COMMERCIAL and domestic upholsterer Andrew Lees Upholstery has supplied a range of seating and accessories for two refurbished offices in Greater Manchester operated by online holiday company On The Beach.

Mossley-based Andrew Lees Upholstery made upholstered seating for On The Beach’s technology headquarters in Manchester city centre, along with curtains and sheers for the holiday company’s customer contact centre in Cheadle, Stockport.

Andrew Lees Upholstery was a subcontractor to APEX Shopfitting & Joinery, based in Stalybridge.

Upholstered products made for On The Beach’s technology HQ include seating for meeting booths, smaller work pods, floor seating and wall panels. The wooden and upholstered meeting booths were made in two heights including an extra-tall seven metre version, with upholstered seating and panels fitted on the inner backs and ceilings.

The company also manufactured cushions for stepped, tiered lecture hall-style bleacher seats and throw cushions used in a small wooden boat which now serves as a quirky office sofa.

Founder and director Andrew Lees said: “These two orders for On The Beach were significant for the volume and variety of upholstery we manufactured. It was particularly interesting to work on the seven-metre high meeting booths and high-backed pods, which are quite unusual.

“All the covering fabrics are made by a textile manufacturer called Kvadrat. On The Beach chose warm colours associated with sunny beaches, such as reds, pale blues and pastels. Elsewhere, stronger colours are used in the lecture room upholstery. I think the choice of bright colours makes a nice alternative to more-conventional offices seating colours, such as greys. For the Cheadle contact centre, we made curtains and sheers.

“APEX’s office joinery work included the bespoke design, manufacture and installation of large storage drawers for deck-chairs underneath tiered wooden seating. The deck-chairs can be taken-out or put away for a variety of office meetings and activities. The finished office furniture in both locations is really attractive, functional and versatile, making for productive, flexible, creative and enjoyable workspaces.

“For Andrew Lees Upholstery, this range of office interior upholstery for On The Beach represents some of our biggest projects to date. We are getting more and larger jobs of this type, as we extend our manufacturing base in Greater Manchester. We recently bought a neighbouring former industrial property which we are refurbishing to install new, in-house spray polishing and foam-cutting facilities, plus new offices and a showroom. So, these are exciting developments.

Andrew added: “We’ve been working with APEX for over 10 years. It is fantastic office furniture and shop fitting specialist which is also fast-growing. APEX also work with metallic, stone and marble-type solid surface materials, such as Corian and Formica, which have a wide variety of interior fit-out and furniture uses.

PICTURES: Andrew Lees with examples of upholstered office furniture and accessories made by Andrew Lees Upholstery and APEX for On The Beach technology headquarters in central Manchester and its contact centre in Cheadle, Stockport.

ANDREW LEES UPHOLSTERY BACKGROUND:

Andrew Lees Upholstery has been in operation for nearly 30 years and was founded by Andrew Lees in Mossley, Greater Manchester. The company initially provided high-quality upholstery services to the domestic furniture market, such as re-covering sofas, headboards and dining room chairs.

In 2010, it expanded to include work with commercial joinery, interior fit-out and refurbishment companies. This included more bar and restaurant projects including bar seating, booth seating and interior wall panels, and office furniture upholstery.

Today, Andrew Lees Upholstery works with clients across the UK on commercial and domestic upholstery services. This includes repairs, restoration, bespoke design and manufacture, along with curtains, blinds and accessories.

Clients include joinery, fit-out and shopfitting contractors, property developers and professionals such as architects and interior specifiers. Upholstery products and services are used on interiors including restaurants, hotels, bars and cafes; offices and commercial property, shops and salons, hospital, medical and dental waiting rooms; classrooms, lecture halls and leisure spaces.