Joe The Upholsterer, One Of The Best

Last week, behind the doors of Joe Upholstery, the last circular needle pierced velvet, the last welt was wrapped and the last nail head was tapped in. A small, but hardly an insignificant Upper East Side workroom to a coterie of designers from New York, the Hamptons, Westchester, Connecticut and Philadelphia, was where the owner, Gatebirth Joseph, a dignified, quiet-spoken, and talented craftsman, had spent the better part of his 70 years plying the soft-goods trade.After marrying his childhood sweetheart, Gatebirth, or Joe as we all know him, immigrated from Antigua at 22 years of age. Though slightly experienced in this trade by way of padding and covering the interiors of planes at Antigua’s main airport, Joe found his first job at a shop in the Bronx. When a gruff owner refused to hire this Antiguan immigrant carrying his satchel of upholstery tools, Joe, disappointed, left the shop’s fifth-floor workroom. While walking down, he encountered the Irish co-owner, who was walking up the stairs. He spied Joe, engaged him in conversation, liked him immediately and invited him to come back upstairs and tested him by immediately setting him to work on a tufted chair.

Joe had never seen or worked in this type of custom upholstery that the owner called “the European way.” True to Joe’s forthright honesty, he admitted that he didn’t know these methods. But the Irishman saw something in Joe, and gave him 30 minutes of instructions, which Joe picked up right away. Impressed by his ability to learn so quickly, the owner not only hired Joe right then and there, but also taught him the art of fine upholstery.

From that time on, Joe was highly sought after by such famous couture workrooms such as Thomas De Angelis and Anthony Lawrence, and he eventually took a position with P. Nathan, because Joe found Bob, the owner, to be “honest, had integrity and was a good man.” When Bob passed away, Joe set up his own workroom and instantly attracted a clientele of fine designers. And he has taught all of us the ins and outs of what he describes as the “European way.”

For me, as well as for many designers of my generation, the true test of any upholsterer is how well they execute a bridgewater chair. Like a chef cooking the great omelet or a golfer making the final winning putt, the upholsterer executing a fine bridgewater chair, the most popular classic club chair, is the ultimate criterion to become a master of the trade. I would start by bringing Joe the required dimensions of the bridgewater chair according to our floor plans and the client’s habits, height and heft, and Joe would take it from there.

The initial skill demonstrated by a fine custom upholsterer is how to either build or specify the frame. A good chair frame is constructed from heavy, kiln-dried, maple hardwood whose members are hand cored, doweled and glued. Legs are integral to the frame, not screwed in. Soft woods such as pine, used by commercial workrooms, torque and fail in strength. A clever upholsterer designs the frame carefully to reflect the overall shape and pitch of the final product, which seems logical but is often sidestepped.

The canvas webbing at the bottom of the frame is interlaced and tacked on with upholstery nails. The coiled steel springs are hand sewn onto this webbing. A skilled craftsman understands the amount of “give” each gauge of spring allows—so, understanding the “sit” of the client, he selects the coils accordingly. He hand-ties the springs together with smooth twine in eight locations, thus the trade term “eight-way hand-tied springs.” This method allows for flexible give, comfortably accommodating different body types and weights. These hand-tied springs are then hand sewn to canvas or burlap, which contributes to balance but also adds a flexible strength.

The back of the chair is also constructed in this method, with smaller springs and hand-sewn burlap. Clumps of matted horsehair are then evenly distributed according to the shape the upholsterer desires and sewn onto the burlap. It is sometimes trimmed, but always evenly applied. Synthetic horsehair is used now, as real horsehair is prohibitively expensive and also attracts chewing beetles.

Upon final shaping, the horsehair is covered in cream cotton muslin, at which time the designer is allowed to come in to view the shape and feel the pitch.

A great upholsterer has at hand many trial seat cushion options. The cushions with down and feather are luxuriously soft—a favorite of the British. The percentage of down to the feather is important. Down gives a cushion loft and bounce-back, while the feathers provide density and heft. These cushions are divided into three channeled compartments and hand stuffed. Most Americans prefer a combination of poly-foam with a down wrap for a firmer “sit” and less fluffing maintenance.

Once the seat cushion has been selected, the back can be altered by adding a sheet of cotton or a down pad or both. At this point, the cushioning may be added for lumbar support, or anywhere up and down the inside back to provide the perfect back support. Certain clients prefer to be pitched forward in order to rise out of the chair more easily, whereas other clients prefer to be swallowed up in the chair. At this point, if all the cushioning in the world doesn’t please the client in terms of pitch, either the front or back legs can be shortened. And believe me, shortening even one-half inch can make a huge difference.

After this “fitting” has occurred and adjustments made, the chair is entirely covered in muslin, and one more trial fitting takes place for approval before the costly fabric is cut. Joe starts by draping the patterned fabric on the inside back before cutting. He then cuts the cushion top, bottom and sides, always careful to align the pattern of the fabric with the inside back. Next he cuts the front skirt, followed by the outside back and then the sides.

The pieces are sewn together, sometimes inserting a cording or welt in the seams, which helps in breaking up the overall mass of the piece or provides a contrasting outline. Once the chair is completed, the designer is called in for final approval. If the chair is skirted, the skirts are either lightly tacked (sewn) together or folded up whereupon the entire piece is wrapped in paper and plastic, and “bagged” for transport.

A great upholsterer is a crucial tool in any designer’s design kit. I have been fortunate to have worked with one of the best. Joe is an avid fisherman and with time to spare now, so you might find him out in Montauk hand-tying lures instead of springs. We all wish him the best in retirement, as he has been a great craftsman, a fine teacher and a true gentleman.