Chair Caning and Seatweaving Experts

East Street Arts is dedicated to fostering the creation of art through artisan training programs, workshops, and community interactions for persons of all abilities.

In our chair caning studio, Association of Artisans to Cane, we provide hands-on learning to artists of all abilities in the craft of seat weaving.

The artists use these skills to restore chairs for community members with oversight from highly trained staff. Each artist has the opportunity to learn various forms of seat weaving, including hand cane, pressed cane, paper rush, and flat reed/splint weaving, as well as other techniques.

The artists advance at their own pace; as one style of seat weaving is mastered, another style is taught. While most of the seat weaving is done to restore chairs for community members, donated chairs in good condition are also restored and sold in the shop.

Charter & Business Member of The SeatWeavers’ Guild, Inc.®

(3/01/23)

Antiques by Futura–Founded by John and Carol Bessone in 1992, is now operated by son Robert and daughter Regina. Boasting a 10,000 square foot showroom full of Antique and Vintage furniture and decor that we’ve been collecting for well over 30 years and have available for purchase.

We also have a full-service repair and refinishing shop with a complete seat weaving room to take care of your chair caning needs. We do Cane, Rush, Danish cord, Rattan Wicker, and Upholstery repair as well as Refinishing and Restoring Furniture of all types. Local pick-up and delivery are also available.

Call or email today for your chair caning, upholstery or refinishing job appointment. When you come for that appointment, be sure to peruse the antique furniture in the showroom, you’ll be glad you did!

(2/01/23)

The Caning Lady is nestled in the quaint Mississippi river valley town of Winona in southeastern Minnesota, but not too far south of Minneapolis/St. Paul to enjoy the drive.

Since 1986, I’ve been restoring precious family heirlooms; bringing your cherished treasures back to life is my passion and what I love to do!

I specialize in traditional hand caning, pressed cane, porch weave, Spiderweb, Daisy, Button and other unique patterns. I also weave with hickory bark, splint, Shaker tape and paper fiber rush.

You may contact me via phone or email for quotes, but please put “Chair Caning” in the subject line when emailing and be sure to leave a message with your phone call so I know how to help you. I’m looking forward to working with you.

(11/15/SUB-TC)

Martha’s home-based business, Briar Creek Studio is located in the Upper Catskills of the Southern Tier of New York near Oneonta.

She has over 30 years of experience teaching and offering all types of chair caning, rush, splint and Shaker tape seat repair.

Work is of professional quality and prices are reasonable. Free estimates. Call or email for hours, prices and possible pick-up.

(SUB 1/31/22)

Step-In-Time-Antiques is a home-based business specializing in hole-to-hole chair caning, pressed/machine/spline cane, and binder cane in various patterns (e.g. herringbone, New England Porch Weave, Finger Lakes Fan Weave, etc.), paper fiber rush and Shaker tape weaving.

Will do some minor structural repair. Free estimates and local pickup/delivery. Good rates!

Charter Member of The SeatWeavers’ Guild, Inc.®

(SUB 1/21/24)

Silver River Center for Chair Caning is operated by two chair nerds on a mission to cultivate and inspire a reverence for a worldwide chair caning legacy.

Our vision is to promote an enthusiasm for the craft through education, published work, restoration, and travel. Be on the lookout for our instructional manual to be published in 2023! Also, see our article in Mother Earth News (August/September 2021).

We aim to dispel the myth that chair caning is a dying art. We want to empower everyone to learn to restore their own chairs. So we expanded our chair caning restoration business into Silver River Center for Chair Caning, the nation’s only chair caning school and museum. We teach small classes at our shop in Asheville as well as regular classes at John C Campbell Folk School, Penland, Arrowmont, and the Island Farm.

Silver River is an official education center of the Southern Highland Craft Guild. Memberships include The SeatWeavers’ Guild, The Furniture Society, The American Craft Council, The River Arts District Association, and we are a heritage member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild (Brandy is a 4th Generation Chair Weaver). We are proud to honor a family tradition, the craft, and all chair nerds (past, present, and future) with Silver River Center for Chair Caning.

Visitors to Silver River can–

• See daily demonstrations on an incredible variety of chairs with woven seats.
• Take classes from beginner to advanced tutorials, volunteer, or apply for apprenticeships.
• Take a self-guided tour d’ chairs and read about the material, history, and process of 8 styles of chair seat weaving. A permanent collection of historical chairs is on display as well as rotating exhibits including #canespotting and Historic Western North Carolina Chairs.
• Enjoy the reference library and educate yourself on ancient and global traditions.
• Bring their family heirloom in for restoration by our seat weaving experts
• Donate their chair for student practice
• Purchase restored chairs for sale
• Get advice on their chairs
• Quickly become total chair nerds.

NOTE: Due to the “Pandemic Pivot” as well as persistent overuse injuries, we are stepping away from MOST restorations. We still love to weave chairs, we just have to be more selective with what we bring in. Our main goal is education through classes, both in-person in our shop and at craft schools across the country, and online.

We shoot videos for YouTube and we are building an online school for on-demand learning from the comfort of your home. We travel to speak and demonstrate at museums, craft shows, schools, woodworkers associations, etc.

As such, our restoration waitlist is often 6 months-1 year out. Restoration inquiries should be emailed to [email protected] and should include photos of the chair attached to the email. Classes at the moment in 2022, are by appointment only, call or email to schedule.

Corporate & Board Member of The SeatWeavers’ Guild, Inc.®

(4/1/NCHG)

Chafin’s Chair Caning and Seat Weaving conveniently located between Huntsville and Birmingham, AL, has served Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia since 1999.

Services include caning (hand, pressed, and blind), rush, binder cane, seagrass, Danish cord, Shaker tape, and reed. We also offer classes, re-gluing, custom baskets, and hand-tied brooms. Call for pricing and hours.

(MO/23/TC)

V.R. Weaving has over 27+ years of experience doing cane, fiber rush, splint wood seats, Danish cord, and teaching classes.

Most reweaving can be completed within two+ weeks. Pick-up and/or delivery in the DC area, Richmond, and others for an additional fee.

(12/12 TC)

Supplying quality Seatweaving and Basketweaving supplies for over a century, since 1917!  Also repair all types of chair repairs, hand cane, cane webbing, Danish Cord, binder cane, Shaker tape, wicker repair, fibre rush, natural rush etc.

Regluing service, pickup and delivery available, also complete weaving supplies.

Remember, “A chair is only as good as the seat that is in it.”

Founding Member of The SeatWeavers’ Guild, Inc.®

(7/1/23)

Bayberry Seatweaving is now located in Bellevue, Nebraska, just south of Omaha, after recently moving from Canton, Massachusetts. Owner, Ted Powell had his chair caning and seatweaving business in Canton for 15 years, providing chair caning and other seatweaving services in the surrounding area.

My mother was the Extension Service agent for Dukes County on Martha’s Vineyard – great place to grow up on!!  She taught me how to refinish, cane, and rush furniture back in the sixties when I was about ten years old.

In Canton, I concentrated on single-strand caning, pressed cane, paper rush, pre-twisted natural rush, and Danish cord.  I intend to keep doing these same skills and incorporating other seat weaving types as the need arises.

In addition, I provide minor restoration, re-gluing, and refinishing.  My turn-around times vary depending on what is needed and the complexity of the work.  However, because I am “retired,” I can respond quickly.

I provide free cost estimates and can usually do them using a few pictures and some seat measurements. Contact us today for your appointment.

Member of The SeatWeavers’ Guild, Inc.®

(10/31/TC)

Harry Johnston, owner of HSJ’s SeatWeaving has been serving the greater Canton, Ohio area since 2009.

Services that HSJ’s SeatWeaving provides are the following designs and/or patterns:

• Seven step hole to hole cane in traditional hexagon, diamond and other patterns
• Chair backs in snowflake and spider-web designs
• Pressed cane
• Paper fibre rush
• Wide binding cane in herringbone and other patterns
• Danish cord
• Basket weave for chair seats

We provide the services of caning and seat weaving and also have the ability to stain and repair chairs if needed.

Contact today to discuss your project and set your appointment to get TLC for your cherished piece.

We do quality caning at reasonable prices!

(8/05/TC)

Diana, owner of Sit-A-While Seat Weaving has over 30+ years experience offering custom chair seat replacement using cane, splint, fibre rush, Shaker tape and seagrass. Pick-up available within a 75-mile radius.

Diana travels throughout Missouri demonstrating at events and also offers weekend classes. Stay at local B & Bs in the historic community overlooking the Missouri River.

Charter and Cottage Member of The SeatWeavers’ Guild, Inc. ®.

(2/01/25)

Ellen Harford, owner of Island Maide, learned her craft at an adult education class.

Since taking that first class, which sparked her entrepreneurial spirit, Ellen has been providing chair seating in a variety of weaving techniques and materials for 30+ years.

Island Maide creates handcrafted seating to replace worn or broken chair seating. Services include traditional hand caning, pressed cane, half-round oval seatweaving and rush, extending the life of memorable family heirlooms.

Located on an island in Casco Bay in Maine, Ellen has made it her mission to help bring business and the arts to the island community.

She’s doing her part by adding chair caning and other types of seat weaving repair services.

Fee-based pick-up and delivery services within 50 miles of Portland, Maine are also available.

(10/05/MO-TC)

Angie Reid’s Furniture Refinishing and Caning preserves memories and brings old furniture new life! The business located on the border of Maine and New Brunswick, Canada, serves the Maritime provinces in both Canada and Maine.

I started my business after stripping and refinishing the stairs in my Victorian Era home. Shortly after launching my refinishing business, a neighbor brought me a cane chair in need of a new seat.

While learning hole-to-hole caning I discovered a talent and passion for seat weaving. I am proficient in hole-to-hole caning, sheet cane, French hand cane, Danish cord, rush and reed weaving.

In terms of refinishing, I restore heirlooms and breath new life into pieces with paint and/or stain. I specialize in custom colour staining and also wicker repair.

(2/1/23)

Wellfleet Chair Caning specializes in Hand and French Caning, Porch Chairs, Splint and Reed, Mid-Century Modern, Shaker Tape, and Danish Cord.

I have been involved in seat weaving since 1986, continuing a tradition that began with my great-grandmother in the 1920s.

Quality work and reasonable prices are my policies, not mere goals. I serve Cape Cod and the Islands year-round.

Business Level Member of The SeatWeavers’ Guild, Inc.®

(9/30/SUB-TC)

Debbie Weckwerth Chair Caning is a home-based shop with over 30 years experience, offering all types of chair seatweaving, hand caning, prewoven cane, splint, porch cane and wicker repair. Sample patterns on display.

Easy one-hour drive from Minneapolis with a south-central location.”Quality work with reasonable prices keeps repairing your antiques affordable.” 

(3/1/23)

David W. Dick Chair Caning has performed expert cane seat weaving and restoration, serving Illinois, Indiana, and the greater Midwest, since 1975.

We weave strand cane, sometimes called lace cane, and loom-woven (pressed cane), wide binding cane, and splints.

We gladly stain to match the original material and furniture. And are always more than willing to discuss your seat weaving needs including giving free estimates.

Nothing leaves our shop until it’s perfect — count on it! References available upon request.

Proud Charter and Cottage Member of The SeatWeavers’ Guild, Inc.® (TSWG)

(12/24 GFSUBTC)

Sissel’s Chair Renewal provides furniture repair, cabinetmaking and chair seatweaving with quality work and attention to detail, since 1988. Specializing in Danish cord, hand cane, pressed cane, splint, Shaker tape and rush weaving. Pick up and delivery service available.

Minneapolis-based Norwegian artisan with 20+ years experience in repair and renewal of chairs with wicker & cane seats and backing, especially those from Scandinavia.

If you need an authentic restoration/reweaving of a Wegner chair or a Møller, perhaps? I work in conjunction with other woodworkers, cabinet makers, and high-end craftsmen in the area to offer the finest quality work on seating and related projects. Call or email today and we’ll work together.

Business Member of The SeatWeavers’ Guild, Inc.®

(11/10/TC)

Den of Antiquity specializes in hand, French and insert cane, all types of antique and modern wicker, natural and fiber rush, splint seats, Danish cord, bamboo, rattan, and outdoor plastic patio furniture restoration.

Owner Sandra Rosar, has been weaving for over 45 years and worked at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in Williamsburg, VA and has restored pieces for the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC. There is not much that she hasn’t seen or done in the world of weaving with her numerous years of experience.

Sandra receives projects from many areas of the country that require imagination, creativity, engineering, and fine, detailed restoration to skillfully bring the piece back to its original condition. She maintains a shop with a master woodworker who assists with projects if needed and has just as many years of experience in refinishing, gluing, repairing, and restoration as Sandra.

Den of Antiquity works on all types of furniture, from antique to modern, in homes, hotels, offices, restaurants, yachts, and will travel to your location when requested to do so. No job is too big or small, simple or complicated!

(TC-4/3/25)

Established in 2002, Excel Shop provides the best in quality furniture refinishing, upholstery, chair caning and custom wood craftsmanship.

Excel Shop does all types of chair seat weaving replacements including hand cane, sheet caning, and rush bottoms. If your furniture has lost its luster and is showing its age, call us for a complete restoration, too.

When your favorite sofa or chair is worn out, our craftsmen can make it new again. Our woodworking and finishing departments can properly restore your upholstered furniture.

Antiques are a specialty. We will carefully restore your heirlooms. We repair everything from loose chairs to veneer damage. No job is too small.

(SUB-6/05/23)