Workbench Sum 13
When I was about seventeen, I worked part time for a construction company,” said Ken Peresta. “After I lost that job, I was looking through the classifieds searching for something else. I still was in high school and wanted part time work. I saw an ad for an apprentice upholstery helper.” He wasn’t sure what that was. After his mother explained what upholsterers do, he applied. “I got the job. And that’s how I got into the upholstery business.”
The man Ken worked for was a master upholsterer from Germany who had a shop in Morrisville. “I paid attention and learned everything he’d teach me and then some. I was like a sponge,” he said. “I really liked the work. By 1974, I felt comfortable in opening my own business,” which is Peresta’s Custom Upholstery.
Ken grew up in Levittown and graduated from Pennsbury High School. When he went off on his own, he rented space in the Langhorne area. That lasted until he decided to build his own shop in 1986. It’s just behind his home. He said, “This makes the commute easy.” The shop is well laid out, with two full floors and an attic. The ground level has two large workbenches, one with two sewing machines. There also are some racks with fabric. The rest of the space is used to work on items to be upholstered.
He has a full time helper, Dan Paglione, who has been there for nearly three years and really enjoys what he’s doing. Ken feels Dan will take over the business when he decides to retire.
To raise the pieces up to a comfortable height to work on, they have horses, similar to carpenters’ sawhorses, except the ones used here have padded, recessed tops. This protects the furniture while it’s being worked on. The recess helps prevent the item from slipping off the horse. These substantial supports are very helpful.
To Continue reading The Art of Upholstery, turn to page 52 of the Fall 2013 issue of Bucks County magazine.