Business Craft Arts

The Artful Chair

Jenny Ellis began making high-end party dresses in an exclusive boutique shop in Boca Raton in the 1990s. She added technical sewing to her résumé in 1994, and began a window treatment business before gaining exposure to interior design through work with Macy’s department store. “I visited High Point showrooms and began to dream about learning the art of upholstery,” she says.

Ellis fell in love with a North Carolinian and moved to Asheville in 2004. “After the economy collapsed, I decided to reinvent myself and began taking upholstery courses,” she says. “After two years of practice, I began to apply my dressmaking skills and love of interior design to upholstery to create one-of-a-kind artworks with chairs. I was shy at first about approaching retail stores, but the chairs were surprisingly successful. I eventually hired a millennial to help me with online marketing and social media, and now I can’t keep anything in my shop.”

Find out more about The Artful Chair on Facebook at SittingPrettyNC, on Pinterest at SittingPrettyAVL and on Instagram at SittingPrettyAVL.

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