Description
3 Days | January 23, 24, 25| 9:30am -3:30pmInstructor: Shelly Miller Leer
Materials you need: Students bring: chair, foam, fabric and extra embellishments.
Spaces available: 4
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✨ Come join us after the holidays for a transformative, hands-on, creative weekend. You’ll never look at an old chair the same way again!
- Cold, short January days inspire creativity and making things with our hands.
- Chairs have been my passion for decades—my go-to project for teaching creative women how to Rescue, Reimagine, Redesign and Reinvent.
- Upholstery is more than craft: it’s sustainable, therapeutic, and empowering.
- A neglected chair can become a one-of-a-kind showstopper—and so can you when you discover your creative flow.
What Upholstery Bootcamp Offers
- 3 Days of Intensive Upholstery Instruction
- Hands-on, practical learning in a supportive studio environment.
- Step-by-step instruction: tear down, rebuild, and reupholster.
- Expect hard work, creativity, laughter, and community.
- Creative & Personal Benefits
- Tap into your creativity and discover the joy of making.
- Gain confidence using tools and working with your hands.
- Experience the therapeutic “flow state” proven to reduce stress.
- Enjoy camaraderie with like-minded, motivated women.
- Who Attends
- DIY-ers, designers, professionals, entrepreneurs, moms, and lifelong learners.
- All skill levels welcome—what matters most is willingness to learn and follow instructions.
Workshop Structure
- Location: Roomy Studio in a Meridian Kessler carriage house, Indianapolis. I’m only accpeting 4 students this session. Lots of attention.
- Schedule:
- Friday–Sunday, October 3-5, 2025
- 9:30–12:30 Studio Work
- 12:30–1:30 Lunch Break
- 1:30–3:30 Studio Work (with breaks)
- Atmosphere: Hands-on, not a spa retreat—be prepared to roll up your sleeves and get busy
What You’ll Learn
- Upholstery fundamentals: Chair structure, how to tear it down and learn while you’re doing it
- Simple chair repairs and template making
- Foam cutting and beveling with the coolest power tool
- Fabric yardage estimating and selection
- Fabric layout, cutting, measuring, and smoothing
- Fabric placement
- How to make tricky post cuts
- Stapling, tacking, and finishing techniques
- Most importantly, how to fix mistakes because you will make mistakes
- Insider skills from 34+ years of professional upholstery experience.
What’s Included
- Provided by me:
- Use of Upholstery tools; materials (staples, nails, tacks, dacron, welt cord, adhesives, wood filler, sandpaper, etc.)
- Sewing machine (heavy-duty Pfaff) for necessary projects. May not be heavy enough for ultra heavy fabrics
- Hands-on guidance, demos, resources, and afternoon coffee breaks (crumpets optional! 😉
- You Provide:
- Chair (Pre-Approved): Must be an open-armed side chair (not tufted or fully upholstered).
- Click HERE to see examples of acceptable chairs
- Send photo for approval to shellyleer@gmail.com
- Foam: Ordered ahead based on chair needs (guidance provided). No Joann Fabric requires you plan ahead for foam.
- Fabric: Purchased after consultation; most projects require 2.5–3 yards.
Important Notes
- Physical Demands: Upholstery requires strong hands, wrists, and arms—come prepared to work hard.
- Focus: This is a learning class; choose an affordable chair and fabric suitable for a first project.
- Pace: Perfection isn’t the goal—progress and practice are. Mastery takes time.
- Outcome: Leave with a finished chair, new skills, and confidence to take on future projects.
The Experience
- A creative getaway but Bootcamp-style. It’s hard work filled with learning, laughter, and creativity.
- Build lasting friendships and memories with like minded souls.
- Walk away with:
- A custom reupholstered chair done by you with your own two hands
- Brand new lifelong skills.
- A renewed sense of creative empowerment.
Policies
- Workshop is priced for one chair only.
- Refunds not available; class credits offered.
- All chairs must be pre-approved to ensure completion in 3 days. Again, check samples HERE.
Read our Policy carefully right HERE
