Welcome
Helen Miller Studio
My Prospect Park studio open by appt. Email directly so you can include photos of your inquiry! hello@helenmillerstudio.com
Pillows
Consultation
Cushions
I make pillows! Soft room accent pieces enliven a space; lends color, texture, pattern - adds more to MORE for the maximalists, or just one or 2 for the minimalist. Supports lower back when needed by supplementing extra padding while adding a layered, decorative touch.
I make them using industry standards, abiding by recommended stitch
I make pillows! Soft room accent pieces enliven a space; lends color, texture, pattern - adds more to MORE for the maximalists, or just one or 2 for the minimalist. Supports lower back when needed by supplementing extra padding while adding a layered, decorative touch.
I make them using industry standards, abiding by recommended stitches-per-inch depending on what material is used, serged cuts to prevent raveling, tapered corners. Concealed zippers are applied for quick closure and easy removal when time for cleaning or insert replacement.
Cushions
Consultation
Cushions
I make cushions! For all kinds of seating purposes. Indoors - leather couch cushions worn out? Now we may recover in textile, an old Persian or dhurrie rug, if not leather again. Outdoors & Sunrooms - in fabulous UV resistant fabrics with proper UV thread and again - fills that are appropriate for cost and use considerations.
Wicker,
I make cushions! For all kinds of seating purposes. Indoors - leather couch cushions worn out? Now we may recover in textile, an old Persian or dhurrie rug, if not leather again. Outdoors & Sunrooms - in fabulous UV resistant fabrics with proper UV thread and again - fills that are appropriate for cost and use considerations.
Wicker, Rattan, Danish, Built-in Banquettes, Benches, Englenooks, Floor Cushions... and every other kind!
Consultation
Consultation
Consultation
I go onsite to New Builds (residential or commercial) or do In-Home visits to meet and discuss plans for construction, see your current design situation. Happy to give quotes online too, with pictures sent of finished rooms, or plans of rooms, your dreams and schemes.
My Background
My Inspiration
My Background
The Short Read: My work experience in every field has all led to my current ability to understand and make your sewn and upholstered goods with industry standards while paying attention to detail, enduring beauty, comfort and style.
The Long Read: Line cook then chef at premiere Twin Cities restaurants and catering of the 80s/90s, Black's
The Short Read: My work experience in every field has all led to my current ability to understand and make your sewn and upholstered goods with industry standards while paying attention to detail, enduring beauty, comfort and style.
The Long Read: Line cook then chef at premiere Twin Cities restaurants and catering of the 80s/90s, Black's Cafe/Catering, D'Amico's Azure, No-Wake Cafe, 3 menus at the old Loring Cafe, Table of Contents inside the old Hungry Mind bookstore, and tons of little jobs in between. I took some evening classes at area vocational school in upholstery in between crafting and sewing garments for myself and 2 daughters. In about 2 months at school, I did a boat seat and an ottoman then the program ended state wide and the only place you could learn upholstery after that in Minnesota, was in state prison. All industry forecasts predicted "no growth in the field of upholstery". It was widely referred to as a "dying art".
But I loved it and stuck with it. Worked part-time at an upholstery shop and a drapery workroom, but wages were too low, so I set out on my own out of economic necessity and because I really liked the scale of this work, the experience of working with a wide variety of materials and projects from Fortuny to 1930s feedsack and also loved the personal service I could provide to interior designers and one-on-one with residential clients.
Fast forward 22 years, 4 brick and mortar shop locations, several trips abroad and in the US to attend specialized study of upholstery, textiles and design...I'm a Lifer to the world of interiors, it is always inspiring to me and never boring!
My Medium
My Inspiration
My Background
The Short Read: A world of textiles, fillers and fibers are sourced and fabricated into pillows, cushions and upholstered items with experience and enthusiasm - I love what I do and making your finished projects glow with individuality is my strong suit. Pillows and cushions are not generic here, but are expressive accents of your well-
The Short Read: A world of textiles, fillers and fibers are sourced and fabricated into pillows, cushions and upholstered items with experience and enthusiasm - I love what I do and making your finished projects glow with individuality is my strong suit. Pillows and cushions are not generic here, but are expressive accents of your well-appointed rooms!
The Long Read: Collectible and heirloom textiles, designer to-the-trade fabrics from the world's leading brands, natural and synthetic stuffings... the highest quality foundational materials and threads, is what has set my work apart from other workrooms.
I use materials in the making of cushions, pillows and upholstered goods as wholistic and sustainable as I can get, which is truly difficult these days, but I make every effort... and each project is different because the final fabric or cover is always different. As uniquely individual as my clients themselves! I like to go over all the options for sewing styles and fillings with clients, from duck and goose down to cotton, wool and polyester battings and loose fill... to coconut and horsehair as padded fill on furniture - and not assume that the cheaply made, ready stock of petrol-derivitive products is what will be used, which is the go-to for many competitors. The list of "ingredients" is always in flux - countries of origin and availability as well as cost.
My 22 years of professional work for interior designers, architects, antique collector/dealers, and residential clients coupled with my love for history and textiles design has given me a wealth of knowledge that I use to guide client choices in fabrics and details of finishing that will be perfect for the given project.
My confident approach in fabricating pillows, cushions, bedding, tablesettings, small and special piece upholstery ensures that the client's project will last generations while providing unique and beautiful accents to curated rooms - and that the making of them through my hands has been as kind on the planet as possible.
My Inspiration
My Inspiration
My Inspiration
The Short Read: My clients and their aesthetic visions for nuanced textile accents in home or office is the first great inspiration followed by the actualization of their vision through fabrication. Whether this is in residential homes, apartments, lofts, lake cabins, summer or winter homes ... or corporate settings, lifestyle boutiques,
The Short Read: My clients and their aesthetic visions for nuanced textile accents in home or office is the first great inspiration followed by the actualization of their vision through fabrication. Whether this is in residential homes, apartments, lofts, lake cabins, summer or winter homes ... or corporate settings, lifestyle boutiques, hotels, airbnb, vrbo these interiors each are memorable or have become known for their custom interiors and unique interior accents.
It's my great pleasure to realize my client's inspirations in finished soft home furnishings and upholstery.
The Long Read: With an artistic soul and designer's eye myself, I am frequently asked to "design" for clients.
The opening inspo can start with a scrap of cloth, a painting, carpets and rugs, a plate, a piece of glass... the view outside.
A palette is determined along with texture and performance needs. Workability of those materials chosen is considered, along with budget and availability.
Inspiration is never in short supply.
Here are a few of mine:
Nature (of course).
Clients environment or preferred environment - real or meta...
I personally love all the Olds...and have always loved pairing new with old. Old towns, old cities, old buildings, old houses, old furniture, old advertising, old cars, old people, old textiles, old audio equipment, old records, old films, old photos ... urban ruins, ghost signs, masonry and wood finishes/conditions...old dishes.
Bad art, good art, porcelain, ceramics, stoneware, iron frames and railings, recorded music, flowers, clear things made of glass and plexi. Windows, window display and window shopping, visual merchandising. Foods and flavor development as well as the art of the plate (I still want my own cafe!)