The three most crucial steps to selecting an upholstery apprentice

Any time you take an apprenticeship it's crucial you spend a great deal of time considering what your going into. Is this something you can do for the rest of your life, or in this day in age the next 15-20 years? Can you tell the difference between a rough draft and a polished piece and truly know and appreciate the skill and effort involved? Once you've made that decision, these three steps will help you along the way.

Safety

On average a typical apprenticeship will last at least a full year but usually closer to three. This is more than enough time to lose all your fingers if your dumb and brave enough. Staying safe can mean just that difference so it's a great practice to perfect your safety precautions until they are second nature. Having skills like always cutting away from yourself, keeping hands firmly clear of all moving needles and scanning the floor for things like extension cords and debris will serve you well and save you from wasting time in the doctors office.

Attention to detail

If you ask any master upholster they will say that the thing that sets you apart in this business is the attention to detail. You must always ensure that every single stitch is exactly where it's meant to be and not slightly off because you were listening to your favorite song on 98Rock. "The customer could care less about whether we used a new machine that's ten times faster, safer or more accurate. They only care about the finished product" -St Petersburg based Upholstery Master

Dedication to the trade and life long learning

"Learning how to do upholstery is a life long education, even after 30 years I'm still learning". Although the core principles are all but set in stone there is constant innovation in materials, tools and techniques. Some of these new offerings end up being a bust while others can revolutionize the way a shop is run and the price tag is not the only contributing factor. Sometimes the simplest of things can actually produce the best results. For instance there was a machine that the salesman wanted $3,000 for and all it did was save us from having to grab the reels of fabric off the shelf and move them 6 feet to the workbench. He said we could try it out for free for thirty days. After about two weeks a customer came and saw the machine and decided we were so technologically advanced that he gave us a $30,000 project. Upholstery is a competitive business as there is always a demand and usually only a handful of shops in the area. Upholstery St Petersburg