Shop Tour: Elite Upholstery
Herb Wright is one passionate guy. He loves what he does and takes great pride in his work of designing extravagant and beautiful interiors for some of Canada’s top Hot Rods and Show Cars. He receives a tremendous amount of job satisfaction once he has handcrafted each design to life. An expensive Hot Rod is nothing without an interior of equal attention to detail and build quality. So a car is only two-thirds done once you’ve shaped the body and mounted all the fast bits. It’s the car's interior that finishes off a great build. It must complement the work that has already been done to the car, be unique, and be of a quality one would expect from a car costing well into the six-figure range. This is what Herb has been doing for 35 years, and he’s good at what he does, with the awards to match.
The owner of Elite Auto Upholstery in Abbotsford, B.C. personally designs, creates and installs everything himself. Born in Moncton, New Brunswick, he relocated to Florida, then later to California, to learn and hone his skills of auto interior upholstery. As of late, Herb's work can be seen in some of Canada’s top car builds, including this Hudson Terraplane, for which he designed and fabricated the truck bed.
The art of custom auto upholstery seems to be a dying one, Herd commented. “No one seems to want to do it anymore.” All the better for Elite Auto, as business keeps coming in, even as the economy begins to slip. The vast majority of his work is complete interior builds for high-end custom cars. Taking anywhere between two and four months, cars arrive to him fully finished, save for the interior. Known for creating a smooth and clean design, Herb's interiors are well-known for seamlessly connecting the look of the exterior with that of the interior.
This is the best way to get a theme in his mind's eye for how his new creation will take shape. That’s exactly how he starts, by mentally building and using his creative love of design to think up truly unique flares many would never think of. He then picks out materials needed, whether it be metal, wood, fibreglass, or top-quality imported German leather. The extraordinary thing about Herb is that he will never mimic another design. Not even his own. When you send your project to Elite Auto, you will get a one-of-a-kind quality interior, as Herb lovingly creates a new work of art. However, it's not just the six-figure budgetless projects that fill Elite's shop. Herb is happy to work on anything from a torn seat, to replacing a convertible soft top.
For more information about Elite Auto Upholstery, you can call them at 604-859-8033, or visit them at #17 - 31550 South Fraser Way, Abbotsford, B.C.
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