-
Re-framing the Future: A Call to Action for a Just Transition for the Reupholstery Industry
‘Unite and rebuild’ proclaimed an article, in 2019, about how an industry once left to perish could be on the verge of a comeback. The idea that the National Upholstery Association, a brand new trade association started solely by women and dedicated to a trade full of tradition, honor and importance, had launched with such little media fanfare, infuriated me. Determined to imagine a narrative beyond the tired, formulaic piece about DIY upholstery or an upholsterer’s retirement, I wrote one myself. I typed that proclamation as one of the NUA’s newest volunteers, hungry to join others in collective action at the industry level. I knew already that reliance upon upstream…
-
Not Everything on the Curb is Fast Furniture
Our society is built on disposability at every level: culturally, economically, politically. While we champion investments in frictionless consumption—think one click, free overnight delivery—our systems of refurbishment, reuse, and redistribution remain woefully underfunded, difficult, expensive, and stigmatized. That’s how an old couch that’s made to last, but out of date, receives the same end-of-life treatment as a single-use couch made with glued together wood chips. Our system wasn’t built to tell the difference. Extractive systems, that prioritize disposal first, that externalize costs, that stigmatize labor and second hand goods, and that equate imperfect pieces with useless, are the challenge. Regenerative, place-based solutions are the opportunity.
-
Too Nice to be Landfilled, Too Imperfect to be Donated
Example #334,226,788. The size of the opportunity is as big as the challenge, if we’re willing to think outside of the entrenched industrial waste complex. Can developing local systems of furniture reclamation, rehabilitation, and redistribution create a positive feedback loop for our community rather than generate a one time source of profit for a waste hauler? Who are these systems built to serve? What power structures perpetuate the status quo? What assumptions do we rely upon to not question it?
-
I Repeat: Waste Management Has More Employees Than the USA Has Upholsterers
I discovered this inconvenient truth while preparing for my @thegfda presentation today, “Furniture Waste as a Catalyst for Change.” Our systems represent our values. What type of future are we investing in? Who will benefit? Who will be left behind? Who has the megaphone? Who holds the power? Thanks again for hosting me Katie, and thanks to everyone who attended! Data source: 44,900 Waste Management employees in 2019 according to Insider Monkey article, compared to 32,870 upholsterers in 2018 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
-
I’ll Tell You What’s Rotten
If this was a bruised banana, would you throw the whole thing away? I bet you’d think to add it to a smoothie, or banana bread, or maybe you’d cut out the bad parts and put it on your cereal or yogurt. My dad’s solution was always to cut it in half and fry it. We grow up learning the peel is separate from the fruit. We’re encouraged to find creative uses because we know that the fruit is still nutritious and tasty—despite the shell’s condition—and that wasting food is a travesty, for the environment and for society. Why hasn’t the same education been provided for stewarding furniture? Why aren’t…
-
A Solitary Industry, Reupholsterers Find Comfort in Technology & Community
The daunting COVID-19 restrictions of social distancing and shelter-at-home have put immense pressure on businesses across the country. Musicians are playing concerts at home, veterinarians are providing TeleVet mobile appointments, and restaurants are offering modified food and cocktail menus for pick-up or delivery. Not all services, however, require high customer interaction–like reupholstering furniture. This ancient craft tends to be tucked away in basements or busy workrooms. So how is this behind-the-scenes industry coming to terms with the crisis? By harnessing technology, like everyone else. The first ever Upholstery Community Meeting was held on March 25, 2020. Hosted by the National Upholstery Association (NUA), around 40 upholsterers from across the country…
-
A New Upholstery Association Wants to Unite and Rebuild the U.S. Industry
The American upholstery industry recently issued itself a call to action: Now is the time to unite and rebuild, or else… Part SOS, part call to arms, a new generation sought to preserve an industry that was left to perish when vocational upholstery programs closed their doors decades ago. Enter the National Upholstery Association (NUA). Founded by eight professional women upholsterers from seven states, it launched in July 2019 with a mission of “working together to support and advance the field of professional upholstery.” The timing may be critical. Currently, seasoned upholsterers are in short supply. Shops can’t afford the time and resources necessary to provide intensive training. And newcomers…
