The Upholstery Company
The Master Upholsterer's Journal Issue N° 01 Friday, 15 May 2026
Auckland · 31e Apollo Drive
A Living Craft

Re-cover. Re-imagine. Restore.

For Daniel McAlpine, upholstery has been a life-long obsession — a quiet conversation between hand, hide, timber and thread. From a Mercedes van's diamond-quilted lounge to a Victorian settee in burnt-rust velvet, every project leaves the Rosedale workshop better than it arrived.
14.
Years in NZ as a company
5.
Disciplines under one roof
1.
Master upholsterer at the bench
Antique Victorian settee re-upholstered in rust velvet — restoration project
Plate 01 — Victorian settee, rust velvet 2024
Marine Automotive Commercial Antique Restoration Recovery & Repair Hand-Built in Auckland
Chapter I
01
A note from the bench

The old furniture is never tired. Only the fabric is.

For Daniel, upholstery has been a life-long passion. He joined a family business at a local antique furniture restoration shop in the UK, learning traditional techniques alongside makers who had learned them the same way — by feel, by stitch, by patient repetition. In 2000 he moved to New Zealand and kept working: re-covering heirlooms, designing custom furniture, redrawing the inside of boats and cars and cafés.

Today, The Upholstery Company is a single-bench workshop in Rosedale, Auckland, where every commission is met by the same hands that learned the craft thirty years ago. We work on Mercedes vans and Edwardian chesterfields with equal seriousness. We use traditional materials when traditional materials are right, and modern technical fabrics when they are. We give honest quotes. We finish what we start.

§ I
Hand-stitched, not outsourced
§ II
Materials that age well
§ III
A quote means a price
§ IV
Pick-up & delivery, Auckland-wide
Chapter II
02

Five fluencies, one set of hands.

From a yacht's saloon to a barista's banquette, every commission comes through the same workshop and the same upholsterer. The discipline changes; the standard does not.

01
Service N° 01

Commercial.

Custom furniture design and manufacture for cafés, bars, hotels and offices. Whether you want to expand an existing suite, create a stylish new look or have a custom bed headboard made — if you can think it, we can make it.

  • Suite expansion & reupholstery
  • Custom furniture design
  • Custom bed headboards
  • Commercial fit-outs
Commercial upholstery — café banquette in tan leather
02
Automotive upholstery — Mercedes van diamond-quilted interior
Service N° 02

Automotive.

A full range of automotive upholstery services. Motor bike seat repairs, vehicle interior repairs, automotive carpets, hood linings, door panels, dashboards, tonneau covers, custom upholstery, full re-trims and caravan refits — done properly.

  • Motor bike seat repairs
  • Interior repairs
  • Automotive carpets
  • Hood linings
  • Door panels
  • Dashboards
  • Tonneau covers
  • Custom upholstery
  • Full vehicle re-trims
  • Caravan refits
03
Service N° 03

Marine.

Extensive experience working on boat interiors and covers. Full interiors, refits, replacement canopies, clears, zips and fastenings. Custom-made squabs and hull linings — built to live with salt, sun and the Hauraki.

  • Full marine interiors
  • Refits
  • Canopies
  • Road covers
  • Storage covers
  • Stone guards
  • Seats / squabs
  • Marine carpet
  • Hull linings
Marine upholstery — yacht saloon dinette and seating
04
Antique restoration — Victorian settee re-upholstered in rust velvet
Service N° 04

Antique Restoration.

Traditional restoration of antique furniture. We re-foam and re-upholster seats and suites using traditional techniques and materials — horsehair, hessian, double-cone springs, hand-stitched edges — to breathe new life into old works of art.

  • Antique furniture restoration
  • Re-foaming
  • Traditional re-upholstery
  • Traditional materials sourcing
05
Service N° 05

Recovery & Repair.

A one-stop shop for recovering and repairing furniture with sentimental or design value. Whatever its current condition, almost anything can be brought back to life — far better than throwing it out and far better for the planet, too.

  • Furniture recovery
  • Sentimental piece restoration
  • Design updates
  • Foam replacement
  • Fabric replacement
Furniture recovery and repair — sentimental piece restored
Chapter IV
04

The man at the bench.

N° 01 — The Upholsterer
Daniel
McAlpine.
Owner / Master Upholsterer
  • Trained in antique restoration, UK
  • Working in Auckland since 2000
  • Founded company in 2012
  • Marine · Auto · Antique · Commercial
Email Daniel directly →
"For Daniel, upholstery has been a life-long passion. He joined a family business at a local antique furniture restoration shop in the UK. He moved to NZ in 2000 and continued to work on furniture recoveries as well as designing and building custom furniture."

He broadened his skills to include automotive upholstery, commercial fit-outs and has had extensive experience working on boat interiors and covers. Today he runs the bench at The Upholstery Company in Rosedale.

Give Daniel a call for a free quote on any type of upholstery job for the home, workplace, boat or vehicle. Pick-up and delivery is available Auckland-wide (charges may apply).

A working timeline
UK
Family business — antique restoration
2000
Moved to New Zealand
2012
The Upholstery Company established
Today
Rosedale workshop, Auckland
Chapter V
05

How a commission works.

i.

A free quote.

Send photos, dimensions and a description. Daniel replies with a free, honest quote and a realistic timeline. No on-site visit required — though one can be arranged.

ii.

Pick-up.

Pick-up and delivery is available Auckland-wide. Charges may apply for the outer suburbs. Bring it in to Rosedale if you'd rather see the workshop in person.

iii.

The bench.

The piece is stripped, assessed, rebuilt where required, and re-covered in the fabric or hide you've chosen. You're welcome to visit mid-build to see how it's going.

iv.

Home again.

Delivered back to you. We finish what we start, and we stand behind it. If something isn't right, ring Daniel and we'll put it right.

Chapter VI
06

The Workshop.

Tucked behind Apollo Drive in Rosedale, the workshop is open by appointment. Bring the piece in, or send photos and we'll come pick it up.

N° 31e — Apollo Dr.
The Workshop
Rosedale,
Auckland.
Address
31e Apollo Drive
Rosedale, Auckland 0632
Telephone
021 150 6617
Correspondence
daniel.null.@dmu.co.nz
Hours
By appointment, Monday – Saturday
Pick-up & delivery, Auckland-wide
Get directions →
Begin a Commission
Request a quote
Send Daniel a few photos.

A handful of clear photos, rough measurements, and a sentence about what you'd like done — that's all it takes to get a free, no-obligation quote.

SH1 · NORTHERN MOTORWAY APOLLO DR. CONSTELLATION DR. ROSEDALE · AUCKLAND N ↑ U 31E APOLLO DR. The Workshop. FROM AKL CBD — 18 KM · 22 MIN EXIT 411 · CONSTELLATION DR. N
31e Apollo Drive · Rosedale · Auckland 0632