As more homeowners invest in green living and recycling old furniture becomes more popular, reupholstery is an environmentally pleasing way to give old worn out furniture a brand new look.

Buying a new suite does not necessarily mean better. Imported foreign-made suites means your money goes towards a massive amount of raw materials from across the globe including tropical hardwoods, production energy and transport costs. Chances are however that the suite you’ve already got is better made than the new one.

Economic and social trends often have an effect on interior designs and trends. We believe 2010 will see a shift back to preservation and exploration of the past.

This year bold floral and spring blossom will be reflected heavily in fabrics used in reupholstery. Soft greens will be the choice colour and teamed with pale pinks, make a winning combination for a spring palette.

Here at Plumbs we recommend going for a bold floral print or a coastal theme when choosing fabrics for reupholstery.

Spring blossom in soft jade is bang on trend this season, use to reupholster an old sofa or a tub chair and combine it with plain walls to make a daring floral statement in your living room. For something a little less daring try an ocean blue fabric paired with creams and yellows to bring a splash of summer into your living room.

The reupholstering process itself is an intricate and delicate procedure and we pride ourselves on the craftsmanship involved. Sofa and chairs with button effects look particularly pleasant. The art of deep-buttoning gives the item an indulgent, voluptuous look made fashionable in the Victorian era.

Here at Plumbs our advice is to think before you throw, furniture can easily be given a brand new look by reupholstery.

“Wow, Plumbs is nothing like the adverts”

After a very busy show, over 500 brochures given out and over 100 visitors to the stand asking to have a visit from a Plumbs Home Consultant, we can say we had a busy and successful show.

Leading the display was a fabulous art deco design revived recently by Sanderson. This featured on a well matched art deco chair as a beautiful piece of reupholstery. The vast majority of show visitors who passed the stand made a comment about the chair. Many people wanted to buy it there and then.

They were  surprised to learn that Mick had actually reupholstered the chair right there on the first day of the show.

The other star of the show was Willow Stripe, the sumptuous cut velvet stripe from Swaffer. Mick spent hours reupholstering an old queen Anne chair in this fabric, being stopped every few minutes to answer questions from visitors.

So excited were people about this fabric they started taking off cuts from Mick’s reupholstery work. One large piece of fabric mysteriously went missing!

All in all a great visit to the Country Living Spring Fair and a lovely atmosphere in the business design centre in Islington.

Plumbs backs sofa scrappage scheme

Furniture re-upholstery specialist Plumbs is backing the sofa scrappage scheme, which encourages consumers to trade in their non-compliant products for new British-manufactured sofas and chairs.

The scheme, launched by The Association of British Furniture Manufacturers (BFM), aims to reduce the number of sofas in UK homes which are made from highly flammable material, pre-dating 1988 safety regulations.

Offering an alternative solution to replacing a tired sofa or chair, Plumbs loose covers are hand crafted from start to finish and made to measure, which means that they look, fit and feel as good, if not better, than the original upholstery. Plumbs even offer co-ordinating curtains!

From on-trend botanical prints and opulent purples and deep reds to countryside-inspired florals and natural fabrics, Plumbs diverse loose cover collections offer something for everyone.

If your furniture is over ten years old then re-upholstery could be the perfect way to bring a well-loved sofa or chair back to life. Re-upholstery allows you to keep all the original features of your existing furniture, including the shape, comfort and style, but in a brand new fabric.

Plumbs upholstering services range from standard recovering to complete reupholstery including any wooden features, studded work and button backs.

So how did it happen….

Plumbs in the 1960s

Founded by Tom and Bernice Plumb, the company originated in Blackburn in the 1950s, where it began life as a market stall selling decorative cushions and ‘settee sets’. Plumbs stretch covers could be placed over sofas and chairs offering an instant make-over.

In the 1960s, their son, Geoff, launched a mail order business specialising in fitted furniture covers. The 60s was the era of a large ‘I’m Backing Britain’ campaign which encouraged the public to buy from UK businesses. Thus manufacturers such as Plumbs became increasingly popular.

Plumbs in the 1970s

Plumbs opened its first high street shop in Bolton in 1972. It was at this point that they introduced continental bedding to both the high street and the country via mail order. Another innovation included furniture with removable covers. The store emphasised the quality of its products, but still offered value for money, leading to the opening of a further 91 shops nationwide.

Plumbs in the 1980s

Plumbs launched a free Home Consultancy division which saw consultants visiting customers’ homes. The Consultants provided a made-to-measure service, helping customers achieve covers for the the more complex furniture styles popular at the time. By measuring furniture, Plumbs were able to use fabrics with less stretch. Customers could also purchase a range of matching accessories to complement their furniture. Plumbs began to supply curtains, pelmets and tie-backs for a co-ordinated look.

Plumbs in the 1990s

During the 90s, Plumbs created a bold new style using two designs together. These were then photographed in co-ordinated room sets, serving as inspiration for customers. Later in the 1990s a trend for simple and neutral furniture fabrics emerged. Plumbs responded to this trend with a collection of natural cotton and linen covers.

Plumbs in the Noughties

Plumbs began offering a Reupholstery Service in 2003 and is now considered the biggest and most trusted reupholsterer in the UK. Plumbs is now able to collaborate with famous brand names including Sanderson and Swaffer, producing non-stretch fabrics for tailored loose covers.

Plumbs in the Teenies

Technological investments have also been made, including an in-house photography studio and state of the art Lectra manufacturing systems.

Today, Plumbs produce over 1,000 furniture cover, reupholstery and curtain orders each week. 50 years of employment, British manufacturing and good old fashioned service. To celebrate it’s golden anniversary, Plumbs has created an exclusive collection honouring it’s 50 year heritage. They also want to encourage the U.K. population to promote the refurbishment and re-use of household furniture,

So where will the next few years take Plumbs. I suspect an increasing amount of reupholstery will be a characteristic. This is such a product of the day. Real craftsmanship in a throw away world is hard to find, and Reupholstery encourages re-use or recycling.

The Plumb family would just like to say thank-you for 50 years of custom, thank-you to all those employees who have contributed and we hope to continue for a long time to come.

Watch the new Plumbs TV advert here.
 

Although there are plenty of local and even regional companies in the market, Plumbs is the only manufacturer of fitted furniture covers to offer a nationwide service. Each week about 25km of material is converted into more than 1000 made to measure loose covers for armchairs and sofas.

Started some 45 years ago and still owned by the Plumb family, this Lancashire factory has over 300 staff on the payroll. But this is only part of the story as there are another 150 self employed consultants who deal with customers in their homes. Consultants show customers fabric samples and photographs demonstrating the different fabrics on offer and generally giving advice on the available options. After agreement is reached, the consultant measures up, sends in the details and will ultimately fit the products once complete and shipped.

With over 1000 orders a week to process and at least 200 designs and colourways to contend with, it follows that holding stock of raw material is hardly practical. Instead, Plumbs uses its experience to forecast the likely demand for each fabric and colour alternative which it then passes on to its four major and 16 minor suppliers. It takes around four to six weeks to process an order, from the moment measurements come in from the consultant to the point of delivery. The first stage of the process is to check the measurements and set up the documentation. During this time we expect the material to be delivered from the supplier just in time to go straight onto the Lectra cutter.

In a process still very much dependent on skilled sewing machine operators, of whom the factory employs more than 70 plus a few other machinists installing zips and making-up valances, there is a limit to how much automation is possible. But over the years Plumbs has invested heavily in state-of-the-art automatic cutters from the French manufacturer, Lectra – machines that even ten years ago had a £100,000 price tag. “We have worked closely with Lectra for 15 years,” said production director Arthur Diamond, “and now have seven of their cutters. Because each order is unique, every job has to be cut single ply, but even so our productivity in this area has risen enormously.”

It’s not as simple as saying the Lectra machines have made a four-fold improvement in productivity as savings at the cutter need to be offset with time spent in the firm’s drawing office working on CAD systems to feed the cutters with digital data. But, overall costs and training timescales are down, plus, by using a computer to arrange the numerous pattern pieces on the fabric, maximum material utilisation is being achieved.

One of the biggest problems Plumbs has is appealing to a younger market. When they think of Plumbs loose covers, many people think of the brown knitted stretch fabric on granny’s favourite chair. However, with the continuous development of polyester knitted fabrics, a high quality cover with little stretch is now available with all of the easy-care benefits and they still account for 50 per cent of sales. But nowadays there is much more interest from the market in cotton fabrics which has seen the Traditional Cotton brand grow enormously.

For those customers who want a tighter fit from their covers, but without going all the way to re-upholstery, Plumbs is busy building a network of what it calls ‘technical designers’. So far there are 155 of these independent re-upholstery specialists who receive firm orders, generated in the normal way, but who make the covers to much tighter tolerances. Rather than have the field consultant measure up, details are passed to the technical designer who takes his own measurements.

There is an increasing demand for full re-upholstery which Plumbs now offer as a service throughout the United Kingdom.

Plumbs has a terrific reputation, as a completely dependable, friendly, family run business. An obvious extension to the loose cover range are curtains; not the imported, ready made variety, but rather a top of the range product complete with a full design and fitting service. Currently, curtains such as these account for around twelve per cent of the total sales which includes our internet curtain ordering service.

The life of an order in the Plumbs factory can be seen here 

 The January 2009 Country Living runs a great article ‘Recycled Chic’ on page 27. The essence of the feature is about finding and restoring interesting furniture tracked down through charity shops or ebay.

You may not need to trawl through ebay looking for ‘elegant upholstered pieces simply in need of new covers’ as Country Living journalist Caroline Reeves suggests. Take a look at what’s already in the family. Now picture that interesting old couch transformed with a new fabric outer and looking just like new. How would it look in your living room. It’s worth considering.

 Good Housekeeping January 2009 edition number 1 tip on page 66 – “Expert updates on a credit crunch budget” is….yes you’ve guessed it….”Give your threadbare sofa a new incarnation by shielding the shabbiness with removable washable loose covers.”

Who am I to argue with Good Housekeeping journalist Samantha Trapp.

Best wishes one and all for a very Happy Christmas and remember, if it’s all starting to look a bit tired and worn in the new year, just follow the advice of the home magasine experts and consider loose covers or reupholstery to breathe new life into the look of your home.

 In 1954 a cushion cover would have cost 3s 11d.

The market business flourished and the product developed with the introduction of a variety of stretch man made fabrics.

The first shop was opened 35 years ago. In 1967, Geoff Plumb, now Chairman, began to work for his father cutting out scatter cushions. These were then sent out to be sewn by women in their own homes. Many of these ladies continued to sew for Plumbs for 20+ years. As business flourished Geoff wanted to try a mail order advert.

In November 1967 Geoff ran a small classified advert costing £8 in the Scottish Daily Record. Orders rolled in and the first mail order venture was a success.

This sparked the idea of placing a full page advert in the Daily Mirror. The advert went in February 1968 and proved to be an outstanding success.

1971 was the year of a terrible postal strike – this caused chaos to the mail order operation and so a large number of Plumbs shops began to appear across the United Kingdom. Sales increased and more products were offered.

The idea was novel as at the time no chain stores such as Marks and Spencer or British Home Stores carried home furnishing departments.

In total Plumbs had over 90 shops stretching from Plymouth to Kirkcaldy.

Requests were frequently being made for a measuring service in the home. Customers were looking for a more fitted product and furniture was becoming more complicated. The ‘in home’ service gave reassurance as all the measuring was done by the professionals.

The recession of the early 80s put an end to the shop days. All attention was now focussed on the emerging home consultancy service.

In the 21st century, Plumbs are now striving to become the established market leader for reupholstery and curtains, as well as loose covers. Over a quarter of enquiries now come through the internet and recommendations. A far cry from the first classified adverts in the 1960s.

The company is still very much a family business, and many employees have several members of their family working at Plumbs. This is also true of the Plumb family, with lots of family members actively involved.

So after 50+ years, the story continues for Plumbs.

As time goes by daily life can cause stains, damage and wear. It’s important to know how to remove, clean and refit.

However you may not need to remove and wash your covers at all. By using arm covers and following the tips below, you really can keep that showroom finish.

How to keep the showroom finish for years and years:

• Loose cushion covers can be rotated regularly and reversed to give even wear.
• Plumping up the cushions regularly helps to keep the covers looking full and fitted.
• Regular redressing of the loose covers can really help in maintaining appearance. This includes straightening the seams. Any excess fabric can be tucked into the pockets between the arm or back and the seat area.
• Keep out of direct sunlight. Fading is unavoidable on any fabric exposed to direct sunlight for long periods.
• Accidental spills can be spot cleaned very effectively if you are quick. It’s a good idea to do a test in a small area which isn’t visible.
• One chenille and velvet fabrics, the pile will flatten with use. This can result in a ‘shaded’ area where there is contact e.g. on the arms. This is normal with this type of fabric but vacuuming with a brush attachment can help.

Top Tip: Vacuum your covers regularly using a brush attachment. Accumulated dirt in the fibres can cause wear.

How to machine wash your covers:

• Use a colour enhancing liquid detergent.
• Check the wash label in the covers just to check that they can be washed. Some heavyweight fabrics are dry clean only.
• Typically the correct temperature is 30 degrees C. The same is true if hand washing.
• Lightly spin or line dry cotton covers.
• Run a cool iron over cotton covers while damp.
• Polyester covers should be dried on the line and do not need ironing as they are almost always crease free.

Top Tip: A good tip is to wash all components of the cover at the same time. With all that fabric this may be easier said than done.

How to re-fit your covers:

• Remove all loose cushions. Find the sewing label and stand at the back.
• If there is a zip undo it. Pull the cover down over the back until the cover fits snugly along the top edge.
• Continue to pull the cover down over the arms and seat base tucking in firmly where appropriate. There is usually a gap between the arm or back and the seat base. If the covers have piping, make sure the piping sits correctly on the arm scrolls.
• Pull down and smooth the fabric and make sure the valance sits straight at floor level. Close the zip if there is one.
• Finally pull on the separate cushion covers and make sure the piped edges are straight, and replace the cushions.

Top Tip: The sewing label is almost always at the back of the cover in the centre. All that fabric can seem a bit daunting. Stand at the back of the chair or sofa, find the label and it will soon fall into place.

If Loose Covers are damaged:

• If snagged threads are caused accidentally on stretch (polyester) fabrics, draw them through to the reverse side i.e. so the thread is on the inside.
• Arm covers are a great help to protect and prolong the life of covers.
• If the damage is serious be careful to make sure that any replacements are colour matched to other covers. You may need to send a sample.

Top Tip: Avoid sharp objects – If you have cats try and discourage them from scratching. There are a few products available and some good advice at catscratching.com.