We’ve got it covered! Upholstery workshops at City College Peterborough

Sofa looking worn? Favourite armchair seen better days? Or do you just crave something new for the living room without spending a fortune? Sue Martin, upholstery tutor at City College Peterborough, can help...

Sue Martin has been teaching upholstery at City College Peterborough for 34 years, but the very first thing you notice about her is that her enthusiasm hasn’t dimmed in the slightest. If anything, it seems like it has increased.

‘You can create so many different looks – that’s why I love it still! There is so much choice of fabric out there, and so many choices of styles. I can see an idea in a magazine somewhere, and then talk about it with the student, and if it’s appropriate for their piece we can try out those new styles ourselves. So it’s really satisfying, really creative, really good fun!’

‘There was suddenly great demand. People realised they could do it themselves’

When Sue started, there wasn’t quite the variety we enjoy now. ‘Back in 1980 the pieces people brought in tended to be very traditional. And the fabrics were very limited. When I first started there was dralon – which was in pink, green or dark red – or possibly a damask. And that was about the choice!’ It all changed around 20 years ago when the first of the Changing Rooms-type TV makeover programmes happened. ‘There was suddenly great demand. People realised they could do it themselves. And, in the last ten years, it’s also been considered eco-friendly, because it’s recycling an old piece and giving it a new lease of life.’

Sue’s classes now offer the opportunity for anyone to brighten up their home and transform a piece that may be old and worn into something fresh and exciting. ‘Everyone brings their own project and then I help them with that,’ she says. ‘That can range from sofas and armchairs – dozens of styles – to ottomans, headboards, and soft furnishings, which I also do. So… [cont]