If your auto upholstery shop does a lot of repair work or caters to fleet services, then you need to check out The Seat Shop — which manufactures leather and vinyl replacement seat covers and foam cushions for most General Motors, Dodge and Ford trucks and SUVs.
After speaking with co-owner Brian Verhalen over the phone a few weeks back, we decided to stop by their booth at the 2014 SEMA Show to see first-hand what their products are like. Boy were we impressed!
The replacement seat covers they manufacture are as close to OEM as possible — they use the same materials, grains, colors and patterns. But you don’t need to worry about that or ever look at material swatches again, because ordering from The Seat Shop is as easy as reading them a VIN number over the phone. Based solely on that information they know exactly what you need.
Best of all, The Seat Shop’s covers are sold the same way seats wear out: piece by piece. So if all you need is the driver-side base cover, that’s all you have to order.
They even manufacture their own replacement foam cushions — which are priced low enough to seriously consider never repairing one again. (Or at least avoiding it when you can!)
Unfortunately, we didn’t make it to The Seat Shop’s booth until Thursday — just missing Brian, who had returned to Dallas, Texas, to hold down the fort. However, we did get a chance to meet co-owner Matt Verhalen and wholesale accounts manager Justin Horsley, two down-to-earth guys who are very knowledgeable about our industry and clearly have a passion for the craft.
The guys showed us around the booth and let us check out samples of their seat covers, including some of the more rare ones, such as the Ford King Ranch. We were definitely impressed with their products’ fit and finish, and stayed long after the show ended to talk shop and exchange ideas on how to strengthen the industry as a whole.
Here are a few photos from their SEMA display booth:
The Seat Shop is one company you should definitely check out. To learn more about them visit TheSeatShop.com or call (214) 710-2565.
Been buying from these guys for a few years now, and I agree . . . they fill a much needed niche. When repair work is the order of the day, we have most of the common Detroit cloths in stock and replacing a bolster panel or two will get the job done at a reasonable cost for our customers and a decent profit for us. Leather is different. By the time an outer bolster is worn, most of the seat bottom is in cracked and dried out shape, but the backrest and passenger seats are often in fair shape. A customer doesn’t want to spend $1,000+ for a pair of leather seats when just the driver’s seat bottom is worn out. Being able to buy just one section at a time is great for everybody.
One thing I highly recommend is their new line of Durofoam. Justin called me when they were introducing this line, and I’ve already bought a couple of these seat cushions. The quality is superior to any other replacement foam I’ve seen. It’s great to be able to offer a superior product at a reasonable price. We need more of that!
I don’t go out of my way to praise suppliers unless they are exceptional, and these guys offer a great product and back it up with good customer service. These are the kind of suppliers we need!
Jim
Totally agree Adam! My boss orders from these guys all the time and their stuff is always really great. Makes my life easier too, LOL!
If you are all about the money then this is for you, there ain’t any fun in changing out seat covers. And you won’t learn how to sew buying covers from someone else. Lets add it up…165 for a half hide, 30 for matching Vinyl and shipping, reuse carpet on the back. 2 hours to take out the seat, remove the cover and remake it and reinstall it. Plus I have enough leather and vinyl left over to do another of the same. No profit and No Fun! May as well go do something else for a living. Hey I got an idea lets let the upholstery shop down the street make our covers and we can say we did it. Give me a break. These guys are on eBay selling these covers and I think it stinks. Just my two cents. It’s bad enough that most people don’t even know that there are places in their town that can fix their seats but now auto upholsterers have guys like this pushing their product in our face to install.
Well, mrfantasy . . . it sounds like you are not a typical business man who is “all about the money,” and that you prefer cutting and sewing every job that comes your way because it’s profitable and fun. I must say . . . if you can R&R a seat, cut out 10-15 individual sections, back them with scrim, sew double top stitches, sew in listings, repair foam and make it look like a brand new seat in 2 hours, then I respectfully defer to your amazing talent. Since you mentioned reusing materials, maybe you’re talking about repair rather than remaking, but nonetheless, you seem to have skill far beyond the typical auto upholsterer. I’ve been doing this for more than 30 years and worked with lots of other trimmers, so I can tell you are one of the most awesome trimmers I’ve ever encountered.
For those of us who lack your supernatural skill, I think these high quality leather seat components from The Seat Shop are a good alternative.
–Jim
With Adams on this. LOL! Plenty of $$$ to be made, plus frees you up to focus on other $ making jobs. Unless you are super trimmer. LOL!
I have a 2008 Range Rover I need to change the seat and the headliner please give me a quote thank you my phone number is 972-742-3939