My work has been featured at:

The Luxe Zone

Iowa City Pop-Up Stores

And In Collaboration With:

Booth 121

Monday, November 1, 2010

More classes offered!

Check your calenders and sign up for an exciting upholstery class offered by Regeneration Factory!
February 26-27
March 26-27
April 16-17
Contact me for reserving your place in class
319-621-4050 or email Amy@regenerationfactory.com !

Monday, October 25, 2010

Re* Do It Yourself

Do you have a chair or bench that needs a face lift and want to learn how to do it yourself? Well, Regeneration Factory is offering classes!

The class is $175. This includes 12 hours of hands on upholstery instruction from Amy Smith Pasley, materials, and lunch from the awesome Leaf Kitchen!

You may bring in your own fabric, select from many remnants for $5/yard, or order fabric from my collection of fabrics books.

Chairs need to be pre-approved a week before class, and a deposit paid to secure your spot in the class.

So jump on board! Class size is small and will fill up fast!

Contact me 319-621-4050 or email me at: Amy regenerationfactory.com

Friday, February 26, 2010

60's Rocker Swivel ready to go!


**************SOLD************
So.. this rocker swivel is ready to go.


This rocker was on the curb of my next door neighbors when they moved out. The swivel was broken so I had that replaced and removed the "S" shape decorative pieces attached to the iron arms and legs. I also had the insert to the arms remade, they were pretty chewed up. So with a new coat of paint on the iron and the organic cotton on it's ready to go.


This beauty is priced at $298. plus the 2 yards of fabric needed to complete the project.


Contact me if you or someone you know is interested!

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Production is underway!


Yesterday was the start of my furniture line of rescued furniture that would of been landfill bound. I finished a sofa I took from the curb down my block. It is now ready for someone to pick out a fabric of their choice.Check Spelling
The price is $1298.
The final price will be determined by the customer and the amount they will pay for the
8 yards of fabric.

I started a swivel rocker with iron legs and arms, a triangle top footstool with iron legs and a side chair with sexy steel legs. I will post the finished pieces when they are done.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

My adventure in getting the Pepsi grant

Maybe you have caught the commercials maybe not ,but Pepsi has a grant program going on now which Regeneration Factory would be perfect for! My challenge #1 is I have never applied for a grant so I feel like I'm swimming in the dark.

Why do I want this grant? Well, I will fill you in if you don't already know.
It has been my dream for a very long time to take the furniture that is too tattered that consignment stores won't take or are left out on the curb and give them a second life.

Living in Iowa City when the students leases are up looks like a furniture store has exploded. I have driven by a many cool old upholstered pieces that I know I can fix up and give it a second life. For awhile I did pick up the occasional piece then the garage became full and I did nothing. Needless to say my husband lowered his head, looked me in the face and said " really!?" So that chapter ended with me upholstering the pieces and selling them at Artifacts. I was happy to see them go to new homes, but I feared the lowered look my husband would give me if I started "collecting" again. So I stopped. I learned looked the other way to the furniture I wanted to rescue. It pained me but I really wasn't getting much if any income from the Artifacts gig. At the time it didn't make since...it made me happy to do the projects but so not financially substainably.
Funny how time has flown by and now I'm 40 saying to myself " When is that dream going to happen?"
Well I want it to happen now! So when my hubby, Dave, told me about Pepsi's Refresh Everything grant program I just knew I have to give it a try.
I have talked too long about what I want to do, it's time to take the steps to make my dream happen.
So this grant that I'm swimming in the dark in. I'm chugging away in filling out what I'm requesting. Hoping I'm conveincing enough.
But one of the suggestions is to make a You Tube video.
"Oh no!" I say! But wait..... I had a epiphany and remembered an old co-worker that took film at U of I. So we talked and we are setting the "stage" for the You Tube video tomorrow!
I will post my adventures as they unroll.Check Spelling

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

so here my blogging begins

Hello all!
I'm Amy Smith Pasley upholsterer extrordinaire! Well , that's what I think, but I have been upholstering for 20 years and the last 10 I have had my own upholstery shop called Regeneration Factory. Yes, I think it's a great name too.
I love my craft and it is extremely rewarding to see a beat up piece of furniture come back to life through my talents.
Sadly over the years the quality of furniture that has come through my shop has shown me that the furniture industry for the most part has taken steps to create furniture that is crap. But how is the averge consumer going to know the poor quality they are getting when it's all covered in fabric? They don't until it had its short life and their investment is gone.
I see this decline in quality show it's face around the 80's era, worse in the 90's and oh boy today! ugg!
But then I get those pieces from the 70's and earlier and find soild wood frames, doweled and joints! It's exciting these pieces haven't gone to the landfill. But ,living in a college town I see great pieces, battered and briused, on the curbs go to the over populated graveyard for furniture, AKA landfils.
I have wanted for years to recue these pieces of furniture and get them a second life since others do not.
That is why I have finally decided to begin my quest to make my dream come true.
Great design, great frames, quality materials for the average consumer!
So I will take you along with me on this quest and I hope you too will be inspired to save good furniture!