There’s more than meets the eye at a new boutique located at 6 Bleecker Street in Jersey City. The sign on the door says Golden Design & Upholstery, but a quick look around reveals there’s so much else to see. The bright pink carpet is a cue that you’re somewhere special, and the bolts of beautiful fabric are a hint of the creativity at play. The owner, Jersey City born-and-raised Andrea Sanchez, says that she has big dreams for the space, including hosting sewing classes for adults and children. While Andrea currently offers several design-focused services including interior design, home staging, and custom upholstery, this new space in The Heights leaves plenty of room to grow. Read on to learn more about Andrea and Golden Design & Upholstery in Jersey City.
(Photo credit: @goldendesignupholstery)
Behind the Scenes
Andrea Sanchez is a born and raised Jersey City resident and she still lives in town. While she has always loved fashion and designing, her path to owning her own business has been one with a few stops. After high school, it made sense that the lifelong fashion-lover enrolled at the Misa Hylton Fashion Academy in Manhattan. The coursework was fine, but Andrea never quite landed the type of job she wanted.
(Photo credit: @goldendesignupholstery)
Andrea continued to sew on the side but worked as an armed security guard and a private investigator for 7.5 years. With both her mother and stepfather working in law enforcement, there was a lot of family pressure to continue the tradition. But at the end of 2021, Andrea took the leap and committed to her self-taught skills by working on her business full-time.
Andrea says her signature designs feature loud, bright colors and prints. She said her dream celebrity client and order would be to design an outfit for Rihanna. “One of the first pieces I ever made was with cow print, so I would use that,” she said.
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Andrea’s Offerings
Andrea’s first workshop was not too far away on Sherman Avenue. The bigger space on Bleecker Street was selected for its possibilities — the expanded space gives Andrea room to offer more services and instruction.
Andrea’s eye for design is consistent throughout all of the services offered. In addition to the custom upholstery, Andrea works with clients to do home staging and interior design. The new space offers a bright and comfortable spot for her to meet with clients and discuss samples and ideas.
(Photo credit: @goldendesignupholstery)
Andrea also offers courses in sewing instruction to adults and children. She is particularly excited about the expanded space to host more students and the end-of-course fashion shows. “The students’ parents can come to see their children’s creations come to life,” Andrea said.
But let’s get back to the upholstery. It is important to emphasize that Andrea is completely self-taught. She took her knowledge of sewing and fabric structure and started watching YouTube videos about upholstery. She started with a few items here and there and then branched out. Now, clients bring her their pieces to reinvigorate, or she’ll work with a client to create something 100% custom. “I want to be like Dapper Dan,” she said. Dapper Dan is a stylist and designer known for ‘remixing’ designer pieces into totally custom, one-of-a-kind items for his celebrity clientele. His picture hangs in the studio as inspiration.
(Photo credit: @goldendesignupholstery)
Andrea said that she loves refreshing pieces into something unexpected. A client even brought her some vintage Louis Vuitton luggage to remake into an upholstered item. “Sometimes the client will bring me things, other times the client will have a vision and I’ll look for the item and the fabric,” she said. She also mentioned that clients with an idea or a piece in mind can connect with her over email to discuss ideas. “They will send me some pictures and we’ll talk about what they want,” she said.
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Andrea’s creative vision doesn’t stop with the fabric arts. In addition to upholstery and sewing, Andrea is a talented rapper and actor. She performs frequently in the area and has made appearances on shows like Orange is the New Black. Oh, and those parents who wanted her to go into law enforcement? They were there with big smiles on the day of the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
