Trade Secrets - Gordon Arthurs & Son (Upholsterers)

Trade Secrets: Gordon Arthurs & Son

Name: Gordon Arthurs

Business name: Gordon Arthurs & Son

Where are you based? 5 Oxford Street, next door to the Dart Harbour office in Dartmouth.

What do you do? We repair, refurbish and upholster furniture. We are the last upholsterer left in the town.

When did you start the company? I have lived in Dartmouth since 1967 and started the upholstery business 23 years ago. It’s a proper family business with my son, Michael, having now worked for the business himself for 15 years. Michael was born in Dartmouth.

What were you before? I worked for International Stores, now known as Somerfields.

What type of upholstery do you do? We get asked to do a wide range of work. Sometimes from scratch as well as repairs, renovation and restoration. Anything from 3 piece suites to individual chairs, antique or modern. We also do French-polishing.

Approximately 60% of our work is domestic, the rest either marine or local businesses. We do alot of work for boats e.g. seat cushions, bunks etc. Indeed, from Christmas through to Easter, we would have worked on 10 boats.

We often get called to replace cushion infills, an easy way to breathe new life back into a sofa or chair. We can provide feather, foam or hollow-fill. We will make up bed headboards to the customer’s design & fabric of their choice. 

We are members of The Association of Master Upholsterers & Soft Furnishers and consequently have access to a much wider range of fabrics than is usual.

Where do you do the work? Here in the shop. One small room for upholstery, another for furniture repairs and French polishing.

Where do your customers come from? They are mostly local, from Dartmouth and surrounding villages, although we find a lot of second homeowners bring their furniture from their main homes down to us for repair. We get a lot of pleasure from having our old customers keep coming back to us.

What type of work is the most demanding? Any work in leather or alcantara (a man-made material, mostly from Italy, that’s similar to suede). We did all the leatherwork in the Royal Castle Hotel.

What type of work gives you most pleasure? I really enjoy and personally specialise in antique furniture re-upholstery and restoration.

Any interesting work undertaken? Well just last month, we restored a 2-seat sofa of an unusual design made by Sir Malcolm Campbell, the famous land-speed record holder of the 1920’s and 1930’s.

Any tips for By The Dart readers? If you have a piece of furniture you like the design of and is comfortable – or perhaps its size or shape is important, a key factor for Dartmouth residents – you would be well-advised to keep it fresh and long-lasting by having it regularly renovated and upholstered. Good quality furniture, well maintained, really can give a lifetime of pleasure.

For more information call 01803 832798. 5 Oxford Street, Dartmouth

First Published March 2008, By The Dart