Copy
Upholstery   Fabric   Sewing   Colour   Friends

News from the Workshop

June 2018

Welcome to the June newsletter from Mary's Chairs - we have had many exciting things happening over the past couple of months and we are delighted to be sharing them with you all. We have been kept very busy with our Liberty Patchwork course in April, Sylva's ArtWeeks exhibition in May, Threads getting back into full swing and lots of new and returning students with a variety of exciting projects. We have of course also squeezed the odd bit of upholstery in between all of that too, and Pip has been making the most of the beautiful weather here in Long Wittenham!
ArtWeeks Exhibition
 
We had a wonderful time welcoming visitors to the Wood Centre and into our new workshop. 

We had some lovely conversations with our visitors and it felt like a true celebration of craftsmanship, with all sorts of creatives popping in for a chat. We met jewellery makers, patchworkers, amateur and professional soft furnishers, embroiderers and fellow upholsterers.

We showcased our Creative Courses and had our top of the range Janome sewing machines out for people to test their appliqué, piping and quilting skills. We had lots of interest in our upholstery tools too, with some visitors testing out webbing and tacking techniques, and particular interest in the magnetic hammers!

Displayed outside was our brand new Made to Measure range of footstools, lampshades and the upholstered screen.

Made to Measure gives you the opportunity to commission the perfect footstool, upholstered screen or lampshade for your home. Each bespoke item is made by hand in our workshop using quality materials, great care and close attention to detail. They're great value for money too! Find out more at the link below.

A huge thank you to everyone who came to our exhibition and stopped to chat, we loved seeing you all.
 
Find out more about Made to Measure
Student Updates

Sara's Masterpiece Armchair


Sara has been attending Mary's Tuesday upholstery classes for over a year now. She had done a bit of upholstery before and was already a dab hand on the sewing machine, and she's done a fantastic job of reupholstering her chair with amazing attention to detail.

You'll be very missed in the workshop Sara, but we're delighted that we'll continue seeing you at Threads.
      

 

Welcome to Beth!


Beth has joined our Tuesday afternoon upholstery class to work on a King Edward drop-in seat that she's had in her family for some time. Beth is completely new to upholstery and has been doing a brilliant job so far. It's wonderful to have her as part of the class. 

Watch this space to see Beth's final chair!

Find out more about upholstery tuition here.

 

The Joy of Weaving

 



















 


Back in October, Christine went on a weaving holiday and later purchased her very own rigid heddle table loom to continue learning this beautiful and intricate craft at home. 
 
As if working as a landscape architect and upholsterer, creating beautiful cushions, making her own lampshades and sewing stunning appliqué wasn't enough, she can now add weaving to her list of creative talents! She's currently experimenting with weft faced weaving where you won't see the warp (vertical) threads in the finished material.  We'll share more pictures of Christine's weaving as she progresses it.

Find out more about Threads, our Creative Community Group.
For the Love of Chairs
 
           
This late 1950s wing-backed beauty is one of our most loved recent upholstery commissions. It came to us worn and sad looking, but we could see how much life it had left in it! Mary carefully stripped back the old layers of fabric, hessian and tacks and has spent hours rebuilding it back up to this stunning chair that now fits perfectly into our customer's home! 

Did you know that the first wing chairs appeared in England in the 1670s, known as 'sleeping chayres'? Two of the oldest versions now live in Ham House near London, designed in preparation for a visit from Queen Catherine, wife of Charles II. The 'wings' were designed to protect the person sitting in it from drafts, an ideal reading or resting nook. In 1788, George Hepplewhite included the design in his book 'The Cabinet-maker and Upholsterer's Guide'. The basic design of the chair's frame, padding and fabric lives on today, having changed very little since its original form. 

Source: Now I Sit Me Down by Witold Rybczynski

Have you got an old chair in need of some love? If so, we'd love to hear from you. Click the link below to find out more.
 
Find out more about our Upholstery Commissions
Liberty Patchwork Course
 
On Saturday 21 April we ran our Liberty Patchwork Cushion course with a full class of six students. Each of our ladies chose a slightly different colour way to work with and all produced a beautiful cushion, but most importantly, are now more confident and proficient at sewing patchwork.

We love this course as we get to enjoy working with the stunning range of Liberty fabrics and introduce our students to it too. We were so happy to receive this feedback from Samantha!

"We had an absolutely lovely day being taught by Mary and Christine. We could not have been looked after better. The teaching was patient and kind. The tea and cake was gorgeous. The lunch was delicious. The venue was perfect. I could not recommend this enough"
 
Thank you ladies for sharing the day with us, it was a real pleasure. We are now taking bookings for our next Liberty Patchwork course is on Saturday 27 October.

                                        
See more about our Creative Courses
Meet The Team

We plan to introduce you to a member of the Mary's Chairs team or community in each newsletter. This month, we've been talking to Gabriel Hemery, Chief Executive of the Sylva Foundation.

The Sylva Foundation's Wood Centre is home to Mary's Chairs. 

 
What is the best part of my job?
The best part of my job is the people I work with. I am lucky to work in an industry which seems to attract generous and far-minded people - foresters uniquely think beyond their own lives, to those of future generations.
 
What is the worst part of my job?
I became a forester and environmentalist because I love nature and the outdoors. My greatest frustration at this point in my career, is the amount of time I spend behind desk. I only have myself to blame though.
 
What part does the Sylva Wood Centre play for the charity?
Much of our work is national, reaching a lot of people and caring for woodlands remotely, right across the UK. The Wood Centre gives us a unique opportunity to practice what Sylva Foundation stands for at a local level. We have created our own small woodland and community orchard, we support a local sawmill business and foster craftspeople in dozens of businesses working with wood. The Sylva Wood Centre is also important for us economically, as the income we earn from renting our spaces to established businesses supports the core work of the charity.
 
How do you see the Sylva Wood Centre developing in the future?
Hopefully, during 2018 we will start work renovating the two remaining old farm buildings, allowing us to foster more wood businesses and support a new programme of wood education. In time, we would like to develop a wood working schools programme and renovate a large building to showcase the best in British timber and architectural green building design. However, we will need to raise a lot of money to do this. While these plans develop it will be exciting to see our young woodland and orchard establish and thrive, becoming a haven for wildlife and local people.
 
What is my favourite tree?
That’s an easy question for me - it has to be walnut! It was the subject for my DPhil (yes, I know, ‘Dr Nuts’!), so I spent three years travelling to wonderful places like Kyrgyzstan to study it. Back home it’s often overlooked in the landscape and in our history. Have you ever wondered why so many old coaching inns are called ‘The Walnut Tree Inn’? It’s because walnut leaves exude chemicals which keep insects at bay, which the old stable hands knew only too well. It’s always exciting to see walnut timber or veneer used by craftspeople at the Sylva Wood Centre.
Find out more about the Sylva Foundation
Coming Soon...
  • We're looking forward to slowing down over the summer and making time for a much needed rest! Afterwards we'll be getting cracking with the new term of upholstery teaching and our first course of the autumn - piped cushions. 
  • On 29 September we'll be running our Piped Cushion course. This is a fantastic opportunity to progress your existing sewing skills and learn new techniques such as inserting a hidden zip and making your own piping. As with all of our courses, you'll get to take the templates away with you to continue making beautiful cushions at home. Get in touch or visit our website for bookings. 
Get in Touch
mary@maryschairs.co.uk
07809 730040
Don't forget to like us on Facebook!

With love from Mary, Christine and Kylie 
Copyright © 2018 Mary's Chairs, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
Mary's Chairs
Sylva Foundation Wood Centre
Little Wittenham Road
Long Wittenham
OX14 4QT

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.
 






This email was sent to <<Email Address>>
why did I get this?    unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences
Mary's Chairs · Sylva Wood Centre · Little Wittenham Road · Long Wittenham, Oxfordshire OX14 4QT · United Kingdom

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp