I just delivered my latest project to one of my best clients — Shultzie, owner of The Paperdoll in downtown Bellingham. She found this settee on Craigslist in Seattle and I couldn’t resist working with her to design something that would fit her shop’s unique style.

Both Shultzie and I agreed that this print by designer Samantha Hahn would be PERFECT for the ultra feminine curves of this piece. We discovered Samantha’s design on Spoonflower.com but found out that it wasn’t for sale. A couple of honest and diplomatic emails from Shultzie to Samantha and we had the go ahead to use the fabric. 

Usually I liken upholstered pieces of furniture to pieces of fruit. Some can look fine on the outside, but once opened up they can unveil wormholes which can equal loss of integrity. That’s one of the things that keeps things interesting for sure. I thought this settee would be one of those things that needed quite a bit of structural repair as there seemed to be a lot of “give” to the back of the piece. How surprised was I to discover that the entire thing had a steel frame? This explained the “give” but also told me that the ENTIRE THING had to be hand stitched!! Needless to say, by the end of the project my hands were all but bleeding. Actually they were bleeding, but I’d rather not talk about that . . .


Anyhoo . . . here is the final result. It definitely met my expectations and looks right at home in Shultzie’s shop.