The Festival of Upholstery is set to open its doors to country’s upholsters again this year, with more participants and a new venue.
The second festival will take place at the National Conference Centre, near Hampton in Arden, Solihull on 2-3 October.
The inaugural event was held last October at The Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst and attracted nearly 500 visitors, including from Australia.
The festival – for professional upholsterers and upholstery students – will also incorporate a series of courses in the days leading up to it: 2025’s included freehand deep buttoning, Danish paper cord seat weaving, traditional mattress making, Passimenterie making, Scandinavian springing techniques, hand-stitched lampshade making and classic French upholstery.
‘An evening social event at last year’s festival allowed 200 people to come together to meet old friends, make new connections and celebrate the craft that brought us together. The dinner this year promises to be even better,’ says Kirsty Lockwood, Festival of Upholstery chair and founder.
Frustrated by the lack of a central, accessible community for upholsterers, who often work by themselves, Lockwood set about gathering a team of people to pool their skills to help organise an event with community at its heart. The event is designed to allow upholsterers of every background to come together to share knowledge, discover new materials and techniques and to feel part of a thriving community.
‘We are delighted to be able to bring the Festival of Upholstery back for 2026, offering visitors the chance to immerse themselves in a whole new programme of events. We’ve listened to all the feedback we received at last year’s event and have some exciting new ideas for this year’s festival.’
