The Upholstery Forum

Hi, I'm based in the West of Ireland doing mostly automotive upholstery and roughly 20% domestic/commercial upholstery. Suppliers I use for automotive upholstery are
Westtrading- Netherlands
Inter Tap - Poland
Carmat - Netherlands
All very good to deal with, I allow 5-7 days for delivery.
Some really good suppliers in UK but with brexit and import tax its made it difficult to use them but sometimes one has too. No real automotive upholstery suppliers in Ireland.

I feel your pain, about supplies. I live where we have 3 suppliers locally and sometimes have to go out of state to get what I want. Can't imagine needing to go to a different country.
I toured your country a few years ago in October. It has to be the cleanest place that I have ever visited, bar none. So much history there.

Thanks for your reply, great you have visited Ireland. I've been to the states a number of times and hope to be over again soon!
It's a way of life here in the automotive upholstery scene in Ireland. Lots of restoration work and campers. Thinking of doing an online shop for the DIY and upholsterers that just dabble in automotive. Things like proper vinyl for motor bike seats and sundries/components etc.

@Riwaka1 Have you tried Martrim out of the UK? Martrim.co.uk They carry lots of automotive upholstery supplies.

Yes I agree! Ireland is one of the most beautiful places I have been. We actually almost got stuck in Ireland during the beginning of covid. We ere in Ireland when all the boarders got shut down. Ended up making it on the last delta flight out of Ireland. I would love to go back one day and continue that adventure.

@JamesLey Where have you been purchasing the materials for your projects?

Hi John,
Thanks for your reply!
Yes I have purchased from Matrim in the past. Great service and products. Only problem now is import tax because the UK is not in the European Union. The counties in the EU can trade between each other without occuring import tax. It's a shame because the UK have great automotive upholstery suppliers, I only get products there if I have no other choice. Here's a couple of examples.
Example 1:
Recaro OEM fabric (UK) €126 x 2 meters = €252
+ Import tax €108
Example 2:
Recaro OEM fabric (EU) €90 x 2 meters = €180
+ Import tax €0
Freight and exchange rates included

@Riwaka1 Ohhh I am very sorry I was under the assumption that Ireland was part of the UK. I forgot that I had to use euros there when I visited. My bad.

Here are the EU suppliers I know of.
https://www.oldtimer-textiles.de/
https://westtrading.nl/en
https://leatherproject.eu/

No problem, easy mistake especially with the 6 counties in Northern Ireland being part of the UK. I'm in the Republic of Ireland which is part of the EU. I'm actually from New Zealand been here 22 years.

Apologies for the delayed response!
My current go to place is Boyriven: https://www.boyriven.co.uk/
That and Martrim are my usual suppliers.