Made in America: The South

Senior Upholsterer Mike Tibbetts takes us behind the scenes of his creative process at Geiger. Plus, we share more handmade products from the south.

South

Mike Tibbetts, Senior Upholsterer at Geiger

Hildebran, North Carolina

I learned how to upholster about 30 years ago because that’s what you do here in this part of the state. This used to be the furniture capital of the world, until things happened. But if you wanted to make money, if you wanted a good solid job, you learned how to upholster, so I learned how to upholster. I love it. 

Photo by Benjamin Rasmussen

This chair is called the Crosshatch. You insert a small bead into the bottom of the top rail and you feed the string through that bead like you are threading a needle. As you go around the chair, you weave the strings among one another. It’s a complicated design, but it’s actually quite simple to learn. 

Photo by Benjamin Rasmussen

"We pay a lot of attention to detail. If something’s not right, we stop and fix it. You’re not going to get that quality from mass production."

Mike Tibbetts, senior upholsterer at Geiger in Hildebran, North Carolina.

Photo: Benjamin Rasmussen

See the full story on Dwell.com: Made in America: The South