A little bit about

Hello! My name is Jaclyn Kole. I’ve always loved furniture and interior design and knew I wanted to pursue a career in a creative field. I settled on majoring in Textiles, Merchandising, & Design at Middle Tennessee State University.

I first started buying and selling furniture in the summer of 2010 after moving to Nashville & decorating my first solo apartment post-college. I found my first mid-century pieces on Craig’s List and became obsessed. I restored the wood on a couple but was most interested in the upholstered pieces - which were in rough shape but had wonderful bones and were of better quality than the newer pieces that I could afford. In 2014, I bought Amanda Brown’s Step-by-Step Guide to Upholstery & Design book. At that point in my life, I was unhappily married & working in HR- a life which was very different than what I had imagined for myself. I sat with that book overwhelmed but inspired.

Fast forward to 2017. I enrolled in an upholstery class offered by the Nashville Community Education Program- a 2 month course that provided a good overview of the upholstery process. The class made me thirsty. I was itching to learn more. By happenstance, I came across the Instagram of local upholsterer, Diane Montgomery, of Coventry Lane Upholstery. Without much thinking, I contacted her and asked if she’d allow me to come shadow her. Diane had recently moved to the Nashville area, and was just beginning her now very successful business. She agreed to meet me! After shadowing her in her home, I knew that this was something I wanted to seriously pursue.

I quit my full-time job in the Fall of 2017, found a part-time business gig in the music industry, got a divorce, and began a year long apprenticeship with Diane.  I still feel so grateful to have had the opportunity to learn from her. She is an all-around badass in the industry and at life in general. Throughout my apprenticeship, I began acquiring all the necessary tools and equipment to set up shop in my garage, and in January of 2019, I went out on my own. 

 

I signed on as a dealer with The Gaslamp Antiques & Decorating Mall in the summer of 2019 and began selling my wares, honing my skills, and further developing my design aesthetic.  In the Spring of 2023, after nearly four years of successfully flipping furniture at Gaslamp, I decided to end my booth lease, pivoting my business to providing commission-based upholstery services instead.

 

In early summer 2023, I broke ground on my backyard upholstery studio, and completed the project at the end of November. I  am truly excited to have a permanent space to grow my skills and offer upholstery services to the community that I love!