The Dark Art of Upholstery: Building a Bespoke British Furniture Business from the Ground Up

Robin Johnson sits down with Jeff McGurty, founder and owner of D&P Upholstery in Gateshead, one of the North East's most established bespoke upholstery businesses. Jeff built his company from a one-man band operating out of evenings and weekends into a seven-person team with a brand new, five times larger workshop in Team Valley. In this episode, Jeff and Robin pull back the curtain on the upholstery trade: a craft that is simultaneously a dark art, a dying art, and a business full of genuine opportunity for those who approach it with curiosity and commercial instinct.

They cover the nuts and bolts of running a split commercial and domestic upholstery operation, the frustrations of dealing with premium fabric suppliers, the smart play of building a client base through interior designers, and the calculated growth decisions that took Jeff from moonlighting in a small unit to leading a team and developing a new product range under his own brand, Forme. If you work in the trades, run a craft business, or simply love hearing how skilled makers build real businesses from raw skill, this episode delivers.

Key Topics Covered

1. The realities of running a bespoke upholstery business in the UK today
2. Why targeting interior designers is one of the smartest growth strategies in the trades
3. The frustrations of dealing with high-end fabric suppliers and why cheaper fabrics often outperform expensive ones
4. How Jeff grew DNP Upholstery by buying an existing business, retaining its staff, and scaling it up
5. The role of AI visualisation software in transforming how designers and clients spec upholstery projects
6. The modular sofa system that allows Jeff to offer 20 different designs without building 20 different sofas
7. The honest truth about taking on apprentices and the rising cost of employing people
8. Why hiring a floor manager was the single biggest change that unlocked business growth
9. The decline of British furniture manufacturing and what the upholstery trade looks like today
10. Plans for upholstery workshops open to the public and why they double as a powerful marketing tool
11. Jeff's advice for anyone wanting to get into upholstery as a career

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Yours for the Making with Robin Johnson is the podcast that celebrates creativity, craftsmanship, and the art of making. Hosted by Robin Johnson — founder of Johnson Bespoke and BBC presenter on The Travelling Auctioneers, The Restorers, Woodland Workshop — this podcast dives into the stories of makers from all walks of life. From woodworkers, metal fabricators, and chefs to artists, designers, and hobbyists, each episode offers real conversations with the people behind the things we love.

Whether you're a hands-on creative, aspiring artisan, or simply curious about how things are made, this podcast offers inspiration, insight, and practical wisdom. Expect behind-the-scenes stories, lessons in process and passion, and a celebration of the maker movement in all its forms.

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Key Moments:

00:00 Robin introduces Jeff McGurty and opens with the idea of upholstery as a dark art, hidden craft work that disguises whatever sits beneath it

01:30 Jeff breaks down the 50/50 split between domestic re-upholstery and commercial bespoke seating, and how subcontracting frame-making keeps the operation lean

02:35 The pair dig into the absurdity of dealing with premium fabric suppliers: week-long quotes, discontinued stock, and bureaucratic trade account processes that slow down real work

04:12 Jeff compares expensive fabrics to designer brands and explains why mid-range fabrics with strong rub-test results often do a better job

05:59 Jeff's origin story: Sports Science, two weeks of work experience as a PE teacher, and a summer job that changed everything

08:11 The business decision that shaped Jeff's early growth: building relationships with interior designers rather than chasing direct-to-consumer work

11:49 How Jeff ended up working above one of his interior designer clients, and the move that eventually led him to buy DNP Upholstery from its retiring founders Derek and Pam

14:55 Jeff reveals the new modular sofa range being developed under the Form brand, including AI-powered fabric visualisation software built for trade-only use

18:11 The clever modular arm system that lets Jeff show 20 distinct sofa designs using a single seat and back unit with interchangeable arms

21:07 Robin's honest account of buying a sofa online and why he will never do it again

23:39 The best cushion filling? Jeff argues for a foam core with a feather wrap: structure without the sag

24:27 Jeff's most unusual project: a Chesterfield sofa made entirely from Paul Collingwood's cricket jerseys, each diamond panel featuring a different team badge

27:29 Why employing people remains the hardest part of running the business, and what went wrong with previous apprentices

29:08 A frank conversation about rising National Insurance contributions, minimum wage pressures, and the real cost of employment for small trade businesses

33:52 The turning point: bringing on a business manager freed Jeff from admin and let him focus entirely on pricing and growth

40:57 Introducing Forme: Jeff's new consumer brand, built around a British racing green and gold identity, with a trade website and AI fabric visualisation tool

43:16 Jeff's advice for anyone wanting to get into upholstery: knock on doors, find the local hot spots, and stay curious

50:43 Why TV programmes like The Repair Shop have helped raise public awareness and appreciation of upholstery as a craft

51:06 Jeff announces plans for monthly public upholstery workshops at the new Team Valley premises