Foreword I've been known to say that if I ever won the lottery, the first thing I would do is have all of my furniture upholstered in beautiful patterned fabric. And if I had my first choice of upholsterers, that person would be Amanda Brown. When I was younger I thought of upholstery as something only fancy or stuffy people had done. I remembered all of the scratchy formal couches my grandparents had and couldn't imagine ever being interested in such a thing. But in 2003 everything changed. I moved to Brooklyn, started immersing myself in the design world, and was blown away by all of the beautiful textile designs coming out from younger artists. Their fabrics were affordable, fun, and the opposite of stuffy. But unfortunately, no one seemed to be doing anything with them other than making pillow after pillow. Then I discovered Spruce. Amanda Brown led the wave of upholsterers who started looking at found and vintage furniture and reimagining it with bold, contemporary fabrics. In Amanda's skillful hands, old sofas, chairs, and ottomans were transformed into hip new furniture for younger families, and the community noticed. Spruce may have started as a local Austin business, but the influence of Amanda's work and taste has spread across the country. Whether you're looking to reupholster your very first thrift store score or want to tackle every piece of furniture in your home, Amanda can teach you how. But she doesn't stop there. Her ideas for combining different fabrics and using found materials like vintage embroideries will open your eyes to all of the incredible ways you can give your old or used furniture new life. Trust Amanda. She's been teaching students to reupholster for years now and you're all about to get a master class from a seriously talented -- and tastemaking -- master. -- Grace Bonney, founder of Design*Sponge Excerpted from Spruce: A Step-by-Step Guide to Upholstery and Design by Amanda Brown All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
