Grove Upholstery

Stuart Coote upholsters furniture from a workshop in a Georgian coachhouse at Stable Yard in Chagford, working on antique pieces and modern furniture using traditional hand methods rather than machine production. Frames are stripped back, re-webbed and re-stuffed with traditional materials before new show covers are cut and fitted by hand, a process that takes considerably longer than factory reupholstery but keeps original frames and horsehair or coir stuffing in use rather than sending them to landfill. He takes on commissions from private customers bringing in family furniture as well as smaller trade jobs, and welcomes visitors to the workshop by arrangement rather than keeping fixed retail hours. The business is part of the wider Dartmoor Artisan Trail, a loose network of makers who open their workshops to the public, though Coote works alone from the single Chagford premises rather than as part of a larger workshop or cooperative.