Hi there, my name is Céline Vanier aka @the_girl_with_a_hammer. I started my own business in 2012 near Annecy Lake (French Alps) where I also teach upholstery.
Running Le Boudoir des Étoffes since 2012
I was born in Haute Savoie where I run Le Boudoir des Etoffes with my dear associate. My speciality is upholstery.
Basicaly everyday I reupholster, upholster or cover something with fabric: a chair, a headboard, a sofa, or walls. Throughout the years we’ve become specialised in tricky complex designer pieces. I say “we” because with my upholstery team there is almost no piece we cannot do or redo. We really like upholstery challenges.
Also a webmaster
Don’t ask why I always have been fascinated by the possibilities offered by internet when it comes to learning. In fact I’m the geekiest upholsterer I know 😅.
Younger I created many websites and blogs. I’ve also made an Online Shop called “Le Boudoir des Étoffes” were we sell fabrics and wallpapers online in France and Europe.
Where did you learn upholstery ?
To learn upholstery techniques properly I was an apprentice for 4 years and it’s no luxury for this job where many skills are needed. Before that I was studying sociology at University, wondering what I could do with a master degree of this kind, when I truly decided that I would become an upholsterer. I just knew it would be the best job for me. I was 21.
At this age I was already one of the older “adult” student in class. In France you can start apprenticeship at 14. I was lucky I was young enough to do the “initial apprenticeship training” and not the scholar adult version wich, in France, is sadly often not very serious.
Upholstery trainer
I’m also an upholstery teacher since 2013 and I started creating tutorials so my students keep in mind what we did in the day. Then it becomes an habit and I thought it would be very useful to create even better one and share them.
Finding an online upholstery training ?
There is nothing I love more than real life workshops but when you can’t, books and online training could be very useful. Plus, it is SO HARD to find a real Upholsterer to teach you. In my life i’ve met some incredible DIYers who did great with only upholstery books and video tutorials ! But this is no reason to sell people incredibly ridiculous and expensive “online degrees”.
Usefull Online upholstery tutorials
I created this website so I can simply share my upholstery tips and tutorials with learners and pros all over the world. Not everybody gets the chance to learn in a workshop in real life, so yes I truly think some online support could help a lot.
Photo and video tutorials
love both pictures and videos tutorials and I’m always trying to offer both versions here in order to be sure you that you get every aspect of it.That is why I always use the seats I’m upholstering at the workshop to create new tutorials or add some informations to the old ones.
