do it yourself
Abby Tillery/Kansan
Ted Luber sews on a cushion cover for a client. He bought his sewing machine and said it works fine and is cheaper than a new one.
Twenty years ago, Ted Luber got laid off. At 45 with no college education, he tried various jobs without much luck. One day he ran across a friend in the upholstery business who was preparing to retire. He suggested Luber take it up. Luber, who worked mostly in sales and had never really created anything tangible, laughed at his friend. He then went home and told his wife that he needed $500 to buy an upholstery sewing machine to start his own business. She laughed at him. But his friend showed him some secrets of the trade, and started redirecting clients his way.
Today, Luber runs his upholstery business out of the basement of his house. 2430 Lazybrook Lane. He bends over the workbench, attentively affixing a faded piece of leopard print cotton to a sophisticated black fabric stretched across the workbench. Classical music plays from a small radio hidden beneath the table. Hundreds of fabric samples hang from
the rafters and fill rotating racks. Tools ranging from everyday household hammers and screwdrivers to air staplers and tack pullers line a far wall. The chair he is working on sits mounted on a workbench near the center of the room, being stripped of its leopard print skin.
Besides the secrets his friend showed him, Luber pretty much taught himself by trial and error. He tore furniture apart with household tools to see how it was put together. He recommends the same for anyone wanting to try it as a hobby or who is thinking of going into business for themselves, although he says you shouldn't walk into it with the expectation of it being easy. "If a person does not know how to sew a straight line, they should not get into upholstery," he says. Luber suggests starting with an easy project, such as reupholstering dining room chairs.
The materials you need to get started are a screwdriver, staple gun and sta-
12 jayplay
thursday, october 16, 2003