Alison is in possession of a store’s worth of New Old Stock upholstery — fabrics and vinyls — but wants our help. What designs of vintage upholstery are in demand among Retro Renovators today? Read on — then help me give her advice that may save this vintage treasure.
A few years ago, my family bought out an old upholstery supply shop that started in 1946. The company had a ton of old upholstery fabric and vinyl from the 1960s and 1970s. Some is actually even older, but the records have been lost.
It wasn’t moving from the shelf at all, and the corporate company decision was to junk it. My crafty and creative self couldn’t let this gorgeous supply of fabrics go, especially if craftsmen and creators could use it to enhance their projects. To prevent all this fabric from ending up in a landfill, I have been trying to catalog and post a few samples on Etsy. Unfortunately it is labor intensive and time consuming to sort, measure, and catalog hundreds of bolts of fabric, and I am beginning to wonder if the corporate decision might have made more sense and if there is even enough demand for vintage upholstery fabric to justify the effort.
I would love to get your feedback on the products listed. If you know of any highly sought after styles or patterns from this time period I’d love to know, so I can pick them out before all this fabric gets sent to the landfill.
What’s marketable — and how should Alison proceed to sell her New Old Stock successfully and efficiently?
Super exciting, Alison — there’s almost nothing we get more excited about than New Old Stock from old stores and warehouses. To help get started, here are a few of my ideas:
- Offer samples — People doing reupholstery projects really need to be sure the fabric works. As part of each listing, or as a separate listing, I think you need to offer sample-sized pieces. I’d say at least 9″ x 9″.
- Focus on bolts with lots of yardage — Folks doing reupholstery generally need a lot of yardage. A sofa requires like 20+ yards! So, I’d focus on cataloguing and listing the fabrics with the most yardage first.
- List total yardage in the listing — Relatedly, list the total yardage available in the main listing or even in the heading. This will help people narrow down to the fabrics that might work for them. You might also categorize the listings similarly. Right now, you have Upholstery, Vinyl, and Fabric categories. I’d add Less than five yards, 5-10 yards, More than 10 yards, More than 20 yards. You could also consider other categories such as: 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s … and Florals, Plush, Screen-printed.
- What’s marketable — So now to the $64,000 question. There is more than one to retro, so golly, there are niches of folks looking for everything.
- One of the first things that I did when I got my vintage dining room set was to reupholster the seats. This did not take much yardage. I used a plush, hearty velvet-like, tone-on-tone fabric.
- Florals, meh: In upholstery or fabric, our readers likely aren’t going to go for these, unless the flowers are 1960s flower power. I do see you sold some that were flocked or satin-ized — those are a different era of retro, find more!
- All your vinyls should do well, I think — folks are always wanting to reupholster bar stools and banquettes and the like, and you have some winning designs.
- 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, but not 1980s or 90s — If you’re prioritizing, go for the early years. 1950s and 1960s fabrics new old stock are hard to find; very desirable.
- Got any barkcloth? SUPER desirable!
- How about tiki/Hawaiian/Polynesian? Should sell!
- Frieze — added per Georgia Peachez comment. Here’s what frieze looks like, for those who are not familiar with the term.
- Chinoiserie — per Shann.
- Anything Knoll-like, per ineffablespace, and I’d add: Maharam.
- Also see ineffablespace’s comments re pricing and sampling.
- 1970s design is rising in popularity — I love corduroys, for example — and please, don’t fear the wacky — like the Bicentennial fabric. Wacky is good.
- Novelty patterns of any era might find buyers.
- But 1980s and 1990s — I’d shove those bolts to the back and wait a few more years.
- Last but not least: Watch what sells and go dig through your stash to find more like it to list.
- Oh and one more thing: I’m sure you were saying it would ‘go to a landfill’ kind of casually. If bolts don’t sell, I am sure that places like Goodwill could always use them. And, a ReStore Habitat for Humanity might take the vinyl, considering they often also sell furniture and appeal to Do-It-Yourselfers.
- Readers, don’t forget we already have one other source for NOS vinyls — see this story.
Thank you for writing, Alison, this is all quite exciting! Good luck!
Readers, take a good look at Alison’s etsy show here.
Then, we’d love to hear your thoughts on her questions too!
Alicia says
I have a 1958 ranch oak living room suite that needs to be re-upholstered so I am in the market for vintage or retro fabric that will cover a sofa and two side chairs.
I’ll check your site to see what is available.
Rel8ted says
My husband bought out a bespoke tailor shop a few years ago that was PACKED with vintage 1960s suiting wools. These were the finest wools of the day & in all the craziest patterns from lightning bolts to loud plaids with a few conservative patterns. And they sold amazingly well. If she is willing to ship anywhere, Etsy is the place to sell. He has buyers from Australia, England, and all sorts of artists, designers and creators worldwide snatched them up. I can’t imagine this would be any different. He never fooled with samples except one time when a designer was buying 40 pieces and wasn’t sure about the color of 1. It’s a lot of work, yes. It’s also a very good profit. If she tags her items correctly on Etsy, once the fabric starts to sell, it will disappear quickly.
Bonnie says
Oh, golly, don’t put it in the landfill! All of the earlier listed ideas sound good to me. Do you have a child who can help you measure and sort? Or could you hire someone?
Susie Q. says
I looked at the etsy listings and here ya go–
1. The banner for your store is impressive: seeing the fabric close up really makes me want to buy it. You should have an extreme closeup of each pattern you’re selling.
2. If you can photograph the selvage where the manufacturer’s name, date, pattern name, and fabric content is printed, that will help too.
2. You should list when the fabric repeats. (For example, I liked the “native vintage upholstery,” but I’d need to know when the pattern repeated if I were using it for a project.)
3. You should also photograph patterns from at least 4-5 ft away. If I’m covering my couch, I need to know what the fabric will look like from a distance. For instance, fabrics with interwoven red and blue threads will probably look purple from a distance. I need to know this before I spend a few hundred bucks!
4. When you’re listing the fabric content, you need to include percentages (if you have them).
My favorites were the striped and nubby fabrics. Least favorite were the ones described as “baroque” and/or most of the florals (the two that sold are pretty, though).
denise says
I especially agree with showing the pattern from a distance. For me, 12 feet away would be preferable. Most of the time we see our furniture from a distance unless we are sitting on it.
joan says
I actually paid good money for a Duvet set in the blue damask in the pattern and color above (bottom left pic). It wears wonderfully even with dogs and cats getting on it. Some of those patterns are classics and so will never be out of style. They used to use damask to cover mattresses in lots of beautiful colors and patterns. Today mattresses are all boring white. Also, I wouldn’t want to see any material end up in a dump. Here in Nova Scotia Canada we recycle fabric. You can drop off at recycle centers.
K. Stacey says
First thing I would do is search ebay’s SOLD listings for vintage upholstery fabric and see what is demanding the highest price, how they word the listings, etc. For desirability in general? I would focus on the hot retro-trend (if those two words can properly be used together?) COLORS. I mean, if my home is predominately, say, aqua/lime/orange, it doesn’t matter how cool I think a purple and gold pattern is, I’m not likely to purchase any. On the other hand, something may be a decade or so off in the appropriate ‘era’, but if it’s rockin’ the right palette, I would swoon and impulse buy, no doubt, haha! Letting all the upholstery shops in town know that you have it in stock, they may have people looking for it already. You would have to work out some kind of cut/commission with them, but if the alternative is tossing it, that should be easy. Living in Dallas we have stores that seem to do nothing but refurbish MCM stuff to sell, if you can reach out to those kind of places they would probably jump on it!
Nay says
Offer them to quilters!
Quilt makers love those bright colors and patterns. You can cut them into quilt blocks and sell them like that or by the yard.
Put together a few assortments on Etsy “1950s pack” “1970s pack” etc under quilting supplies. Pre cut a few and sell at a good rate. Quilting is just the thing for these upcoming winter nights and at the right price, they will be out the door. People love these unusual and different type of patterns you can’t get anymore.
pam kueber says
Great suggestion. Question, though: Are upholstery fabrics too heavy for quilting?
Madeline says
Pam, from my experience these types of fabrics would not make for decent quilting material, due to the weight and hand.
But they could make someone’s vintage sofa or set of chairs look splendid again…
(I am very saddened by the idea of “vintage upholstery fat quarters”…)
pam kueber says
I see quilts at estate sales made of upholstery leftovers. I am not a quilter but would think that as long as all the pieces are the same weight, it would work.
Retroski says
Quilting! I almost forgot that idea!
Re: Pam, YES, you can use upholstery fabric for quilting, it just depends on fabric weight.
Typical Quilting cotton weight reminds of good bed sheets or light denim. For a bedspread, where you want some give, I think anything akin to light denim or suiting weight, to barkcloth would work great. It would work better cut in simple patterns vs more intricate ones.
For things that could use some stiffness, like accent pillows, wall hangings, seat covers and table runners, light to medium upholstery weight is ok.
Like if you can see it being used in a purse or a pillow, it could work!
I could totally see some sweet accent pillows done up in a pinwheel pattern with a print and a solid!
Display tip: showing pictures of the fabric hanging and folded, plus offering samples could help a quilter figure out if it’ll work.
The assortment pack idea is great! Or a mix n match option where quilters can pick fat quarters of coordinating retro fabrics.
Madeline says
I hate to say this, but the thought of cutting up vintage upholstery fabric for quilters makes me want to cry! (Please don’t do this!!!)
🙁 🙁 🙁
Have people run out of vintage furniture in need of recovering…?!
pam kueber says
I disagree. There is soooooooo much stuff out there. Find uses for it however you can!
Madeline says
It could be that being in England, with its distinct lack of intact vintage fabrics, has sharpened my hoarding instincts…! 😉
Marilyn Watson says
I agree with you Madeline totally… but if it won’t sell except to Quilters then I guess there is no alternative. I hate it also…it would be so cool for some of this to go to Drapes and bedspreads and then out of that pillows or quilts. In my Grandmother’s time that is how they did quilts… left over material… from making clothes or Drapes…
the florals would be great for a 40’s project and the Birds and Bells fabric reminds me of the drapes in That Darn Cat in Hayley Mills Bedroom. So that might be early 60’s..
tammyCA says
Yeah, frieze fabric (cut velvet), barkcloth, tropical patterns are perennial favorites..oh, to bring back making the good stuff!
It seems the ’70s/’80s fabrics would be something the movie/TV industry would want for period shows..their designers shop ebay & etsy.
pam kueber says
tammyCA, I would not call frieze cut velvet. When I use the term, I am talking about a heavy, looped, tight pattern. I have two — will do a story later this week!
Carolyn says
Pam, please have the best close-ups possible to compare the differences.
Allison says
Well, this was amazing!
I just bought a few yards of this lady’s fabric in a colorway and pattern I have long been envisioning for redoing a sweet Danish armchair that was abandoned in the Ramshackle Beach Cottage.
Over the last year or two I have been desultorily looking for fabric in a pattern I loved from my grandmas’ house in the early 60s. This was not a match, but is similar enough; I couldn’t be more pleased.
Thanks, Alison for listing it and RR for posting about it.
Now I’ll have to actually start working on the chair!
Cathy says
Any cracked ice vinyl? Some green would be an amazing find!