Here at Raymond Mackenzie Upholstery we are very fortunate to have steady flow of enquiries. Whilst some of these enquiries can be dealt with quickly over the phone, by message or email, the vast majority of enquiries deserve a more thorough approach. 

Before offering any prices or costs we like to have as much information about the work as possible. As such we have a process in place that we like to follow which allows us to price accurately. 

This may involve you visiting us at our workshop to look at fabric. We may have to visit you if perhaps you are unable to get to us. We may also have to measure the furniture in your home and discuss the various options . Once we have all the information and measurements that we need, we will then sit down in due course, work out our measurements, calculate a price and then email or post this to you in the form of a free, no obligation written quote which you are free to accept or decline with absolutely no pressure from us. 

This is the way we like to work, during busy spells, it can take a bit of time, but we do try and get back to everyone as soon as we can. 

Thanks for reading. 
Best Wishes
Raymond

28 years ago to the day was the first official day of business for Raymond Mackenzie Upholstery. If memory serves me right, week beginning 6th of April 1998 was similar to right now, with cold spring days and flurries of sleet and snow. The country was also beginning to get excited for the upcoming World Cup in France where Scotland would take part in the opening game against Brazil....who would have thought it would take another 28 years for us to reach that tournament again.

I remember those first few months well...the news stories of the time, the songs in the charts,  the enthusiasm, the thrill of starting a business and of course the novelty of being my own boss...something which I hope I have never abused or taken for granted. 

But, here we are 28 years on, enthusiasm still intact,  job satisfaction box ticked, and  a love of doing upholstery work which has never diminished. There is no doubt that the 'being my own boss' bit has became measurably more difficult, and a steady flow of work has at times manifested itself into a Tsunami which can completely overwhelm at times.

Would I have it any other way ? The answer is probably not !

Would I change anything ? Again the answer is probably not !

During these 28 years our main priority has been to do the best job that we can. Above all else we like to think that this is one of the reasons that we have always been able to answer the most common question we get asked in a positive manner.  'Are you keeping busy ?' I am pleased to say that without exception,  the answer has always been a resounding 'Yes, its very busy thanks' 

There are also many factors outwith our control which have meant that demand has increased and our time is under more pressure than ever before. I think there does come a time that despite doing our very best, I have to accept that  we are a small business with a limited capacity and that we just cannot keep everyone happy at the same time. 

The truth is that being somewhat established by now, we are in a very fortunate position of having work come to us on a regular basis. Whilst this is great for us in terms of job security, it is clearly not so good for our customers who are having to wait patiently on the job list for us to get round to helping them. We are taking steps to improve this, but it takes time, patience and a lot of hard work to improve systems and increase working capacity. 

One thing that is clear to me is that as the business owner and  upholsterer I need to ensure that I protect my time in the workshop much better to improve productivity. I am in no doubt that for too long I have allowed myself to be dictated to as to what I work on and when I work on it. When doing your best is no longer good enough then things most definitely have to change. 

Please dont misunderstand, despite the current challenges, I feel we are in the best position as a business we have been in for a long time. We have been catching up or are in the process of catching up on some long term outstanding jobs. We have made big efforts to make our physical workshop a bit tidier and more efficient. It is small space so it will never be perfect ...but it is better than it has been for many years. We have systems in place as regards accounting, job management and appointment scheduling software... we just have to make sure we use them to their full advantage.

There will be some minor changes to come in the way that we do things, if our business is of interest to you then please keep an eye on our website (particularly the 'latest news' page) as well as our Facebook, Instagram and TikTok which we have been trying to update on a regular basis. 

I doubt we will do this for another 28 years but who knows , even Mrs Raymond Mackenzie Upholstery may get me to do some of the jobs she asked for if I 'Protect my time' a bit better !

Thanks for taking the time to read this !

All the Best

Raymond

Running a small business can be a rewarding experience , at times it can also be all consuming and quite stressfull for a multitude of reasons. 

However, despite all the trials and tribulations the one thing that we are pleased to say has remained consistent throughout the years is the quality of our finished work. Job number 0001 left our workshop and was delivered to our first 'officially delighted' customer in April 1998. As we approach April 2026 we are proud to say that we are still delivering quailty re-upholstery to our customers. 

Admittedly things can sometimes take longer than we would like and we are honest enough to take our share of the blame for that. However, when a trade has shrunk in terms of numbers as dramatically as re-upholstery has throughout the UK, it is inevitable that those of us who are still operating are going to be busy and very often under pressure. 

With consistency being the key word in this post, we are proud that we have operated under our own name, from the same small workshop, in the same small industrial estate in the same small village since 1998. If thats not being consistent then I don't know what is. 

Napoleon Bonaparte once said "A Throne is only a bench covered with velvet."

​I think that this saying perfectly describes the effect that upholstering a piece of furniture in a luxurious velvet can have on that item. 

When it comes to upholstery velvet we have some of the best ranges around. Across our collecton of sample books we have literally hundreds of different colour options. Some also come in different designs with plain, crush or ribbed finishes.

Most of our ranges are either machine washable, stain resistant or in the case of our Aquavelvets,  you can clean most household spills with just normal tap water. 

Most of our ranges are suitable for severe contract use which means that durability will not be an issue in the most demanding of family homes.

So if you are looking to have something upholstered and are unsure what type of fabric to use, then velvet is certainly worthy of consideration. Regardless of the range, any item upholstered in velvet can look luxurious and will combine robustness with a nice tactile feel. 

​And keep this to yourselves....velvet does not just have to be a plain solid colour...we have several ranges of stunningly vibrant and brightly coloured printed pattern velvets which will light up any home. 

​

Another busy week at Raymond Mackenze Upholstery. In addition to doing our main job of up re-upholstering and renovating your sofas and chairs, we have also been welcoming customers to our workshop to look at our fantastic range of upholstery fabrics and materials. 

There is a bit of a theme developing for these particular customers who are looking for a nice shade of green for their furniture. These will be on their way to them shortly so that they can choose in their own home in their own time. 

​All part of our service. 

A big part of the upholstery process for our customers, is choosing the right fabric.

As part of our service we love to invite you to our workshop, so that you can view our extensive range of fabrics and faux/real leathers. 

This system allows us to meet our customers, discuss their fabric requirements and ultimately helps us to help you narrow down your choices. 

However we completely understand the although looking at fabrics in the workshop is a great starting point, there really is no substitute for seeing the fabrics in your  own home and viewing them against your own decor and in different lights. 

Our solution to this is simple. All our fabric suppliers offer a 'fabric sample service' whereby we can order samples of your chosen fabric which will be delivered directly to your door completely free of charge. 

This service means that our customers can have the time and space they need to choose their fabric in the comfort of their own home. 

In addition if there is any reason that you cannot visit our workshop, we will be happy to do fabric consultations via email, phone or WhatsApp. With some help from you we can direct you to suitable fabrics on our supplier websites and from there we can order physical samples to be sent out to you...again this service is completely free of charge. 

Choosing your fabric first means that we can then measure your furniture and allow for any pattern matching or fabric placement that may be required. It also means that we can provide an accurate written quote based on your choices. 

​If you would like to view any of our fabric ranges please do not hesitate to get in touch...we will be delighted to help. 

 It feels like 2026 has only just started, but here we are halfway through February and rapidly heading towards spring. I am aware that we have been posted missing on our social media, and this blog has also been sadly neglected. However as the days slowly lengthen and temperatures hopefully begin to rise, we can look forward to a brighter outlook and bring this wee business of ours out of hiding and back into view for all to see....or as I like to put it 'Out of Hibernation'.

In truth we have spent much of the last 20 years or so working away quietly and trying to keep up with a demand which has been steadily increasing year on year. Although we have had occasional spells where we have raised our heads above the parapet and shown everyone what we actually do with our time, it is fair to say that for most of this we have kept ourselves to ourselves in the hope that we can get on top of our job list and give ourselves a fighting chance of catching up. 

Although we take nothing for granted, I feel it is fair to say that it is highly unlikley that we will ever be fully 'caught up'.  We are very fortunate that work comes to us on a consistent and steady basis and going forward it is up to us as a business to cope with this in the best and most professional manner....and this is what we intend to do.

With this in mind we have been introducing systems and processes which are helping us move in the right direction. Human nature dictates that It will never be perfect but the best we can do is to dedicate our time to continually making the effort to improve our services and communications. 

At the heart of our business we have continued to produce upholstery work that we can be proud of...such as the chair in this post. The quality of work that we produce will always be our priority as this is the foundation of what we do. We have lots more of our work to share as well as some other exciting developments over the past few months.  We intend to be much more forthcoming and visible in the very near future. 

Thanks for taking the time to read this and we look forward to engaging with you all via our social media and website.
 
Best Wishes
​
Raymond

We were recently delighted to be given the opportunity to work with fabric from Jim Dickens Olympos range on this large, stunning suite which was originally made to order by Gascoigne Designs in around 2003.  Working in conjunction with a large national re-upholstery company we are proud that we are entrusted to carry out  work on their behalf.....it means a lot to us that people who know and understand re-upholstery have the faith and trust  in us to not only carry out the work for them but also to rely on us look after their customers as if they were our own. 

The large pattern repeat on this beautiful fabric meant that a lot of prior planning had to be done before even removing the old covers and certainly before putting our scissors anywhere near the new fabric. Many hours of planning, cutting, machine sewing , upholstering and tailoring have to be invested in work like this but I hope you would agree that all of this effort was worth it. 

This was a tricky and labour intensive job from the word go, even getting the suite out of the customers house was a challenge in itself with the furniture going nowhere until the castors had been removed, we then had to lift it over metal railings and navigate our way through the customers trees and shrubs before loading it into the van. So getting it back into the property with pristine new upholstery was even more of a challenge but as always we got there in the end with thanks to my 'Right Hand Man' ...aka my son Ewan. 

Long unsociable hours and plenty hard graft but Its jobs like this that make all the effort worthwhile.

​Thanks for looking :-) 

Since getting with the times and launching our own website a few years ago we have been pleased with the steady flow of enquiries and interest that it has generated with several people complimenting us on both the content and the work displayed both on the site and on our Facebook page.

During this time we have regularly written blog posts about recent work we have completed where we tell a wee story about the job and a bit about what was involved and of course some photos of the finished furniture, Although we enjoy writing these short blogs and showcasing our work it often feels like only a handful of people actually see it and pass comment. 

So, when we  received an email from a website called https://blog.feedspot.com/upholstery_blogs/ telling us that we had made into their top 30 upholstery blogs on the planet we were suitably surprised and 'fair chuffed' ....Somebody somewhere does actually see what we post ! 

We have lots of new work to post in the near future but in the meantime here is a wee before and after of a nursing chair we recently did for a long-standing and loyal customer

Nursing chair re-upholstered with deep buttons in Linwood Roxburgh wool fabric. 

Both these chairs had great sentimental value to our customer. Unfortunately both of them had been subjected to a hard life and were showing the signs that there time may soon be up. Thankfully they fell into the right hands and have been carefully repaired and traditionally re-upholstered in their original fashion. Fabric from Linwood's Roxburgh wool collection.