Vacancy: Furniture restorer and upholsterer

About the Company

Guild Antiques & Restoration is a small antique furniture restoration & upholstery company based near the Glasgow School of Art in Glasgow City Centre. Our small friendly team of 4 skilled craftspeople work to exacting standards, using traditional tools and techniques to expertly breathe life back into client’s heirlooms and to preserve our rich heritage of furniture pieces for future generations. We restore furniture commissions for a diverse range of clients including individual pieces of sentimental value, pieces for interior designers and entire country houses full of neglected furniture needing care and attention. We have the expertise to source rare and beautiful pieces of furniture which we painstakingly restore and offer for sale. The ultimate in recycling, a piece with a missing leg and its stuffing hanging out, can be utterly transformed. Covered in Venetian velvet or Italian embroideries with trim from Paris and studs from England, it becomes a stunning feature piece to compliment any interior. Additionally, we offer a curtain and Roman blind making service and make cushions, bed heads and soft furnishings. Our website is www.guild.scot

Job Description

This is a varied role for someone with skills in furniture restoration. You will be responsible for all aspects of restoring antique and modern furniture, from removing old fabric, re-gluing furniture frames, polishing, re-webbing, springing, stuffing, stitching, reupholstering and trimming. You will also be responsible for following cutting lists to cut out fabrics and for making up box and scatter cushions. You will also have to hand-cane panels in antique furniture and insert sheet cane into modern antiques. You will work alongside our current team of 4 people to provide the very highest quality of service to our discerning customers. At times you will be required to talk to visitors and demonstrate restoration processes to interested customers. You will be required to be flexible and carry out any other reasonable duties and responsibilities as directed by supervisors.

Key Responsibilities

Upholstering furniture – both traditional and modern e.g. webbing, springing, lashing, stuffing, stitched edges, independent sprung edges, attaching final fabrics, trims and cords, buttoning. Rattan caning – traditional hand-woven cane and modern sheet cane Making scatter and box cushions Hand stitching – mostly slip stitching upholstery edges, but also occasionally blanket stitching and embroidery Machine sewing Curtain making, including hand stitching interlined curtains, making Roman blinds Polishing wood with shellac polish Occasional woodwork repairs Working together with a team on large projects

Experience and Knowledge

Must have demonstrable experience of upholstering both traditional and modern furniture in a business environment Ability to hand weave cane panels essential Experience of machine sewing, hand stitching essential Experience of embroidering desirable

Key Skills

You should have great attention to detail as quality is key. Must be reliable, punctual, enthusiastic, hardworking and be able to chat to customers. As we are a small business flexibility and a willingness to get stuck in when things need done is necessary.

Education, Qualifications and Training

HND in Furniture Restoration & Upholstery desireable Some on the job training can be given to fill gaps in knowledge as needed