National Upholstery Association

Events for all NUA events are displayed in the calendar below. Members can view events not available to public.

If you are an Industry Partner, you can advertise up to 6 trade show appearances/events on the calendar each year. If you are an Educator member, you can advertise up to 12 classes on the calendar each year. To add events, contact us.

Upcoming events

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Community Meeting: Overcoming Barriers to Teaching

When
October 30, 2025

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Location
Virtual via Zoom

Are you passionate about sharing your upholstery skills but find yourself hitting roadblocks when it comes to teaching? You're not alone—and this month, we’re tackling it head-on.

Join us for a real-talk conversation about the common challenges upholstery educators face—whether it’s confidence, curriculum planning, student engagement, pricing your classes, or even imposter syndrome—and how to move past them.

Whether you're just starting out or have years of teaching under your belt, you'll walk away with new insights, encouragement, and actionable strategies from fellow educators who get it.

✅ Bring your questions

✅ Share your experiences

✅ Connect with others who are navigating the same journey

Let’s build each other up—and keep the craft alive, together.

Community meetings are open to the public - you do not need to be an NUA member to attend.

This online meeting will be held on Thursday, October 30st at 1:00 pm Eastern Time via Zoom. RSVP now! For a link to join, please register here. Hope to see you there!

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Advanced Textiles Expo 2025

Start
November 05, 2025

End
November 07, 2025

Location
Indianapolis, IN

CONNECT with over 4,500 textiles professionals.

DISCOVER the newest innovations in the marketplace.

SOURCE from over 300 exhibitors to drive your business forward.

Advanced Textiles Expo, formerly IFAI Expo, is organized by Advanced Textiles Association (ATA).

For a century, Advanced Textiles Expo has been the industrial fabrics industry’s flagship show. As the premier textiles event, Expo is the place where industry stakeholders and leaders CONNECT, DISCOVER, and SOURCE in order to grow their businesses.

https://advancedtextilesexpo.com

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Intermediate Spring Tying Techniques

When
November 11, 2025

1:00 PM

With Upholstery Education's Gareth Rees

In this webinar, Gareth will expand on an earlier discussion of spring dynamics, how they work, effective lashing methods for a range of furniture styles and methods for choosing the right gauges and heights.

Gareth Rees has been working as an upholsterer for over 27 years. He gained his training on the shop floor, working in various workshops in England and Wales and is versed in many aspects of furniture making from cabinet work to mattress making.

Gareth started his own company in 2004 and in this time has taken commissions and private work for high end interior design companies, bespoke furniture makers, private collectors, antique dealers, embassies and museums.

Here in the US, Gareth is the course writer and primary tutor for Upholstery Education, offering continuing education classes to upholstery professionals and aspiring individuals new to the trade. Back home in the United Kingdom, Gareth is a director and full time instructor at the British School of Upholstered Furniture in Oxfordshire, UK where he teaches the Association of Master Upholsterers and Soft Furnishers (AMUSF) Diploma program. He is also the lead tutor for the Advancements in Traditional Upholstery Diploma, run in association with the Guild of Traditional Upholsterers (GTU).

Past Chairman of the Guild of Traditional Upholsterers. Currently he sits as its vice chair and examination/journeyman secretary.

In March 2023 Gareth was awarded the Master Upholders certificate from the Worshipful Company of Upholders.

Although a full-time educator, Gareth still takes on commissions from select clients, predominantly focusing on the decorative arts from 1840-1950.

Gareth is eager to promote and celebrate the craft and trade of upholstery to a broader spectrum of people.

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Community Meeting: Balancing Upholstery with Young Kids

When
November 13, 2025

8:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Location
Virtual via Zoom

Let’s be honest—balancing sharp tools, sticky fingers, nap schedules, and upholstery projects isn’t easy. Whether you're sneaking in sewing during naptime or teaching classes with a toddler in tow, you're not the only one trying to do it all.

This community meeting is a judgment-free zone where we’ll talk about the realities of parenting (or caregiving) while pursuing your passion for upholstery.

Share your hacks, your hard moments, and how you make it work
Get support from others who truly get it
Leave with encouragement, not pressure

Whether you're in the thick of babyhood or juggling school pick-up between projects, this conversation is for you.

Bring your coffee, your chaos, and your kid if you need to—this is a come-as-you-are conversation. RSVP now! For a link to join, please register here.

Community meetings are open to the public - you do not need to be an NUA member to attend.

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From Fabric to Finish: Elevating Upholstery Care for Your Clients

When
December 09, 2025

1:00 PM

With Katie Reuther

Join us for a practical and engaging session designed to empower upholsterers with essential knowledge about fabric maintenance and cleaning. We’ll bridge the gap between selecting new fabrics and caring for them long-term, walk through the full upholstery cleaning process, and share expert tips on spot cleaning and decoding cleaning codes. You'll leave with tools to become a trusted resource for your clients, helping them protect their investment—and your work—for years to come.

Katie Reuther began her journey in the cleaning industry as a third grader, learning the ropes while cleaning carpets alongside her dad, Robert Pettyjohn. Today, she and her husband Andrew manage Pettyjohn's Cleaning, where they specialize in the care of oriental rugs and fine upholstery. Katie is a Certified Master Rug Cleaner and an IICRC-Certified Triple Master Restorer: Textiles, Water, and Fire. A proud parent of two hilarious kids, Katie also dedicates time to training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and weightlifting.

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Everything Is Possible: What Seams Possible Upholstery Has Learned From Establishing a Small Business in Challenging Times

When
January 13, 2026

1:00 PM

With Shannon Jenson

Shannon Jensen owns Seams Possible Upholstery with her husband Shawn.
Shawn and their team do the upholstery and Shannon runs the business.
She had a long career in higher education as an academic advisor
before the pandemic pulled her in a different direction. Shannon and
Shawn opened their workroom in 2022 and have been learning and growing
ever since.

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Mastering the curve of the 60’s design

When
February 10, 2026

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

With Anne Williams

We will go through the tools , glue and foam necessary as well as choosing the right fabric and learn the techniques to tailor the curve depending of the design of the chair .

Anne Williams was born in Normandy, France, where she enrolled in an upholstery trade school at the young age of 15.She pursue a passion for the trade by traveling around the world —from Paris to England, then Australia—before finally settling in the United States.

In 2019, Anne founded Atelier Douce France, a workroom dedicated to high-end residential upholstery and custom furniture design. With more than 20 years of experience, she continues to share her knowledge as an educator and mentor, inspiring others who are eager to learn the art of upholstery.

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Repairing and Stabilizing Damaged Frames: Three Case Studies

When
March 10, 2026

1:00 PM

With Michael Mascelli

This presentation will explain and illustrate techniques for the repair of worn and damaged wooden upholstery frame components so that they can be reused successfully with the use of modern non-reversible materials. This method is an alternative to minimally intrusive treatments which are appropriate for museum and historic pieces and provides a cost-effective way of saving the countless wooden frame members that are too damaged to hold new tacks or staples. Slides of three projects showing variations of the method will be shown along with a short demonstration of a typical frame repair.

MIKE MASCELLI has been a student and practitioner of the upholstery trade for nearly 50 years and divides his time between the worlds of classic cars and classic furniture. He has provided upholstery for national champion cars and furniture that is on display at the US House of Representatives and numerous historic homes and private collections. He is also the longtime Director of the Professional Refinisher’s Group an organization of professionals in the conservation and restoration trades, from whom he has learned much of the science, art and craft of wood finishing. Mike actively lectures and teaches, and has instructed hundreds of students in basic and advanced upholstery techniques as well as the fundamentals of wood finishing at the Connecticut Valley School of Woodworking, the Marc Adams School of Woodworking, and numerous other schools and organizations both in person and online in both America and England.

He contributed an essay on 18th century upholstery techniques for Roubo on Furniture by Don Williams (Lost Art Press). Mike has also published a number of articles on various aspects of historic upholstery in the Journal of the Society of American Period Furniture Makers (SAPFM) and on modern upholstery for Fine Woodworking. He has also completed several instructional videos on upholstery and finishing for Popular Woodworking, and Fine Woodworking, and was a presenter at the “Working Wood in the 18th c.” conference at Williamsburg VA. In the summer of 2024 Fine Woodworking released an online course: Foundations of Furniture Finishing” presented by Mike.

In addition to driving some classic cars, Mike and his wife are the very proud grandparents of two small boys who are the main focus of semi-retirement.

threadclips@juno.com 518-618-5699

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