The most interesting fact about Orin’s professional career is that upholstery and refurbishing furniture is his best and only professional love. Orin started his apprenticeship in upholstery at the tender age of 18 on Staten Island, NY and has been honing his craft ever since. You could almost say that Orin was born into the business since his father Carl Brown was the owner of the famed Black Angel Antiques on 125th in the seventies and eighties. From the age that he could pick up a paint brush, hammer or screwdriver Orin has been fixing, repairing and refinishing antique and used furniture.

There is a new reality show in cable called “the pickers” where two guys go around the country looking through barns and basements for hidden treasure. Well, Orin was living that life with his father that included many barns, basements and out-of-the-way shops and people. Traveling from Maine to the Carolinas and as far west as Indiana he accompanied his father on working vacations that included traveling the back roads, knocking on doors and visiting every antique, used furniture and Salvation Army store encountered.

Let’s just say that Orin is the most experienced and knowledgeable upholsterer to be found in the Harlem community. Whether you have a new piece that needs some sprucing up or a fine antique chair that needs a total rebuild, Harlem Upholstery maintains an upholstery shop between 123rd and 124th Street & Lenox Avenue.

On this site you will find a number of photographs of our work. Pay close attention and you will see the magic of transforming the parts and pieces of a broken antique into a beautiful heirloom ready to adorn your home.

Orin is one of the few upholsterers that have actually transformed raw blocks of wood into fine reproductions. He has designed and executed numerous exceptional pieces for architects and designers in the New York area.