Upholstery Workshops with Carla Pyle

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Spring workshops have been suspended due to COVID-19. We will be doing video meet-ups with students until live sessions are once again possible. Some of these sessions will be open to everyone. For more info Contact Carla, and include ‘2020 Live Upholstery Sessions’ in the subject line – I’d love to hear about your specific interest. Stay well, and I look forward to sharing with you online this spring :)

Make new friends and take home upholstery skills that will last a lifetime – sign up for a weekend workshop in Livingston, Montana!

New workshops for 2020:

Winter Warmer Weekend Upholstery Workshop.  Bring your chair, roll up your sleeves and prepare to be warmed! Join us in a weekend of making, learning & sharing in good company. Then carry your experience home in the form of your own newly upholstered (& transformed) chair. Feb 22-23, 2020. [Complete]

Boxed Cushion Workshop. Learn how to build a welted, zippered box cushion for a sofa, chair, dog bed and more! March 28, 2020. Read more and register at this link.

‘Springtime in the Rockies’ 3-day Upholstery Workshop. April 24-26, 2020. The ‘hope’ is for spring weather, though we who live in the Rockies know there is no predicting the weather! This workshop will follow the same format as the Winter Warmer Workshop (2-day intensive), with the addition of a third day to accommodate a more advanced student project. Student projects must be pre-approved. Registration for up to two advanced students will be open for one week only, from Feb 28-Mar 7. Register at this link.

‘Springtime in the Rockies’ 2-day Upholstery Workshop. Depending on student interest, I’m considering adding another 2-day beginner level workshop to take place May 16-17, 2020. If you are interested in this option, please Contact me here and include ‘Cast my Vote for May Workshop’ in your comment.

Sign up for the mailing list to receive all future class schedules & updates.

Learn creative ways to repurpose instead of throwing stuff away!

Go Wild! Chair Workshop This is an easy class to set up at your local Maker Space. Go wild and explore your creative muse! Energize your work with an infusion of creativity – brainstorming & idea-sharing with others in the class. Students have commented on the powerful feeling of being swept up in the collaborative energy of the workspace!

Got a group of friends who want to do a class around a theme, celebration, or just want to CREATE some wild chairs together? Contact Carla to schedule a custom class tailored to your group’s theme! Workshops in Livingston, Montana or at your location (additional travel charge will apply).

a simple chair + your creative vision = a unique maker’s story

What’s your Uphol-story? Whether your particular chair means the world to you or you’re just looking for a way to not throw it away here’s your chance to give that piece of your life a new story.

Share your story:

Choose a specific project and answer these two questions, and be sure to include ‘my uphol-story’ in the subject line:

1. What makes your chair special to you?
2. How do you think your story can inspire others to join the upholstery maker movement?

Share in the comments below, and you may be chosen to have your project featured in an upcoming video.

We love participating in projects that benefit our thriving art community here in Livingston, Montana, and we’re always excited to meet new people, and create something together for everyone to enjoy! We organized the Funky 50s Sofa project to benefit The Shane Center for the Arts. Fifteen volunteers participated in our series of free workshops over the course of several months – a collaborative effort that everyone can be proud of.

Got a project you’d like us to consider? Let us know in the comments below!

Our Mission is to share the knowledge and skills you need to complete your own upholstery project. We believe that transformation of the current wasteful practices in the furniture industry begins with empowering people at the local level. And yes. We know that acquiring the tools and skills to do this may not be an easy step for many of you who are ‘making’ at home.

We want to see upholstery become a core offering in maker spaces around the country and the world. Here in Livingston, Montana we’re located far from a large population center, and have no established maker spaces nearby that can accommodate regularly scheduled upholstery workshops. For now, our local workshops and community events are the stand-in for a maker space. Carla continues to travel to learn more about what’s happening in other parts of the world. She recently traveled to NIMBY in Oakland, CA to conduct an informal workshop.

We’re excited to be building a comprehensive online educational resource with this website. We hope that our videos & free downloads will help you learn upholstery and make healthy furniture on your own.

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