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News

 May 2013  Open Day 2013

Every year Denton Drapes opens its doors on a Saturday afternoon to allow customers old and new to visit the workroom, meet the team and take a look at some of the latest fabrics. This year the Open Day is on Saturday 29th June from 12 noon til 4pm. Anyone interested in soft furnishings and the curtain making craft will be very welcome.

  February 2013  Curtain Workroom Table Covers

During a business trip to the USA, Denton Drapes' Director Penny Bruce visited the CHF Academy in North Carolina and was impressed by the workroom tables which were covered in a pre-printed grid. This made it really easy for straight cutting and hem pressing without the need for a ruler or straight edge. Of course, being America, they were all in Imperial measurements but Penny was so taken with them that she sought out the manufacturers and worked with them to design a metric version. 

Denton Drapes is now importing these invaluable workroom aids and has been supplying professional curtainmakers and workrooms since last summer . We believe that Denton Drapes is the only company currently offering such a product for the European market and have been delighted with the response from our delighted customers.

December 2012  Upholsterer & Soft Furnisher Magazine

Denton Drapes Director Penny Bruce features twice in the latest edition of Upholsterer & Soft Furnisher magazine. The news page features a report on the Annual General Meeting of  the Association of Master Upholsterers and Soft Furnishers at which Penny was elected to the Board of Directors. You can read thereport here.

Penny is also featured in the quarterly profile answering questions about her career and the soft furnishing craft. That article can be read here

 October 2012 - Honour for Denton Drapes Director

Denton Drapes’ Director, Penny Bruce has been elected to the Board of the Association of Master Upholsterers and Soft Furnishers. The AMUSF is the trade association representing the upholstery and soft furnishing craft industries and was founded in 1947 to maintain and improve standards and to foster public confidence in the work of its members.

In her election statement, Penny talked about the key role the AMUSF has to play in the future of the soft furnishing craft, not in preserving it as a museum artefact but in helping it to develop as a dynamic industry that uses contemporary design and technology alongside traditional skills and methodologies to produce beautiful products.

Following a national ballot of Members Penny was one of two candidates successfully elected to serve as Board Directors for the next three years. During her period of office Penny hopes to encourage more soft furnishers to seek membership which depends on an assessment of their technical competence and entitles members to display the AMUSF crest as a symbol of the quality of their work.

September 2012 - Pentagonal Window Treatment

Denton Drapes' Director Penny Bruce has just had another article pubished in Drapery & Design Professional, the USAs' leading magazine for curtain makers and soft furnishers. This one explains how we make curtains for pentagonal windows. Here is a copy of the article.

July 2012 - Annual Open Day

Once again Denton Drapes is opening its doors to customers old and new, interior designers, suppliers, family and friends. This year's event will be on Saturday 14th July between 12.00 noon and 16.00 pm. The workroom team have been busily preparing new displays and samples for the day and will be demonstrating their skills and happy to answer questions about the craft.

 If you would like to see what goes on in a professional curtain workroom and to talk with soft furnishing designer Penny Bruce or if you just fancy a glass of something bubbly and a chat with the team then please come and join us.

March 2012 - Denton Drapes on TV

The 12th April episode of ITV's 60 Minute Makeover featured curtains by Denton Drapes with nice things said about our work and a namecheck for the company To read about how we got involved and for a link to the show, read Penny's latest blog here.

February 2012 - A Week in the USA

At Denton Drapes we are passionate about designing and making beautiful soft furnishings and are always striving to enhance the quality and style of our creations. Our Principal, Penny Bruce, has just returned from a week long visit to the Custom Home Furnishings Academy in Charlotte, North Carolina in pursuit of new ideas and to meet with new suppliers. You can read about it on her blog here

 December 2011 - Christmas Cushions

The period running up to Christmas is the busiest time of the year in our workrooms as we work hard to deliver beautiful new curtains to our lovely clients. However for a little light relief we decided to put together a Christmas cushion display. This blog shows how we went about it.

December 2011 - Christmas Dinner

We had our annual Christmas Dinner at The Swan in Salford. Each year sees some changes to the team and it keeps getting bigger but we really enjoy what we do and have lots of fun together.

July 2011 - Annual Workroom Open Day

On July 2nd we held our annual open day welcoming a wonderful array of lovely people into our workroom. For the full story and pictures, take a look at our blog.

June 2011 - Our 2011 Open Day Will be on 2nd July

Once again this year the Denton Drapes team will be opening the doors of the workroom to welcome customers old and new, interior designers, suppliers, family and friends. This year's event will be on Saturday 2nd July between 12.00 noon and 16.00 pm. The team have been busily preparing new displays and samples for the day and will be demonstrating their skills and happy to answer questions about the craft.

 If you would like to see what goes on in a professional curtain workroom or just fancy a glass of something bubbly and a chat with the team you are cordially invited to join us.

May 2011 - More Soft Furnishing Tips

As well as making beautiful soft furnishings we are passionate about promoting the craft and skill of professional curtain making and regularly post tips and ideas on our blog, facebook and twitter sites.

Our latest blog has useful advice on how to join tricky fabrics like this embroidered piece with a small and uneven selvedge. Take a look here.

We also have a YouTube channel where we post ocasional video clips of soft furnishing techniques. You can check them out here.

April 2011 - AMUSF at Denton Drapes 

The regional meeting of the Association of Master Upholsterers and Soft Furnishers (AMUSF) was held at the Denton Drapes workroom this month. The AMUSF was founded in 1947 and is one of the oldest furniture Trade Associations. Membership of the AMUSF is restricted to those who produce the highest quality work so it was a delight to welcome some of the best curtain makers and upholsterers in the region for an evening of networking and information sharing.

 March 2011 - Cushions in the News

 I have just had another article pubished in Drapery & Design Professional which is the USAs' leading magazine for curtain makers and soft furnishers. This one shows how to make pintucked cushions (Pillows as they call them in the USA). Here is a copy of my article and a pic of the magazine cover. Here's a little blog on cushions.

 February 2011 - An interview with Penny Bruce

 Denton Drapes Principal Penny Bruce was interviewed this week by The Design Hub a really interesting blog that specialises in all aspects of interior design Read the interview here. The interview is also featured on the National Design Academy's Interior Design News site as Penny studied at The NDA in the early years of the business.

January 2011 - Happy Birthday to us! A three part memoir

On the 17^th of January 1997 I gave up my career in the fashion industry with a vague idea of making soft furnishings for people who wanted something better than was then available in the high street or from the average home based seamstress. I had no idea that fourteen years later Denton Drapes would grow into a thriving business with nine part time staff in our own office and workrooms, making beautiful soft furnishings for everyone from interior designers to corporate boardroom Thinking about how I got from there to here has brought back some memories that I thought I would share with you all in the hope of inspiring others who are just starting out. This blog entry records how my curtain making journey began.

October 2010 -  A Top Tip for making Triple Pleats

Here is a tip I learned from a very experienced curtain maker in another workroom which we have adopted. It helps you to form triple pleats quickly and accurately. 

 August 2010 -  A new Sample

 We needed a new sales aid  to show the quality of our work. I decided that this would be a good opportunity for our newest team member to show how much she had learned on her course work. I asked her to make an interlined curtain sample with contrast lining but with a slight twist on traditional curtain headings.  Read about it on our blog.

 June 2010 -  Denton Drapes in top US magazine

 A little while ago I was asked to write an article for Drapery & Design Professional which is the USAs' leading magazine for curtain makers and soft furnishers. I had never done anything like this before but the experience gained from working on our blog over the last few months helped out and the magazine has just been published. Here is a copy of my article and a pic of the magazine cover.

June 2010 -Tiebacks with blackout lining

 A job went through the workroom recently that involved tiebacks on a curtain with blackout lining. This can be a problem because of the marks that pins leave on the lining. We came up with a rather clever idea involving paper clips. Read about it on our blog.

June 2010 - A Wave Heading

We recently made a smart contemporary curtain with a wave heading without using tape or visible stitching lines. This blog shows how we did it.

 May 2010 - An Unusual Curtain Design

A customer recently asked me to replicate an unusual curtain design she had seen elsewhere. Read here how we went about it. The   project uses some lovely Harlequin fabrics made into a cascade roman blind with a gross grain ribbon with hand sewn mother of pearl buttons and interlined curtains with a dual contrast band attached at the first pleat.

April 2010 - A Day at the MK Dons

Denton Drapes is a Corporate Supporter of the MK Dons and we were very proud to be a sponsor of this weekends game against Charlton Athletic. Read about our day out here.

March 2010 - Open Day Report  

The Open Day was a great success with an endless stream of visitors and lots of fun. We're all looking forward to next year! Read all about it on our Curtain Makers Blog

March 6 2010 - Open Day 12 Noon till 4pm:

We are getting excited about our 2010 Workroom Open Day.  Come along and meet Penny and her talented team. Enjoy a glass of bubbly and some nibbles and get inspired by examples of our work. View our extensive range of fabrics and accessories. A range of small soft furnishings will be available for purchase on the day. The workroom is at Water Hall Farm, Wavendon Road, Salford, Milton Keynes MK17 8AZ. Let us know if you would like to join us on 01908 282915 or email yvonne@dentondrapes.co.uk

February 10 - New Blog Entry:  Some curtains that recently went through the workroom had a bit of a twist; a handmade heading with double pleats, but they were secured at the top. Take a look at the Curtain Makers Blog

January 10 - New Blog Entry: 

A fabric always looks completely different when made up compared to how it looks in the sample book This Villa Nova fabric looks terrific once it comes off the roll. See how we made these curtain in the Curtain Makers Blog

January 10 - New Blog Entry:  

Dressing any handmade headed curtain can be a nightmare if there is not a definite pattern to follow down the curtain that you can form the folds to. I had a light bulb moment one day that makes dressing a curtain very quick and easy. See this tip on the Curtain Makers Blog

December 09 - New Blog Entry: 

 Read how we made these stunning triple pleat curtains with a contrast centre insert on the Curtain Makers Blog

December 09 - New Blog Entry:   Details of our last curtain fitting of 2009, they look great. See our Curtain Makers Blog

December 09 - Xmas Party:   The Denton Drapes workroom team enjoyed a terrific Christmas dinner at The Swan in Salford with their partners, Secret Santa and lots of fun.

December 09 - New Blog:   We now have a Curtain Makers Blog with news on the goings on at the Denton Drapes workroom. Please visit and leave a comment