Japan-born Tomoko Lewis, who runs upholstery courses in Japanese from her Surrey home, pictured in her workshop tackling a Victorian dining chair.
“I started doing upholstery 13 years ago, partly because there is no possibility to do this in Japan and antiques are so expensive. The idea to do this myself was compelling.”
Tomoko Lewis, formerly Kurosawa, gradually moved from hobby to study and has a City & Guilds diploma in Design & Craft Level 3 – Upholstery and is just completing her diploma in professional soft furnishing from the National Design Academy in Nottingham.