Wimborne upholstery business Dorset Chairman adapts to Covid crisis

Founder of Dorset Chairman, Alan Payne, 58, said his business was struggling due to the pandemic, so he decided to move online in a bid to grow his business.

Mr Payne said: “We are having to adapt and change working practices and the way we operate our trade.

“When the first lockdown came, we lost 60 per cent of our turnover overnight.

“We can’t run classes, commission work is restricted. My wife Wendy and I thought what can we do?

“What we have done is we have created a website.”

Ian said he and his wife came up with the idea of recording the process of making a footstall from start to finish and posting the video on the website.

People can buy the materials from Dorset Chairman and follow the video the make their own items.

Mr Payne continued: “They get a template for the fabric and get a good experience and can produce something very quickly in the afternoon.

“They can give that as a present and it is a learning experience for us as well.

“We just thought how can we grow our business, looking forward rather than back.

“I have a passion for what I do, and I do anything from antiques, vintage cars, footstalls, I will do anything.

“It is about learning and giving people an understanding of upholstery.”

Mr Payne, who has been in the upholstery businesses for 45 years, said he hoped the online classes would give people a new skill that they can take and improve.

“It helps us as a small backstreet business, we have adapted and learnt.

“There is so much doom and gloom at the minute, I am extremely optimistic about this.

“We filmed it with two mobile phones and I bought a couple of photographic lights, we edit it together and it is great fun.

“There’s all this stuff going on, and this is about learning. I am relishing the chance to grow our business.”

Customers have the option of three packages, starting at £64.95 and going up to £99.95.

More information can be found at www.upholsterymadesimple.co.uk.