Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Lindecamp.
Hi Mary, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started out by sewing dresses professionally and for about 60 hours a week at the age of 14. Soon after, I moved to Houston and was looking for a job as seamstress because I could sew. This led me to the upholstery business. I worked for other upholstery companies for about 15 years before I started Elegant Upholstery in 2011. My husband got involved in 2012 and has handled the business side and sales as well as furniture refinishing and woodworking and we built Elegant Upholstery & Slipcovers into the business it is today.
We are now a full-service upholstery and furniture restoration shop, working on everything from custom slipcovers and cushions to complete furniture restoration, and one-of-a-kind custom furniture. We also have a large selection of upholstery fabrics and provide pickup and delivery throughout the Houston area.
What has meant the most to me is the relationships we’ve built along the way. Much of our business has grown through referrals and repeat customers, and I’m proud that we’re still a hands-on, family-run shop where we can take the time to understand what a client wants and make sure the finished piece is something they’ll enjoy for years.
For me, it really comes down to craftsmanship, personal service, and helping people see the potential in furniture they already love. After decades in the business, I still enjoy the transformation every bit as much as I did when we started.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I started Elegant Upholstery in 2011 as a home-based business. I had maybe 10 sewing machines (most of them could do something different and were necessary to have just like different types of screwdrivers) which I had acquired over the years and we also had to have a place to keep our client’s furniture. This took up about half of my home at the time. All-in-all, this took up my entire living room, my garage, and a bedroom. I worked at another company a few days a week for $15 an hour just to get by. Our prices were cheap at the time and we didn’t have much business. Looking back, our profits were really small but they were big to me at the time. We soon moved into a nearby office/warehouse. Fortunately, rent was cheap there. It was a blessing that we were able to find it. We stayed at the warehouse for about 10 years. A friend of mine made a website for Elegant Upholstery soon after I started which gave us an online presence- that helped immensely. Besides the sewing machines, the first major purchase that I made was a 1995 Ford delivery van with something like a half-a-million miles and bad tires which we kept for a good while. I paid way too much for it. It didn’t have AC, but my husband never complained (he made the deliveries and still does but in a much better van).For many of the years we have been in business, we acquired alot of debt in bad years that we had to pay off in the good years. I hope that one day we can end that cycle.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
At Elegant Upholstery & Slipcovers, we specialize in transforming and restoring furniture so our clients can continue enjoying pieces they love. Our work includes custom upholstery, custom slipcovers, cushions, furniture restoration and refinishing, and custom furniture. We work with everything from everyday upholstered pieces to antiques and heirlooms, always focusing on quality craftsmanship and a beautiful, lasting result.
I look at custom slipcovers as pieces of art that take time, talent and skill to create. A properly fitted slipcover should look intentional and tailored to the furniture. I take great care with the fit, fabric, details, and construction so the finished piece feels like it was made specifically for that chair or sofa.
What I’m most proud of is the trust our clients have placed in us over the years. Many of our customers come to us through referrals or return to us with additional projects, and that speaks volumes to me. Some of the pieces we work on have been in families for generations, so there’s a real responsibility—and privilege—in restoring them.
I believe what sets us apart is our personal approach and attention to detail. We take the time to understand the piece, the client’s vision, and how the furniture will actually be used. Rather than simply replacing fabric, we look at the whole piece and find the best way to preserve its character, improve its function, and give it a fresh new life. For me, great upholstery is a combination of craftsmanship, creativity, and caring about the finished piece as well as the person who will live with it.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
I would say the most important quality behind our success is caring about the details—and caring about the people we work with. In upholstery, the difference between something that is simply recovered and something that is truly well made often comes down to the little things: the fit, the construction, the fabric placement, the finishing, and making sure the piece is comfortable as well as beautiful.
Just as important is listening. Every client and every piece of furniture is different, and I believe in taking the time to understand what someone wants rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach.
We’ve built Elegant Upholstery & Slipcovers largely through relationships, referrals, and repeat customers, so our reputation is incredibly important to us. I’m proud that our clients trust us with furniture that is often meaningful to them. At the end of the day, I think that combination of quality craftsmanship, attention to detail, and personal service is what has allowed us to build a lasting business.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://elegantupholstery.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elegantupholsteryandslipcovers/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elegantupholsteryandslipcovers/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/5754763/admin/dashboard/
- Twitter: https://x.com/elegantupholste
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@elegantupholstery1453
- Yelp: https://biz.yelp.com/biz_info/PAQqX47e3YJ07RFTmJsAXA
- Other: https://www.flickr.com/photos/187346091@N05/
