Advanced Upholstery Ltd is an auto marine upholstery workshop at Race Course Hill, Darfield, run by Brian and Sue Stockdale.
Brian has been a qualified auto marine upholsterer in Christchurch since 1991. The business has weathered more than its share of setbacks — relocating to Ashburton after the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake damaged its premises, then losing its Ashburton workshop and all its equipment in a fire in December 2012. Rather than give up, Brian and Sue ran a mobile upholstery service for a year before relocating again, this time to a 2-hectare property at Race Course Hill in Darfield, where a brand new workshop was completed in early 2014.
Today the workshop has plenty of room for motorhomes, boats, cars and caravans, and the team offers everything from small repairs, like a cigarette burn in a backseat, through to a full motorhome redesign.
At Race Course Hill, just outside Darfield, Advanced Upholstery Ltd has built a reputation for quality auto marine upholstery — a business that has survived earthquakes, fire, and multiple relocations to get where it is today.
Brian Stockdale has been a qualified auto marine upholsterer in Christchurch since 1991, giving him decades of hands-on experience with cars, boats, motorhomes and everything in between. That depth of experience shows in the detail and concept work Brian brings to each job — customers regularly explain their idea and end up amazed at the final product he and the team create.
Advanced Upholstery's history is anything but smooth. On 22 February 2011, the major Christchurch earthquake damaged the premises the business was operating from, forcing a relocation to Ashburton in mid Canterbury. Just 18 months later, on 22 December 2012, the Ashburton workshop was lost in a fire, along with all of the business's equipment and premises.
Rather than give up, Brian and Sue purchased a mobile truck and ran a mobile upholstery service for the next 12 months while they figured out their next move. That move turned out to be a relocation to Race Course Hill in Darfield, onto a 2-hectare property with room to grow. A brand new, purpose-built workshop was constructed in early 2014 and has been fully operational ever since.
One advantage of the Darfield location is space. The property offers plenty of room for motorhomes, boats, cars and caravans, meaning customers can bring in larger vehicles without the workshop feeling cramped. It's a practical setup built specifically around the kind of large-scale upholstery work the business specialises in.
Advanced Upholstery's work spans a wide range, based on the galleries the business shares of its projects: boats, custom street cars, vintage cars, and motorhomes. The scope runs from small, everyday repairs — like fixing a cigarette burn in a car's backseat — through to a complete motorhome upholstery redesign. Whatever the scale of the job, Brian and Sue describe their approach simply: "Your pride and joy is our pride and joy."
Brian and Sue say they've worked to establish a clean, friendly and secure environment at the Darfield workshop, and pride themselves on offering quality service with an efficient turnaround. It's an approach built around understanding just how much customers care about the vehicles, boats and motorhomes they bring in.
Advanced Upholstery is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 8am to 4:30pm, Thursday from 8am to 6:30pm, and Saturday from 8:30am to midday, with the workshop closed Sunday and Monday. Bookings can be made by phone or email, and the team asks that a contact number be included with any email enquiry.
From a near-total loss of equipment and premises to a purpose-built workshop on 2 hectares at Race Course Hill, Advanced Upholstery's story is one of persistence — and it's a story that now underpins a workshop capable of handling everything from a quick backseat repair to a full motorhome transformation.