Factory & Capabilities

Coakley & Cox is the leading proponent for sustainable upholstery making in the UK. Our designs are all made by hand at our specialist factory in Norfolk, England. There are three key stages in the making process: frame-making, pattern-cutting and upholstering. Our dedicated team ensure total quality control throughout the making process.

Frame Making
A dedicated wood-working shop make all of the frames, using FSC approved solid wood, usually beech. They use a variety of woodworking machines in the process, a CNC cutter to ensure total precision, and various saws and planers to create the perfect finish on the frame. The frames are then glued and screwed together using traditional methods and quality controlled before they enter the upholstery section of the factory. 

Pattern Cutting
While the frames are being made, the corresponding patterns are being cut by the team of seamsters and seamstresses in another part of the factory. They work to patterns that are created when a piece is first developed by the designer.

Upholstering
Once the frame and the fabric are prepared, the design goes into the final stage of development, when it is upholstered by hand, using little more than simple tools, a compressed air staple gun and a lot of dedication. Our policy is that each single upholstery piece is worked on by one single upholsterer, who takes care of the design and ensures it is perfect before it leaves the factory floor for a final quality control check.

Many of our upholsterers have worked at the factory for a number of years, and their knowledge and understanding of the materials, of intricate hand work, and of how to resolve problems is invaluable in ensuring a quality product.

This final upholstery stage in the making process is a lengthy process, and can take between four to six hours to complete, depending on the product itself. What we ensure is that all work is done in a measured and correct way, and the factory is a collaborative environment where our staff, both experienced members of the team and those taking an apprenticeship, can support each other in solving problems and can constantly strive to make product better.

Sustainable & Natural Materials
We use a range of natural materials in the upholstery process as a replacement for foam. Foam, being petrochemical based, is the key unsustainable material in modern upholstery, and we believe it has to be removed from products to ensure they are truly sustainable. Read more below.