THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 4, 1995 TAG: 9506020256
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY SUSAN W. SMITH, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 167 lines
BY 7 EVERY MORNING for 32 years Herbert Mitchell has unlocked the door and turned on the lights at Oak Grove Service Center. By 8 the employees, mostly members of the Mitchell family, are ready with scissors, hammers, mallets, tack guns and bolts of fabric for another busy day.
The workers in the long, gray building on Great Bridge Boulevard give new life to anything that's covered in fabric. They upholster sofas and chairs, put new vinyl tops on automobiles, cover boat seats, dress up show trucks and restore antique cars.
They also laugh, sing and exchange news as they staple, tuck, fold, pleat and tack each piece of furniture carefully by hand.
Sofas, settees, couches, chaise lounges, recliners and benches line the aisles. Ladderbacks, wingbacks and other assorted chairs wait for a make-over. Fabric samples, stuffing, scraps and padding litter the floor.
Bolts of material in hundreds of colors and patterns from chintz to leather and from florals to stripes and jungle prints are stacked in ceiling racks and stashed under work tables.
``When business is good and we're busy, you can't see the floor around here,'' said Karen Cuffee. ``And, thank goodness, we don't often see the floor.''
Cuffee is Herbert Mitchell's daughter and just one of the three Mitchell children on the staff. She calls on new clients, works up estimates and helps customers make their selections from dozens of sample books. Frances Griffin, known as ``Sugar,'' is the office manager, and Herbert Mitchell Jr., called ``Bud,'' works sales, manages the shop and oversees production.
``And don't forget that I trim the hedges and empty the trash,'' added Bud.
Assorted cousins, aunts, in-laws and grandchildren stop by to help out and work summer jobs. Even daughters Sandra Etheridge, a local branch manager for the Department of Motor Vehicles, and Katrina Washington, a Chesapeake sheriff's deputy, pitch in when needed.
``Everyone cuts, fits, hammers and tacks when there's a deadline,'' said Bud Mitchell. ``I don't like to miss deadlines.''
Once Mitchell had to send for extra material for a job and Cuffee rushed to Norfolk to the bus station to wait on the order. The crew worked double-time, and the chairs were delivered about an hour before the owner needed the furniture for a party. ``That was one happy lady,'' said Cuffee.
In the early 1960s, Mitchell Sr. worked for L & M Upholstery in Norfolk during the day and sewed at night in his garage, covering couches and chairs for extra money. As his own business grew, he leased space from his brother at the Sinclair Gas Station on the corner of Battlefield Boulevard, where there's now a 7-Eleven store.
``My business started in a wash rack at a gas station,'' laughed the older Mitchell. ``We pumped gas, changed oil, washed cars and covered chairs.''
In 1963, the same year Chesapeake became a city, Mitchell moved his growing business to his brother's body shop on Great Bridge Boulevard.
``This area was so quiet then I could lay down on Battlefield Boulevard, eat my lunch and not be disturbed.'' said Mitchell.
``I knew we had turned the corner when we received a city contract to refurbish about 200 school buses in 1969, '' said Dorothy Mitchell, the matriarch of the family.
``The changes and growth have been good to us, and, besides, we are a strong Christian family that has worked hard,'' said Cuffee. ``When people move they want different furniture. In the winter our customers want to get ready for the holidays. Then suddenly it's summer, and we're swamped with boat cushions. Then there are car shows, family reunions and weddings that require furniture transformations.
``Our parents have guided us, and the Lord has blessed us.''
Since 1963 the building has been enlarged three times. During that time, family members Rozelia Sutton, Alberta Gallop and Floria Powell have retired and other family members have arrived to take their place. Darnell Powell, Aaron Etheridge and Herbert Griffin Jr. are just beginning to learn the business.
``Staying busy runs in the family,'' said Tony Happer, a cousin who came to work part-time and, three years later, is a full-time upholsterer.
``This is a job that teaches patience, and once you learn the job you have a skill for lifetime.''
Customers now come from across Virginia, North Carolina, Washington, D.C., and Maryland. Oak Grove Service Center has upholstered furniture for city offices, Homearama homes and for Chesapeake General Hospital.
Over the years, Cuffee said, the family has covered one customer's sofa four times. Recently she and Bud traveled to Roanoke to work all night covering chairs for a Hofheimer's store.
A sewing machine whirred as Claretta Sawyer whipped stitched seat cushion covers, and Cuffee clipped through red vinyl, cutting sections to cover restaurant seats for Frankie's Rib House. Bud Mitchell quickly moved around a sofa perched on sawhorses, nailing tacks to hold a crisp Navy plaid covering that replaced a faded yellow tapestry. Each stripe in the new material matched perfectly.
Bernard Traylor adjusted fresh padding in an arm chair and Happer put the finishing touches on a recliner.
``Everyone has a work order,'' explained Bud Mitchell. ``You get your piece of furniture or assignment and go to it. If you work here, you work every day, and you get to work on time. If you have a headache, you get in your corner and work through it. If you're out sick, you had best be in the hospital. They're my father's expectations.''
Mitchell, who hasn't missed a day in the shop in 30 years, won't put up with any squabbling.
``If we start exchanging words, he just looks up and says he doesn't want to hear it. Then everyone gets real quiet,'' said Cuffee.
``But we've had a wonderful time and lots of laughs, too,'' said Gallop. ``Remember when I made 3,000 buttons for church pews, and then we didn't need them?''
``Remember when we cut material wrong and hid it under the work table?'' added Dorothy Mitchell. ``Later, Herbert complained about a shortage of material.''
Bud said he once covered a chair in a material decorated with sailboats on a blue background. When he stepped back to admire his work, all the boats were upside down in the water.
``Most of the time it's worth the investment of upholstering older furniture. It's often made so much better,'' Bud Mitchell said. ``Wooden dowels, pegs and screws have been replaced with staples. They're not making anything now that middle-class Americans can afford that will last.''
At the other end of the building, Mitchell and his assistant and nephew Kenneth Sutton do the automotive customizing.
Recently they replaced the blue interior of a 1994 Chevy S-10 truck with white leather. The headliners, dashboard, seats and door panels were swaddled and tucked in white on white. Mitchell and Kenneth wore gloves to keep their work spotless.
``I thought I would have to take it to California to have this type of work done,'' said Malcom Harmon, the owner. ``I knew what I wanted, but this is better than I ever dreamed.''
``I've done all kinds of furniture, boats, airplanes, and even hearses,'' Mitchell said. ``I like cars because they're all different, but basically I just like to work.''
He's worked on Model-T Fords, Packards, a 1935 Rolls Royce, street rods and collector Thunderbirds and Cadillacs. Recently a 1938 Buick he restored won first place at an auto show in Pennsylvania.
Mitchell has worked on so many cars that he doesn't even use patterns now. He just takes a few measurements and cuts into the new fabric.
``Mitchell is a craftsman,'' said Dennis West, a national judge of antique cars and an avid collector.
``He's recreated a 1934 Ford, a 1936 three-window Ford, a 1930 Model-A roadster and a 1948 Mercury for me,'' said West. ``It's an art.''
Oak Grove Service Center doesn't do much advertising. In fact, several weeks ago, the first large sign was put on the exterior of the building. But Mitchell does occasionally drive a green 1937 Ford Sedan delivery truck lettered, ``Oak Grove Service Center'' ILLUSTRATION: [Cover]
A WORKING FAMILY
[Color Photo]
Herbert Mitchell
Frances Griffin, known as ``Sugar,'' is the office manager and
daughter of owner Herbert Mitchell.
Herbert Mitchell Jr., son of the business's owner, pauses for a
minute while re-covering a sofa to answer a relative's question.
Staff photos by MORT FRYMAN
Working on a footstool are, from left, are Bernard Traylor, Clarette
Sawyer and Karen Cuffee, daughter of Herbert Mitchell.
Claretta Sawyer sews upholstery in the in the long, gray building.
Karen Cuffee helps customers make their selections from sample
books.
Tony Happer came to work part-time and now is a full-time
upholsterer.
by CNB