ARTEX INTERIORS INC.

I was so hoping to love Artex Interiors and the work that they do. I always have large upholstery projects, and their location is great. They're located at Beltline and Preston versus in the Design District. I was looking for a long-term relationship with Artex when I hired this workroom to make quite a few Brown Jordan outdoor replacement cushions. While mine isn’t a commercial-sized project, it is definitely a decent size for an individual home owner. The fabric is COM (Customer’s Own Material) and is super high end, and I wanted the quality of the workmanship to match the quality of the fabric. I explained to Dan that the quality of work was of utmost importance, while the timeframe was not important. I asked him to be sure that everything was done perfectly and to take his time. I also asked him to double check everything with his own eyes before delivery. I originally called Dan, owner of Artex, because my regular workroom had a several months’ backlog which generally doesn’t bother me. Quality work takes time, but I thought since I was waiting anyway, I would interview other workrooms to have as an alternative for future projects. After interviewing several alternative workrooms, I chose Dan because of his hyper-diligence in his responsiveness. I asked many questions, and on several occasions, I asked the same questions several times to be certain. For everything I requested and asked for, Dan gave me a resounding “yes.” In addition, everything I requested was outlined in his proposal/invoice. In hindsight, I've realized that Dan over-promises and then significantly under-delivers. One example is I asked Dan to bring various foam inserts to the house for my husband and I to sit on and test before we decided which to use for the various cushion types. We chose a very specific foam with a specific firmness for our dining chairs. The dining cushions are definitely not made with the foam that we chose. Sitting on these dining chair cushions feels like sitting on cement. They are extremely hard and uncomfortable. A second and even more bothersome example is that I specifically requested that “Clear Tenara Outdoor Lifetime Thread” be used in the stitching of every single piece. I told him that I knew this thread was much more expensive than regular outdoor thread, but I was willing to pay the extra cost. He said it was absolutely no problem and he listed it on my proposal/invoice as a line item. I even offered to buy the thread myself and give it to him to use, but he told me that wasn’t necessary. The line on my proposal/invoice states, “Use Tenara Clear Lifetime Thread” for all pieces. The project took approximately six weeks for completion which is extremely quick given the project size. I was nervous when Dan called to tell me that everything had already been completed, as I knew this was just too fast. We scheduled delivery for Tuesday, July 21 at 9:30am. I told him that my husband, my designer, my daughter and I would meet him to review all of the pieces in detail. Dan didn’t arrive until 10:30am, so I’m already having to pay my designer for an hour of time to stand around and wait for Dan. In addition, he gave no acknowledgement of his tardiness, much less an apology. Then, as we began to review the pieces, I immediately realized that he didn’t use the Tenara Clear Lifetime Thread as was specified on my proposal/invoice and was confirmed through several emails and texts. This was one of the most important project requirements, so I confirmed this with Dan multiple times on multiple occasions. Upon delivery, he proceeds to tell he me that he doesn’t know this product and has never used it. Given that I’m the customer and this was super important to me, he should have researched the product and then discussed it with me. Instead, he completely blew me off even after he wrote it as a requirement in the proposal/invoice. Ultimately he used a mediocre outdoor thread with a 10 year life, versus the lifetime thread that I so adamantly required/requested. Secondly, some of the finished cushions look really good. The stitch work is pretty and looks nice. However, on other cushions the stitching is messy and sloppy and actually looks like a five year old did the sewing. I wonder if there was a lead seamstress and a trainee working on my project. Clearly there is no quality control whatsoever. I sent him back with approximately half of the cushions because they needed to be resewn. However, at this point, there is no way to fix the Tenara thread issue unless I force him to re-sew every cushion which is a risky proposition given the overall quality of work, attention to detail and quality control. In other words, I could end up in an even worse position than I am now. It’s clear to me that Dan pays attention to the high level, but does not give any attention to the details. Well, “the devil is in the details.” Part of the problem is that he always seems to be rushing and didn't give my project the proper personal attention. In addition, he definitely over-promises and then under-delivers on his promises. On August 7, my husband, daughter, and I picked up the cushions that they redid. While the work is fair (not great) but definitely better than it was when they were first delivered, the detail work is still messy and not finely done. The final product is not even close to the high quality that I expect and get from my other workroom. The moral of this story is to be wary of the excellent reviews that Dan has. I’m starting to believe that many of them are fake. There is no way that I’m the only one having this experience. This first project was a test before hiring him for a huge bedding project and other various projects. The bottom line is if you’re looking for mediocre work, Dan might be fine. Based on the completed project, I would give Dan and Artex Interiors a “C.” If you’re looking for super high end, high quality work, this is not the workroom for you. Unfortunately, I won’t be using Dan again, and in good conscience, I can’t recommend him.