Jake’s Upholstery

Santa Fe’s Home-Grown Upholstery Specialists

Jake’s Upholstery has roots. Started in 1961 by Jake Rodriguez, this full-service upholstery shop has been covering and re-covering furniture for Santa Fe residents for two generations. For almost 20 years, Jake’s Upholstery was a downtown Santa Fe fixture located just a block off the plaza. But like most “service businesses” serving locals downtown, Jake’s moved away from Santa Fe’s high-rent, congested tourist center to its current location on Hickox Street in 1980, which has easier access and better parking for customers. Jake’s son and daughter-in-law, Mark and Pam Rodriguez, took over the family business in 1989 when Jake retired.

Jake’s Upholstery is still the closest upholstery business to downtown Santa Fe, and it continues to gain new clients on word-of-mouth based on its good reputation for quality work and fine craftsmanship. Jake’s offers thousands of fabrics to choose from, including an extensive selection of imported fabrics for all uses. Jake’s Upholstery prides itself on being able to build all styles of upholstered furniture on a custom basis “from scratch” – they are often asked to replicate a piece of furniture from a photograph, and they’re generally able to do so successfully, to their customers’ delight.

Most of the custom upholstery work done by Jake’s Upholstery is for residential applications, such as re-covering couches and chairs, and making pillows and cushions for bancos and benches. But Jake’s also does custom work for interior designers, wood workers, local furniture makers, and commercial projects, such as hotels and restaurants. They occasionally get the opportunity to do an “extra-fun” commercial project, such as a film shooting in town; they recently did some custom work for the “Wild Hogs” movie production and enjoyed the experience.

Pam Rodriguez says they’ve recently been doing a lot of projects with “Sunbrella” fabrics for outdoor furniture used in courtyards, patios and sunrooms. This waterproof, canvas-like fabric resists fading and comes in many different colors, textures and patterns.

Pam cautions buyers of upholstered furniture and upholstery fabrics about using the internet to find bargains. “Prices may be low, but often so is the quality,” warns Pam, “and you really do get what you pay for, so be careful.”

Jakes Upholstery is located at 926 Hickox, just off of St. Francis Drive, in Santa Fe. Their phone is 983-8375.