University of Illinois upholsterer still working on furniture

DEWEY, Ill. -- David Deem's handiwork can be seen throughout University of Illinois buildings, from the standard dorm couches in residence hall lounges to the leather sofas in the library at Allerton House.

He's put his touch on everything from the simple desk chairs in the Grainger Engineering Library to the Chippendale dining room chairs at the President's House.

"We're the recyclers of furniture," said Deem, who has repaired and upholstered furniture at the university's furniture shop for 25 years. "I think it's really neat and very important to keep tradition going. A lot of the older furniture is kind of neat in the way it was built, with a lot of care. It's got so much history, with all the people sitting at the same desk for hundreds of years."

That's why some of Deem's favorite projects involved antiques and pieces of elegant furniture in administrative offices and areas for entertaining guests. He upholstered two dozen dining room chairs in the President's House in 1987, dressing the seats with needlepoint covers featuring Illinois wildflowers. Judy Ikenberry, wife of former UI President Stanley Ikenberry, commissioned needlepointers across the state to create the pieces.

Deem covered three sofas at Allerton House in dark green leather tufted with buttons.

"They were a mess when I got them, but boy, they came out good," Deem said.

He has done many other pieces of furniture in the President's House and family heirlooms for his own customers, including Judy Ikenberry. He recovered a family chair in leather for her, and he has her thank-you note framed and hanging on his workshop wall.

Deem, 65, was foreman of the UI's furniture shop for the past eight years before retiring earlier this spring. He has done upholstery work for 50 years now, and he still does work for his own customers from his home workshop.

Work in mind

His home in rural Dewey was built with his work in mind, and that of his wife, Dorothy, a seamstress. They each have a work area, side by side. Deem calls Dorothy his "right-hand man."

His work space, next to the garage, has tools hanging on the walls, an air compressor to operate his staple gun, fabric samples, a sewing machine and a button maker in the corner.

Her room next door has her sewing machine; a cutting table; and cabinets for storing her buttons, thread and other supplies. She was sewing children's pajamas recently for her grandchildren, and she makes them for the Crisis Nursery in Urbana.

She also sews the skirts for the couches and chairs Deem upholsters, finishes the fabric coverings for the armpieces, makes throw pillows and does the office work for him. She tears apart the furniture before he begins his work, taking off the fabric and pulling out the stuffing.

"I do the dirtiest work, and I love it," she said. "I take out all my frustrations on the furniture."

The two were in the same class at Urbana High School and married in 1957, when they were both 19.

Deem was just 15 when he began learning how to upholster furniture. He didn't know anything about it when he began an apprenticeship, but it didn't take him long to figure out it was for him. He still loves the work after 50 years.

"I liked to be busy, and I liked to use my hands," he said. "It's a job you just don't get tired of. Even now, I'm learning how new furniture is put together and how to take it apart and how to make it better. It's kind of neat to take a real old junky chair and make it look nice."

"He is one of the few people in this world who really loves his work," Dorothy said. "He's not a workaholic. He just really enjoys it."