Oliver’s Upholstery

By Frank Parker

Oliver’s Upholstery was founded by Andrew Oliver in the late 1980’s being situated in Perth Western Australia. The business manufactured economically priced upholstered furniture for the WA retail sector. The business grew quickly becoming one of the larger upholstery manufacturers by volume in the State. However about a decade of operation cheap inferior products started coming into Australia from Malaysia and Thailand then flooding in from China.

With the value area of the local market being displaced with imported furniture Andrew Oliver changed directions renaming the business Oliver’s Re-upholstery focusing on re-upholstery and commercial upholstery.

Long term clients approached us when renovating their home wanting to have two wing back chairs re-upholstered. These clients resided in a leafy Perth suburb and thought the chairs were rather special but it’s difficult to explain to such clients that their taste in furniture maybe a bit ordinary, especially if they want the chairs re-upholstered in a high quality leather.

The upholstery was rather tacky so we stripped the chairs back to the bare frames and were rather surprised that the frames were soundly constructed. We sprung the frames, laminated the body work with high density foam padding slightly redesigning the upholstery. The leather was a full-aniline leather from Tasman Tanning and was a pleasure to use as the chairs took shape. Using more traditional labour intensive upholstery techniques paid off as displayed by the finished product.

Our clients were simply “gob-smacked” with their re-upholstered wing back chairs which just goes to show that you can make a silk purse from a sow’s ear!

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    If this was your chair, you may be be thinking where can I get my chair reupholstered? Would you believe that this chair is only two years old and looks like it has been in a war zone. It is well constructed however unfortunately it was covered in a polyurethane fabric which has been affected by hydrolysis. This is when body oils and perspiration leach between the top polyurethane film and the backing fabric resulting in delamination.

    This has been a continual problem for many decades with laminated polyurethane fabrics. The manufacturer, import wholesaler and retailer could only be labelled as blissfully ignorant if they were unaware of this issue.

    We recommended to our client to reupholster this chair in the most durable upholstery fabric. For this we chose a commercial grade synthetic suede which will last for many years. It cost the client approximately 60% of the initial purchase price. This highlights the necessity for retail staff to be adequately trained and the necessary enforcement of consumer law. In this case as with so many, the client was left holding the baby while the supply chain were left holding the profits.

    We can help you with your well worn chair to ensure that you get the best wearing upholstery fabric. So that you are enjoying your furniture for many years to come.

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    This American company was founded in 1932 by two brothers-in-law starting business as a homewares manufacturer. In 1936 they purchased a bankrupt high-end furniture manufacturer in Vermont and adopted the name Ethan Allen in 1939.

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    Ercol Furniture was established in 1920 by Lucian Ercolani in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire manufacturing timber framed lounge furniture and occasional furniture. In 1944 Ercol was awarded a contract by the Government Board of Trade to produce 100 000 low cost spindled/bentwood framed chairs. This involved a process the company developed of steam pressing English Elm so the chairs could be assembled from pre-formed components.

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  • Co-ordinating classic chairs

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    Timberline Furniture commenced operations in Perth WA with the factory being located in Willetton. The furniture manufacturing business was founded by Ron Jones and Hedley Van Der Straaten in the early 70’s and ran through to the mid 90’s with about 10 – 12 staff. Ron was a Wood-Turner by trade and managed operations with Hedley managing sales and general business. Timberline predominantly manufactured dining furniture but also made some lounge and occasional furniture. During the 80’s they entered into a collaborative venture with co-ordinated designs, Trustyle Furniture making the lounge suites, George’s Cabinets making the cabinetry and Timberline the dining suites. These co-ordinated furniture ranges were sold by furniture retailers throughout W.A.     

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