Wellmans Upholstery, what can I say. I contacted Wellmans in the fall of 2019 to discuss reupholstering our three pieces of 100 year old furniture, a couch and two chairs. At that time there were four or maybe five people working at Wellmans. The founder, Kevin's father, the owner Kevin, the manager Mat, another relative and possibly one other. We discussed how we wanted the couch and chairs to be done, the old fashion way with cotton and no foam. Kevin's father gave us glaring looks each time no foam was mentioned. We agreed to start work within two weeks on the couch with the chairs to follow. It was discovered that the frame of the couch was in bad shape so I brought it home, dismantled the wood frame and rebuilt it with new dowels, glue and pocket screws for added strength along with a new finish to the wood. A few new springs needed to ordered plus a special flat braid trim for the upholstery finish. The trim took much longer to have delivered than expected but we were told it was finally on the way. The cushions became an issue. Kevin refused to rebuild them as they were done originally, he would only use foam. So I ordered three custom made Marshall coil spring inner cushions to replace our old inner spring cushions.
Finally the couch was finished and we picked it up and agreed that the chairs would follow in the spring. We discovered that there were several places in the finished wood that had been damaged from staples accidentally being placed there instead of on the fabric. We also noticed that the flat braid trim was not what we had ordered, a different color, but the worst of it all was that the Marshall cushions were covered in foam, exactly what I had told them not to do. Marshall cushions are to be wrapped in many layers of cotton as were the original cushions. The foam lasted less than six weeks because it is not compatible with spring cushions.
We had the original springs in storage so my wife made individual pockets for each spring, about one hundred, and sewed the springs into each pocket. I then hand stitched each spring pocket with a special twine for this to create the original inner cushions. They were then wrapped in several layers of cotton and inserted into the cushion covers. The cushions have been in use nearly two years and doing well.
As for the chairs. The pandemic hit and the chairs were put on hold for a year. In early 2021, I rebuilt the wood frames of the two chairs and refinished the wood as I had done with the couch frame. In April Mat told me that they were about 4 to 6 weeks out but to bring the chairs in the first of May. I told Matt about the issues that we had with the trim and cushions on the couch. Each time I checked on the progress the work was put off another two months. Kevin would say if you want to go ahead and take the chairs with you if you can't wait. He was very rude and told us not to listen to anything that Mat, the manager, had to say as he doesn't know what he is talking about. We went along with this for six months and then in mid October, Kevin said that he would start work the following Monday. Before that would actually happen Kevin sent me an email saying that they had decided not to do the work and that I could pick up my chairs. At this time there is just the two of them doing the work, Kevin and Mat, everyone else has left.
I will say this for Wellmans Upholstery that the actual upholstery work was very good, above average but not exactly the best. The price was also fair but the rudeness and poor management make them hard deal with. Sadly they continue to book more work and are so far behind that it may take many months before they can even start on a new project. As Kevin pointed out one day, on one of his good days, a Hot Rod car has been sitting in the shop for six months and he still doesn't have the time to get to it. If you have the time and don't care if low quality foam is used in the chair or couch, and can put up with mood changes as well as who is in charge, then this is the place for you. Choose wisely as you may regret your decision. read more
