I am very proud that our John Lewis Cocobella sofas are made by hand here in the UK. I recently went up to the workshop in Preston, Lancashire, to meet the team of wonderful people there. The workshop was founded over 50 years ago and was recently voted the UK's best upholstery manufacturer. Walking around the workshop spaces with Jamie, who heads up all the workshop operations was super interesting and a lot of fun too!
We started by seeing how the fabric is carefully laid out on a very high tech computerised cutting table.
The computer can automatically work out how to best use each piece of fabric to ensure the maximum level of usage whilst at the same time, ensuring that all the patterns will match up perfectly. In our case, this means all of our stripes align and look fabulous on each sofa. Next we visited the very skilled team that sews together all the covers so beautifully. It was truly amazing to see how perfectly they sew each and every cushion and cover.
Then we visited the frame making team and learned how each frame is made using solid birch hardwood. I was very impressed to discover that every single frame they are making for us is guaranteed for 25 years!
Our sofas have a special type of spring in the base, called a fishmouth spring. This type of spring gives the front edge of the sofa a lovely springy feeling and has the benefit of both helping you get out more easily and being more comfortable to sit in.
Next, we went to see how the frame is upholstered. Every little detail is considered extremely carefully and very skilfully done - I was amazed by how many different layers are inside the sofas
The last step was watching how the covers are fitted for the first time and the cushions going on too. Each cushion is made with a combination of feather and foam from plant based materials. It means that the amount of plumping you need to do is very reduced compared to a feather and down cushion.
It’s really amazing to see how quickly the sofa goes from being an upholstered frame to looking like a gorgeous sofa. Each one is steamed by hand and the final result is truly fabulous.
I really loved my visit and feel extremely happy to know that every one of our sofas that are made for John Lewis is put together with so much love.