Stuff and the city

A reader introduced me to Urban Upholstery and now I feel compelled to introduce it to you. While reupholstering furniture isn't anything new, the Urban Upholstery peeps have introduced an upcycling slant into their manifesto. They do operate like a typical upholstery shop in that you can bring in your sofa, leave it with them and return in a short while to collect your old settee now covered with different fabric. But they also keep their eyes peeled when traversing the mean streets of London for strays, and are well known for rescuing dilapidated cast-offs and giving them a jazzy new refurb for the fun of it. Their website shows a whole series of these neglected old things in situ, and it's an interesting document in itself.

If you live in town and don't have a car offloading big old stuff can cause a conundrum. Last week I saw a denuded chair one day and a huge gilty glassless frame the next, both on the street not far from my flat. I hope someone with strong, long arms and long, strong vision grabbed them and gave them new life.