ABOUT
Reioni Douglas
Furniture Maker, Designer & Upholsterer
For me, furniture upholstery was a trade that combined my love of textiles, repurposing vintage and creating with my hands. It is so perfectly aligned that taking a sizeable pay cut and moving interstate to study at Homesglen TAFE in Melbourne didn’t phase me.
As a mature age student I was so excited to have finally found my calling. I followed eagerly behind the tafe teacher asking “what does this tool do?” and “how can I do better?”.
What ensued was a dive head first into the trade with an apprenticeship at Surf Coast Upholstery in Torquay on the Great Ocean Road. I gladly sacrificed my weekends experimenting on furniture and making an absolute racket in a share house garage.
It wasn’t all roses, though.
I had a romantic and naive view that I would get to work on well-made, well-loved vintage furniture. It was disheartening that we were often tasked with fixing furniture that had barely made it off the showroom floor.
Thats a lie. It had probably been “off the showroom floor” for 5-10 years. But why weren’t furniture manufacturers held accountable to such a short shelf life? With consumers and the planet footing the bill.
I continued to learn, research and absorb the trade with that kind of annoying enthusiasm reserved only for mature age students. I received an award in 2017 and was interviewed about my career change from working as a Stewardess in Europe, which can be read here. My aspirations were quite clear;
“Reioni hopes to establish a vintage upholstery restoration business. While long-term, she dreams of creating a brand that handcrafts vintage-inspired furniture, which uses recycled timber and materials.”
In 2019 I left my much loved apprenticeship (miss you guys, but not the weather).
I moved to Newcastle, NSW where I started Upholstrei - a furniture upholstery and restoration business. It’s been a hellovalotta fun using my skills to divert furniture from landfill and work on projects that excite me. I‘ve had the pleasure of giving furniture a new life to be enjoyed in homes and spaces between Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle and the Hunter Valley. By all accounts, my customers seem to like it too. Google reviews here.
Now in 2022 I’ve launched Culture Cush. A brand that handcrafts vintage-inspired furniture - my second dream way back in 2017. I was highly ambitious six years ago wanting to use recycled timber and materials, one day I’m sure I’ll get there. For now, I’m focused on using tough materials with a low-tox status cos’, if you haven’t cottoned on by now, I don’t like nasties or things that break.
Culture Cush has been one year in planning and prototyping but is a combination of years of experience and observations pulling furniture apart and putting it back together. I’ve been in a unique position to discover what makes upholstered furniture both hard wearing and super comfortable. I’ve used a balance of old and new methods to ensure that the furniture lasts in the busiest of spaces. Furniture should last for all patrons - even those with muddy paws, sticky hands and a love for red wine.
In the design, I have taken inspiration from mid-century modular lounges, sofas and conversation pits. Why? Firstly, I am so drawn to an era when colour was unafraid to go out of trend. Secondly, modular design is so versatile through its numerous configurations especially when we now change our rooms and addresses around like it ain’t no thing.
This brand is an exploration of my deep seeded passions and I’m beyond chuffed to bring furniture into the world that I am proud of, that I get to use and enjoy with my family forever.