Re-upholstery is more than restoration of items from the past. It is the artful practice of updating furniture to link the past with your present lifestyle - and with your dreams for the future. People are sometimes surprised to find that re-upholstery is often not less expensive than buying new, especially in the current environment of low-cost, low-quality mass production. It is, rather, an investment in skilled craftsmanship and artistic vision - a wonderful opportunity to exercise your own creativity as you partner with a professional who has the passion, experience and eye to guide you through the process of making your idea of the perfect piece a reality.
Your furniture is where life happens. The chairs, sofas and ottomans in your home have supported you on occasions momentous and minor and everything in between: a first kiss, a marriage proposal, a brief rest after a long day. Maybe you cradled your baby on that sofa, cried on someone's shoulder, or held someone's hand. And those chairs are where you've settled, countless times, to have coffee with neighbors and eat meals with your family. Your favorite furniture is where you've lounged as you've disappeared into your favorite books, made your best plans and dreamed your biggest dreams.
When I repair and recover pieces of furniture, I often find artifacts that tell a tale: a stray earring, a beloved toy, a candid Polaroid, some glitter from that one New Year's Eve... What an honor to be witness to that history and to preserve and prepare your furnishings to be part of your ongoing story! I want the furniture you love to continue to be there for you when you need to rest, or a place to think. To be there when your children come to visit with their children. To still be there when your grand-children are grown and need a comfy place to discuss great ideas, tell stories about the old days and dream of days to come.
If you'd like to learn more about all things upholstery, I encourage you to visit the National Upholstery Association webpage. You'll find a host of informational resources there - including a series of blog posts by yours truly.
Why choose Monday Wash?
I love what I do. I entered this trade by way of a very simple question: “If you could do anything in the world as your job, what would it be?” Given that my previous field of employment was international public health, I was as surprised as anyone by my gut response: “Fix furniture.” But there was a core logic to it. I have worked as a teacher, as a public health program developer/coordinator and as a writer. The bottom line is this: I am a maker - of curricula and social service programs, but also of food, gardens and furnishings. My greatest strength in doing any and all of these tasks is my vision of what can be, even when others are skeptical, followed closely by the ability to pull all of the necessary pieces together to make it happen - be they people and ideas or bits of wood and fabric.
Today, I am happiest using my hands to build bold and beautiful things that are like no other. It's important to me that those things also bring comfort and that they are useful, that they serve and support, that they preserve the best of the past while reaching for the future, and that they will last. When a piece of furniture comes into my shop, I am honored and I give it commensurate care and respect. When I transform that piece into something spectacular, and completely original, to be treasured by you and yours – something that makes you smile and hug me and maybe even jump up and down - then I am truly joyful.
Monica Rhodes, Owner
Monday Wash Rescued, Reimagined & Restyled Furniture
Chicago, IL
5/14/2020
