Sunday, October 30, 2011
Upholstery.

No, the sentence above wasn't for drama. It was to make sure I spelled it correctly. But feel free to read with drama. Here's another chance.

Upholstery.

The first week in our new apartment, we bought a sofa set. We've learned that here in India, a sofa "set" (sometimes shown as 3-1-1) means you get a couch and two single-seat chairs. The set was covered in what I like to call "pleather", a plastic material made to resemble real leather.

We thought it would be a good choice to clean, should the little guys (or me!) decide to spill something on it. What we did not count on, however, is that the pleather would become separated from its fabric backing, and peel off. Tadah! Ruined sofa. Feeling sick over the fact that we just bought it, Jason and I decided to find someone to re-upholster it, assuming it would likely be cheaper than buying another. (As a side note, we were wrong here, at 12,000 INR, we could have probably found another used set for less).

I called around for several weeks with no luck, and finally found someone willing to take on the job. We made an appointment for him to stop by the next day. He brought a helper, and by the afternoon, here's what my sofa looked like.



Since it was late, he said he'd be back the next morning to start sewing, and I gave him half the agreed upon price to purchase the material. 

Now, if you're smart, you're screaming at me through the computer over a specific phrase above: he said he'd be back. Yes. I know. I'm a very slow learner. But this time, it made sense. He needed the new fabric and a sewing machine. I agreed.

Tomorrow morning arrived - no visitor. I called his cell. Guess what? His sewing machine is broken, and he's getting it repaired. All of my US readers, I know what you're thinking. "Why didn't he call and let you know?" Well US readers, that's a stupid question. Everyone knows this action would be proactive, and I learned pretty quickly that it's a rare person here in India that's proactive.

A day later, and I'm getting a little concerned. I gave this guy quite a bit of money. Oh, and if you forgot what my couch looked like, take another look above. I sat down (on the floor since I didn't have a couch) and mounted a cell phone campaign. Every hour on the hour I called and asked for an ETA. 

And guess what? Day three he and two other guys arrived, put my couch together and made it beautiful, and even sewed my curtains! Success! (But mostly "whew"). And I know I keep promising a video tour of the apartment, but I'm not there yet. 

So - if you wanna see some pics of another B'lore apartment, you can take a look at the J and B - India blog in the "Blogs I Follow" section on the right. They did a good job with the photos, and really, I promise to get to mine someday.

3 comments:

Jude Cameron said...

I have upholstered all my furniture since I moved in my new apartment. From side tables to computer desks. I love updating furniture and really put my style.

Anonymous said...

Here is the same (in Serbia)
If you want worker to get job done in home and do the fixes is is advisable not to pay before job ends, and when he says it shall come it is never on time.

I just called my handy man two days in row to came to make some repairs at my home he came eventually but after 2 calls and 5 messages and two delayed appointments :-)))

Gregory Davis said...

Thanks for this blog. provided great information. All the details are explained clearly with the great explanation. Thanks for this wonderful blog. Know the details about different thing.
upholstery washington dc

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