Ray Clarke Upholstery & Design

Specialties

Traditional and Modern Upholstery

Re-​upholstery

Recovering

loose-​covers

Frame repair

Soft furnishings

History

Established in 2007.

Starting out as a sole trader working from home in 2007, I moved the business to a 300sq ft studio in 2009 continuing to complete a wide variety of projects for domestic and commercial environments

Meet the Business Owner

Ray C.

Business Owner

After I graduated from studying a textiles and fashion Higher National Diploma, I came to London and after a period in fashion retail I started a business making and selling «fashion/​urban bicycle wear», while trying to earn a living as a bicycle courier. My first attempt at starting a business inspired from that experience failed so badly it left me in serious debts, homeless and broke. However, at that point, what kicked this all off for me was when I was asked by a friend to restore a pair of chairs for her home. Although I didn’t at that time have a background in furniture repair & restoration, my friend knew she could rely on my former design experience and technical ability. I realised while working on the chairs how much I enjoyed «ripping down» and discovering how they were made, learning which materials could and should be used, that I could take my existing skills into a different area and hopefully picking up a good few new ones. So in September 2003, I made a decision t