INTERIOR DESIGNERS · ARCHITECTS · SPECIFIERS

Bergerie is your trade workroom for furniture + antiques.

Bergerie has run trade workroom engagements with the DC-metro design community for decades — COM workflow with no markup, designer-trade labor pricing, a named fabric library at the Colvin Street workshop (Schumacher, Brunschwig & Fils, Pierre Frey, Kravet, Lee Jofa, Donghia), and the workshop discipline that comes from 75 years of period-correct furniture restoration. We cover furniture upholstery AND soft goods AND antique restoration AND commercial under one roof, which means a multi-room residential refurbishment with a sectional plus drapery plus an inherited Federal sideboard does not have to go to three different vendors.

Submitting COM Lead Times
Trade fabric library at the Colvin Street workshop — to-the-trade sample books from Schumacher, Brunschwig & Fils, Pierre Frey, Kravet, Lee Jofa, Donghia
From the workshop

I. FABRIC LIBRARY

Schumacher. Brunschwig & Fils. Pierre Frey. Kravet. Lee Jofa. Donghia.

The Colvin Street workshop has a working fabric library covering the six major to-the-trade fabric houses — full sample books, memo bolts on commonly-specified patterns, and direct trade-rep relationships for special-order yardage. Designers visit by appointment to memo-shop, pull bolts for a client meeting, or coordinate COM for a multi-room scope. The library is curated for the work we actually do — heavy upholstery weights, durable performance fabrics, period-appropriate patterns for antique restoration, country-house wools and leathers. Trade designers practicing in Bethesda, McLean, Georgetown, Old Town Alexandria, and Capitol Hill all use it.

Colvin Street workshop fabric library mid trade-designer memo-shop — quartersawn-oak trade table with six labeled trade-house sample books fanned in arc formation around an open leather portfolio: Schumacher botanical print, Brunschwig & Fils faded toile, Pierre Frey embroidered ochre silk, Kravet striped damask, Lee Jofa chinoiserie, Donghia textured wool, wall of floor-to-ceiling pigeonholes with rolled memo bolts, brass library ladder, faded rose-silk bergère with performance-fabric memo books
From the workshop

II. COM WITH NO MARKUP

Customer's Own Material — direct from trade rep to workshop.

COM workflow is the standard mode of trade engagement. The designer specifies fabric direct from the trade rep (Schumacher, Brunschwig & Fils, Pierre Frey, Kravet, Lee Jofa, Donghia, or any other to-the-trade house). The trade rep ships direct to the workshop. We measure, fabricate, and deliver — no markup on the fabric. Process documented in detail on the submitting-com page; deliverables include a condition photo on receipt, a yardage-confirmation memo, and final-piece photos on completion.

Bergerie COM-intake bench for a freshly-arrived trade-rep shipment — open wooden shipping crate with a heavy bolt of designer hand-blocked oxblood-and-ochre botanical fabric partially unwrapped from cream tissue, brown-craft trade-rep ship label tacked with brass, leather-bound COM-receipt ledger open to a hand-written condition memo with a Polaroid clipped to the page, brass yardage rule unspooled across a 12-yard pull, NO MARKUP letterpress confirmation memo, sealed shipping crates staged behind
From the workshop

III. DESIGNER-TRADE PRICING

Trade-rate labor on multi-project relationships.

Designer-trade labor pricing applies to firms engaging on multi-project or annual relationships — typically a 10-20% discount off retail labor rates depending on volume and ongoing commitment. Single-project engagements are priced at retail labor (still no markup on COM); ongoing relationships unlock trade-rate labor and reserved per-quarter workshop capacity. Pricing structure documented and reviewed annually with each trade-account designer.

Bergerie trade-account pricing desk for an annual trade-rate review — leather-bound trade-account agreement on heavy linen paper with a wax-seal corner showing retail labor rates struck through and replaced with discounted trade-rate rates, per-quarter reserved-capacity allocation memo pinned with a brass paperweight, annual-review ledger of the designer's projected projects across four quarters, three jute-tied project-folder ribbons, faded rose-silk bergère with the designer's portfolio
From the workshop

IV. SCOPE WE COVER

Furniture. Soft goods. Antique restoration. Commercial.

Our trade scope is wider than most workrooms in the area. Furniture upholstery (sofas, sectionals, club chairs, wing chairs, headboards, ottomans, dining chairs, settees, banquettes — the full residential furniture vocabulary). Soft goods (custom drapery, roman shades, slipcovers, bedding, valances, cornices, swags and tails). Antique restoration (Federal, Sheraton, Hepplewhite, Chippendale, Empire, Victorian, Edwardian — the full period vocabulary documented on the antique furniture restoration hub and the glossary). Commercial (private clubs, hotels, restaurants, retail, corporate — covered on the commercial vertical pages).

Bergerie unified-workshop floor four-scope tableau — FURNITURE: Camelback sofa in muslin mid-eight-way-hand-tied with horsehair edge-roll, SOFT GOODS: cutting table with a triple-pinch-pleat oyster-silk drapery panel pinned mid-fabrication and a finished Roman shade, ANTIQUE RESTORATION: Federal Hepplewhite shield-back side chair on a turntable mid hide-glue stabilization, COMMERCIAL: oxblood-vinyl restaurant booth-bench and tufted charcoal-velvet hotel headboard, single designer's project folder linking all four with colored ribbons
From the workshop

V. PROJECT COMMUNICATION

Designer drives the project. We execute against the spec.

Trade engagements run with the designer as the named client throughout — we coordinate fabric arrival, schedule pickup at the designer's or end-client's direction, fabricate to spec, deliver per the designer's install timeline. The designer's project manager or principal is the named contact; the end-client typically does not interact with the workshop directly unless the designer specifically introduces. This protects the designer's relationship with the client and lets us focus on execution. References from established designer engagements available — name-redacted or named with permission.

Bergerie trade-project communication alcove for a designer-directed multi-room scope — partners' desk arranged as a three-step workflow diagram in three-dimensional form: designer's hand-drawn project elevation portfolio at frame-left with an inked arrow pointing right, workshop schedule ledger of delivery cadence at center with another arrow, delivery-log book of pickup and drop dates at frame-right, framed Federal-period DESIGNER → WORKSHOP → END-CLIENT diagram on the wall behind
From the workshop

VI. WORKSHOP-BY-APPOINTMENT

3133 Colvin Street, Alexandria. Visit the bench.

The Colvin Street workshop is open to designers by appointment — memo-shop the fabric library, walk through the bench to see active work (with client permission where applicable), and discuss spec on-site for upcoming projects. Appointment-only access protects in-progress client work; a 30- to 60-minute visit typically covers the fabric pull plus a workshop tour. Trade designers practicing across DC-metro use this regularly; some come monthly to coordinate active projects on the bench.

Colvin Street workshop's brick facade at golden hour during a trade-designer's appointment arrival — Federal-period red-brick facade with a tall twelve-pane sash window, painted-glass workshop sign reading BERGERIE in oxidized brass-and-cream stencil, paneled green-painted Federal door with a brass kick-plate and polished brass house-number 3133 above, climbing wisteria, wrought-iron boot-scraper, designer's brass-clasped leather portfolio just set on the doorstep, glimpse of a Camelback frame through the ajar door
From the workshop

VII. DIRECT LINE

Antonio for spec. Jose for admin. Both for new accounts.

New trade-account inquiries go to both Antonio (master upholsterer, spec conversations) and Jose Rugerio (owner, administrative coordination). Once the trade account is established, day-to-day project coordination runs through Jose at jarugerio@bergerieupholstery.com; Antonio is the named contact for spec changes and bench-side conversations. Phone for fast scope, email for planned-project coordination, fabric-library visits by appointment.

Bergerie dual trade-direct office — two leather-topped Federal partners' desks pushed together: ANTONIO desk with an antique brass-and-bakelite candlestick rotary telephone, spec-conversation ledger open to an eight-way-hand-tied vs sinuous-spring decision, fabric memos and a hand-drawn elevation; JOSE desk with a brass-cased rotary, administrative-coordination ledger with a three-column project-account log, letterpress trade-account agreement template, wax-sealed manila intake envelope, two brass desk lamps and a single workshop bell above
From the workshop

Frequently asked

What does trade-account engagement look like?

COM workflow with no markup on fabric, designer-trade labor pricing (typically 10-20% below retail on ongoing multi-project relationships), fabric library access by appointment, direct project communication with the designer as the named client throughout, and reserved per-quarter workshop capacity for active accounts. New accounts engage on a single-project basis; trade-rate labor unlocks once the relationship is established.

Which fabric houses are in the library?

Schumacher, Brunschwig & Fils, Pierre Frey, Kravet, Lee Jofa, Donghia — full sample books, memo bolts on commonly-specified patterns, and direct trade-rep relationships for special-order yardage. We also work with any other to-the-trade house on a per-project basis; designers ship COM direct to the workshop from their preferred trade reps.

Do you mark up COM?

No. COM is fabric the designer specifies and ships direct from their trade rep to the workshop. We do not mark up fabric, do not charge handling, and do not take rebate from trade reps for routing volume through us. The economic model is labor + materials cost; the designer's relationship with the fabric rep is the designer's.

How are lead times communicated?

Live capacity is published on the lead-times page (linked above) and updated quarterly. Project-specific lead times confirmed at scope-discussion stage; we commit to a delivery date when the COM is in hand and the scope is signed off. Reserved per-quarter capacity for active trade accounts means lead times are predictable across the year.

Can our end-client visit the workshop?

By the designer's invitation. The trade workflow runs with the designer as the named client throughout to protect the designer-client relationship. Some designers do bring clients to the workshop for fabric pulls or to see active work on the bench — entirely at the designer's discretion. We follow the designer's lead on end-client interaction.

What's the workshop-by-appointment workflow?

Email Jose at jarugerio@bergerieupholstery.com to schedule. 30- to 60-minute visits typically cover the fabric library pull, a workshop tour where appropriate, and any active-project bench-side discussion. Appointment-only protects in-progress client work; we do not host walk-up trade visits.

References from other designer engagements?

Yes — name-redacted by default for confidentiality; named where the designer has authorized. We can describe scope, scale, and outcomes from established designer engagements on a phone call with a prospective trade-account principal. Antonio and Jose both speak to this.

First conversation — how do I start?

Email both Antonio and Jose — initial conversation covers your project scope, the fabric library, COM workflow specifics, lead times against your active calendar, and trade-rate labor terms. Phone follow-up to discuss spec details. First fabric-library visit by appointment after initial conversation.