The Garver brothers of Ada have upholstered nearly every thing imaginable since opening Fine Touch Furniture and Upholstery. This fact is well known by many of their Bluffton customers.
The 513 N. Johnson St., Ada, business, opened in 1986 after brothers Randy and Dan Garver left Findlay Furniture, where they learned the upholstery trade.
MORE PHOTOS ARE AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS STORY.
Even so, the brothers claim: “We’ve never worked a day in our lives,” as they take their business seriously, but truly enjoy what they do. “And, we meet a lot of interesting people,” they add.
During this interview a walnut-trimmed Victorian sofa in need of 140 buttons and a complete overhaul was on the repair table. Waiting in line was a sofa that the owner told the Garvers to “be creative” with.
Meanwhile, in the back lot waits the owner of a 1962 Ford Sunliner convertible. The owner is restoring the car. He brought the car seats to the Garvers because they know how to fit the new seat covers.
It’s Randy’s job to cut and sew. Dan upholsters and Dan’s wife, Karen, handles the front office.
“We have lots of customers in Bluffton, Kenton and Findlay as well as Ada,” said Dan.
The Fine Touch selection of fabric and support material is “a mile long.” There are 250 books from suppliers in the shop.
In addition to commercial and residential work, the Ada business has a complete line of new home furnishing.
“We sell good grades of furniture. We don’t sell discount furniture. We also offer a good line of mattresses,” said Dan.
“Every day is different,” said Randy, about the business. “A customer brought in a sectional piece and asked if we could make it larger. We are going to make a piece from scratch for this project.”
Included in the unusual project requests from customers is an antique table that arrived in the shop in pieces placed in a box.
“I really like to bring old antiques back to life,” Dan says. “All of it takes time. We do it all by hand. There’s no assembly line. Some people don’t understand that.”
The most unusual job was probably using a real tanned zebra hide including the tail and head to upholstery an ottoman.
The most crazy was probably a customer’s request to create a full-size dummy, so the customer, a martial arts practitioner, could beat it up. “I sculpted it using my body,” said Randy.
Occasionally a customer brings in a completely brand new piece of furniture, and wants a different fabric on it.
Most customer requests are more traditional, say the Garvers. Most bring in a sofa and chair that need to be upholstered with matching material.
And, while tastes in patterns and designs come and go, “most everyone likes blue,” said Dan, when it comes to upholstering a piece of furniture.
“About 15 years ago blue lapis was hot. I could buy 100 yards and knew I would use it all,” said Dan, about tastes and trends.
As if there’s not enough time in the day to complete all their projects, Dan and Randy also go on the road as salesmen. “We set up appointments, go to houses, bring samples with us and make a lot of friends,” they said.
The Garvers are good listeners in addition to being fine craftsmen, because, as they put it, there’s a story behind every thing that comes in the front door.
For more photos visit Fine Touch facebook - click here.
Fine Touch Furniture and Upholstery
Commercial and residential
513 N. Johnson St.
Ada, OH 45810
419-634-9195
