011-10-17T22:39:00.000-07:00

For the last year I have been coveting Welsh tapestry blankets. I came across a maxi skirt at a vintage fair made from Welsh tapestry in gorgeous shades of olive green, black and white, and immediately cut it up and made it into cushions! You can see one here in our dining room.

I adore their geometric patterns which are at once folksy and modern if used in the right setting. The above and below cushions are from Jane Beck's welsh blanket company
She sells a gorgeous range of cushions made from welsh tapestry. The colours are very much inspired by the welsh countryside, and are described with names such as 'Blackberry and slate'

I'm not the only person to appreciate the design qualities of welsh tapestry.
I have recently come across a fledgling collection by Glasgow based designer Sam Sparrow.

It is my mission to acquire my own range of Welsh tapestry blankets, and make a collection of cushions from them, but also, I think they would look amazing as a covering for a footstool or chair. I have a wing chair ready and waiting. The fabric is lovely and thick, perfect for upholstery, and I think it would make a gorgeously folksy, cosy fireside chair.

Donna Wilson has created her own Welsh tapestry design, and upholstered with it.

My preferred pattern is called Caernafon

A lady called Jen Jones sells the blankets through her internet shop. She has a wonderful collection.
So, watch this space! As soon as I have acquired my first large blanket, I shall post pictures of the transformed wing chair!
And if I have any left over, I shall try to make a little pegbag like this one by Vintage Welsh Textiles

Look what I found on Ebay!

2011-08-17T03:18:00.000-07:00

I've just been doing my daily morning trawl through Ebay, in search of interesting chairs to upholster, and I came across this crazy but amazing chair. It's a bit like some of the stuff you see in TK Maxx furniture dept, but much nicer. Just thought I'd share it.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220834294354&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Junk shop find transformed!

2011-03-18T03:49:00.000-07:00

I found this Danish inspired beauty in a junkshop in Whalley Range, Manchester. It sat in my workshop for a couple of years, until one day my partner happened across this striking fabric on Ebay. It's vintage fabric from the 1950s or 60s, and you can see in it where the likes of Orla Kiely got their inspiration from. With some new seat and back cushions covered in the fabric, you have to agree that our junk shop find has been resurrected.

We got the kidney table from St Gemma's Hospice vintage fair and the beautiful vintage ashtray from Ebay, whose colours tie in so perfectly with the chair. Why buy new, when so many beautiful old things are available for a fraction of the price, and just need a bit of tlc.

I made the cushion from a vintage Pierre Balmain scarf. I love the Mondrianesque design of the cushion. There are 3 more available to purchase in the Eclectic Chair shop.

I like this!

2011-03-08T00:29:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time since I've posted, it's not easy to find the time when you're working full time in a restaurant, and trying to run an upholstery and cushion business! So I've decided to keep my posts short and to the point, then that way I can share news and interesting finds as I trawl the internet.
Today, I've stumbled across this lovely picture of a mid century modern chair draped with a sheepskin, which is a look I'm very keen on, and have 'worked' in my own home. I love the position in the window, the light coming through, the beautiful rug, the blossom branch, and the sugared almond colours. Oh, and the cushion! Styling like this really is an art form, and a quirky cushion can really add to the picture in terms of colour, pattern and texture.
Not sure about the table though!
I found it on this blog called 'Mochatini - secrets from a stylist' which I think is in the US.

Celia Birtwell fabric

2010-05-21T00:29:00.000-07:00

I'm a big fan of Celia Birtwell's fabric designs. They are so quintessentially quirky and english, and I am just looking for the right chair to cover with some.
Celia was a Salford lass who studied textile design in Manchester, where she met the iconic fashion designer of the 60s, Ossie Clarke, whom she later married. Their's was a perfect marriage of style, which helped define the era.
Between them they dressed The Stones, The Beatles, Jimmy Hendrix and Pink Floyd in the 60s and 70s.
She is known for her distinctive, bold, romantic and feminine designs. She went into designing fabric for the home in the 80s, and was known for her innovative and witty designs. Her fabrics feature heraldic images, including strange little birds and creatures.

These two are my particular favourites. I can picture them on a quirky rocking chair, like the one here, in a Victorian conservatory, with lots of ferns and old books. Anyone want to commission me?

2010-05-03T23:14:00.000-07:00

Do you remember these chairs from school?
Well they are worth a lot of money nowadays, so if you ever see one in a junkshop, buy it!! A set of 4 will always go for a few hundred pounds on Ebay.
They are made by a company called "Ercol" named after their founder Lucian Ercolani, a young Italian man who started the business in High Wycombe in 1920.
Ercol comes in pale and dark wood, but the pale wooden furniture is becoming very trendy, and you will increasingly see it featuring in interiors magazines.

A couple of my customers have asked me to reupholster these pale wood Ercol chairs, and I am starting to see why people like them. They have a clean, scandinavian style and are supremely comfortable!

Below is a picture of the 3 seater, which is highly sought after. Originally it had 3 cushions along the back, but people prefer to be able to see the wood detail, and so do as the lady below has and just use small scatter cushions to make the back comfortable, and super stylish.

Peter Hall Verdure fabric designed for Heals

2010-04-29T23:15:00.000-07:00

I just love this fabric!
It was designed by Peter Hall in the sixties for the lifestyle store Heals. Peter is an artist, textile, industrial and fashion designer from New Zealand, who is still painting prolifically.
The gorgeous little chair is from the book "Flea Market Style" by Emily Chalmers (of the charmingly quirky shop "Caravan").
I really recommend this book, it is full of pictures of other people's charming houses, all of which are very eclectic, and heavily influenced by vintage.
It is one of my missions in life to acquire some of this fabric and cover a little nursing chair like the one in the photo, but it does go for a lot of money when it rarely comes up for sale on Ebay.
One way of having a little "Verdure" in your life is to buy a cushion fron Jane Foster, an artist and textile designer based in Brighton. I'm a big fan of her blog: janefosterblog.blogspot.com.

Roses are turquoise...

2010-04-29T00:42:00.000-07:00

This cushion is made from some vintage curtain fabric that I found on Ebay.
It is nicely faded, and I love the beautiful stylised turquoise rose, and the black and white filigree pattern around the edge. Very 1950s, I can totally see it in Holly Golightly's New York apartment!

Roses are red...

2010-04-29T00:38:00.000-07:00

This cushion is made from a vintage silk scarf.
It has a vibrant lime green velvet reverse.
I love making cushions from vintage silk scarves because they are so beautiful.
They very often have amazing designs on them, and it seems a shame to wrap them up around your neck, obscuring the design, or keeping them in your dressing table drawer.

I've always wanted a blog like this!

2010-04-29T00:17:00.001-07:00

Hello, my name is Heather Linnitt and I have a small Boutique Upholstery studio in Leeds called Eclectic Chair.
I had a blog on my Mr Site website, but I had always wanted one with this format, I think they look so much nicer, and so here it is!
I reupholster interesting furniture in interesting fabrics. And I make cushions. I like to use vintage fabrics, from faded florals, to Lucienne Day style fifties atomic, to scandinavian folksy style, to Paul Smith stripes to seventies flowery tablecloths, you name it, as long as it appeals to my magpie eye, I'll try and make a cushion from it!
Here I will post pictures of cushions that I have made, chairs that I have reupholstered, and fabrics which I have discovered that I think might interest you, and anything else vaguely related. I will also feature the work of other upholsterers and furniture designers and cushion designers.
My first pictures are of my most recently made cushions.