My interest in upholstery started when my parents had their three piece suite recovered. After looking at it for a while, I thought that I could of done a better job. For some practise, my grandmother let me recover the arm pads on her chairs. My father and brother-in-law recovered an armchair at home which raised my interest further. When I was 15, I started my apprenticeship at Drummond Manufacturing Company. The company was owned by Maples and was where all of Maples furniture was made. In my spare time, I worked for an antique shop in Finchley Road owned by a Mr and Mrs Scheck. While they were acquiring another shop for me to work in, I worked for 4 weeks at a piecework shop in Camden Town called Harris’s. In my last week at Harris’s, I earned £20, which was £4 more than the top men at Maples. After 4 years working in a basement, I decided to go self employed. I found a small workshop in Golders Green which cost £5 per week. With the £20 I was already earning, I had to earn £25 a week to break even. In the first week a lady knocked on the door and asked me to recover her two arm chairs. I charged her £70, this was less than a weeks work. I was now in business!
