Vickie Davis
Don't throw away that chair from the 1950's-1970's, upcycle it and make your home-and the enviroment-a better place.
Story: Victoria Bartle- Photographer Elspeth Collier & Vickie Davis.(Next Magazine story)
When she was 21, Vickie Davis had never heard of upholstery. So, when someone asked if she'd like to work in the upholstery field, her reply was a slightly embarrassed: "Um, what's upholstery?"
Fifteen years on, this vivacious single mother who, by her own admission, is completely uneducated and left school the minute I turned 15," is running her own fast-growing business, designing and creating instantly recognisable, funky furniture- all impeccably upholstered in her one women workshop in central Nelson.
Focusing on "upcycling" furniture from the 1950's to 70's, which usually boasts the good bones of New Zealand native timbers such as rimu, Vickie aims to promote sustainable living-moving away from being a throw away society.
"I won't do the boring stuff any more," she asserts. "I'm influenced by bold, curved patterns that could be Celtic or Maori. I call them 'Aotearoa-inspired' because I'm not trying to make them historically or culturally correct."
Some of her pieces feature pre-woven Maori-design braiding.
"The swirl patterns that I cut from vinyl or leather are designed with the help of a local tattooist."
Every piece is a certified one-off, complete with a brass plaque. Each has a name, such as the Groovy Baby lounge suite in red, white and blue triangles, and the Mansland couch, long enough for a tall man to stretch out on.