Friday 24 May 2013

Guest Post Book Review - Contemporary Upholstery by Hannah Stanton

Hello!
I feel very lucky to have this lovely lady on my blog today.
Nico aka Ophelia Button is part of the Craft Mafia and runs the Lo-Fi group in Manchester to which I go on a regular basis. Being totally honest, it is up there with my most favourite things to do. 
Nico is the queen of craft and I have discovered, over the last few months, she can turn her hand to almost anything and do it really well. The speed at which she mastered crochet was rather annoying ;)

The books Nico gets sent to review are top notch, and she often uses the ideas and skills in the books to create a Lo-Fi craft idea. The first book we are sharing is about cool furniture upholstery...might be a bit tricky to re-create in a bar in manchester in only a few hours but the second book, to be shared tomorrow, is about embroidery and that is what we will be trying at the next meeting. Right up my street!

From what I can see of this book I am defo going to order one.
I love jazzing up old furniture with funky fabrics but my skill levels leave a lot to be desired.
I have googled images of Hannah's work and popped by her website and I can tell you that she is really current and has a quirky style that I for one can really appreciate.
I love all of her ideas.  
Let us know what you think!

Contemporary Upholstery – Author – Hannah Stanton   
Published by Jacqui Small www.jacquismallpub.com 
Review by Nico Dawson 'Manchester Craft Mafia founder member' and host of Lo Fi DIY. 


A much needed book. I no longer need to scour 
shelves questioning whether I should pay out for a 
book that isn’t really quite what I wanted. I have 
two chairs in a crafting queue awaiting a new look 
and at last I have help… Thank you! 
The front cover, as you can see displays some great       
enticing retro styled examples.  
The back cover states ‘If you can sew, you can 
upholster’ this inspires me with confidence! 
The contents and resource listings are simple 
making the book easy to use and great for 
referencing. 
The book is broken down into 3 main sections;  
First is an overview of the tools and materials, the 
photographs here are essential and assist with 
understanding of the techniques. 




Second is detailed advice on choosing and working with fabric, including designing your own. This 
advice is generally very useful. 
The final section shows step by step tutorials and techniques 
which are not project specific. Perfect as our chosen pieces will 
all have their own individual shapes! Great diagrams accompany 
the instructions, and the visuals and styling are inspiring, one of 
my favourites being the retro armchair and giant ruler. I need to 
get my giant ruler on display! Yes I do have one! 
The featured pieces are inspiring and the techniques seem 
achievable. 
I have even learnt how to fix the tear in my Habitat chesterfield 
which is about 20 years old but I need it to live forever!  
The following discount has been set up especially for Manchester Craft Mafia and friends! 


To order Contemporary Upholstery (9781906417918) for £16.00 including p&p* (RRP: £20.00), 
telephone 01903 828503 and quote offer code JS214. Or send a cheque made payable to: 
Littlehampton Book Services Mail Order Department, Littlehampton Book Services, PO Box 4264, 
Worthing, West Sussex BN13 3TG. Please quote the offer code JS214 and include your name and 
address details. *UK ONLY - Please add £2.50 if ordering from overseas. 

Thanks for reading. x

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