WHITELEY AND HANDCRAFTS
With a dedicated line of scissors spanning the entire handcrafting industry, Whiteley’s provide industrial-grade cutting solutions for all materials used in upholstery, home sewing and crafts.
Ministry of Upholstery: award-winning upholstery school in Manchester, UK
The Ministry of Upholstery was founded in 2010 by Anthony Devine, an upholstery specialist well known for his appearance on the BBC1 programme ‘Money For Nothing’, where he reupholstered a sofa using bespoke, digitally printed fabric of his own photography.
With a background in producing and installing hand-made furniture for huge names such as Rocco Forte, Harvey Nichols and Crowne Plaza Hotels, Devine opened his own upholstery and interiors boutique specializing in hand-made pieces, which has since become the UK’s leading upholstery school.
His business partner and wife, Susie Milner, also has a creative background and a history of upcycling and furniture restoration. Their combined passion and experience has grown the Ministry of Upholstery into a modern, forward-thinking learning environment for those looking to gain valuale practical hands-on experience, whilst learning about the craftsmanship of upholstery in a workshop environment.
With world class facilities including a large workshop space in Central Manchester, classrooms, a fully equipped frame-making workshop, individual private workshops and a huge range of upholstery courses, it’s no surprise that state of the art equipment is supplied for each student. From sewing machines to our Whiteley upholstery shears, each tool provided is of the highest quality to enhance the learning experience.
Anne Marshall: Chairwoman of Huddersfield Modern Quilt Guild, Contributer to Quilt Now and member of The Quilters Guild
Born in Huddersfield, Anne Marshall is a passionate crafter and sewer who, when not at her sewing machine, can be found gracing the pages of popular monthly magazine Quilt Now. Having lived and travelled around the world, Anne then returned to hometown Huddersfield where she has become an inspirational figure in the crafting world.
Her love of crafting began during a period of recovery after surgery, which has since led to her using sewing as a form of therapy when dealing with illness. Having battled Crohn’s disease for over 11 years, lupus for 4 years and associated issues like arthritis, Raynaud’s and livedo reticularis along the way, Anne is touchingly open with her health struggles and has amassed a large online following of supportive fellow crafters, utilizing her social media platforms to empower and inspire her audience.
With a particular gift for quilting, Anne is a regular contributor to Quilt Now magazine, has taken part in the Festival of Quilts, and helped launch the Modern Quilters Guild. To create her quilts, Anne’s favourite scissors are the Wilkinson 8 inch x-tra sharp dressmaking sidebents, while her pattern cutting preference is a 9 inch Wilkinson Black paper shear.
With a dedicated line of scissors spanning the entire handcrafting industry, Whiteley’s provide industrial-grade cutting solutions for all materials used in upholstery, home sewing and crafts.
Ministry of Upholstery: award-winning upholstery school in Manchester, UK
The Ministry of Upholstery was founded in 2010 by Anthony Devine, an upholstery specialist well known for his appearance on the BBC1 programme ‘Money For Nothing’, where he reupholstered a sofa using bespoke, digitally printed fabric of his own photography.
With a background in producing and installing hand-made furniture for huge names such as Rocco Forte, Harvey Nichols and Crowne Plaza Hotels, Devine opened his own upholstery and interiors boutique specializing in hand-made pieces, which has since become the UK’s leading upholstery school.
His business partner and wife, Susie Milner, also has a creative background and a history of upcycling and furniture restoration. Their combined passion and experience has grown the Ministry of Upholstery into a modern, forward-thinking learning environment for those looking to gain valuale practical hands-on experience, whilst learning about the craftsmanship of upholstery in a workshop environment.
With world class facilities including a large workshop space in Central Manchester, classrooms, a fully equipped frame-making workshop, individual private workshops and a huge range of upholstery courses, it’s no surprise that state of the art equipment is supplied for each student. From sewing machines to our Whiteley upholstery shears, each tool provided is of the highest quality to enhance the learning experience.
Anne Marshall: Chairwoman of Huddersfield Modern Quilt Guild, Contributer to Quilt Now and member of The Quilters Guild
Born in Huddersfield, Anne Marshall is a passionate crafter and sewer who, when not at her sewing machine, can be found gracing the pages of popular monthly magazine Quilt Now. Having lived and travelled around the world, Anne then returned to hometown Huddersfield where she has become an inspirational figure in the crafting world.
Her love of crafting began during a period of recovery after surgery, which has since led to her using sewing as a form of therapy when dealing with illness. Having battled Crohn’s disease for over 11 years, lupus for 4 years and associated issues like arthritis, Raynaud’s and livedo reticularis along the way, Anne is touchingly open with her health struggles and has amassed a large online following of supportive fellow crafters, utilizing her social media platforms to empower and inspire her audience.
With a particular gift for quilting, Anne is a regular contributor to Quilt Now magazine, has taken part in the Festival of Quilts, and helped launch the Modern Quilters Guild. To create her quilts, Anne’s favourite scissors are the Wilkinson 8 inch x-tra sharp dressmaking sidebents, while her pattern cutting preference is a 9 inch Wilkinson Black paper shear.