"In my understanding, upholstering is an art, not a job," says Markus Miretsky. "You have to love it."

     With Markus Miretsky, it's bred in the bone. He learned the art of upholstery from his grandfather, a Ukrainian master who restored furnishings of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. After receiving a degree in upholstery engineering in Kiev, Miretsky became foreman of a 500-person upholstery factory and did the furniture restoration for Peter the Great's original home in Kiev.
     Markus, his wife Bella and daughter Ilona recently celebrated their 16th year as co-owners of Belmar Custom Upholstery, located in a sunny, immaculate loft near San Francisco's design district. Belmar provides not only upholstering, but also restoration and design services to the trade.
     On a visit to the workroom, you might see a Talbert settee and 19th century Gothic armchairs next to a whimsical, ultra-modern banquette for a breakfast nook. Whether the individual piece is historic or new, it will receive the same careful, Old World craftsmanship.
     A Belmar artisan, in consultation with Miretsky takes each piece from frame to completion. Not only does Miretsky inspect the piece at every step, but the designer (and, if possible, the client), is called in to inspect the item before it receives the final fabric.
     Any necessary adjustment will be made to ensure the customer's comfort, such as changing the depth of the seat, or making a firmer or softer cushion.
     Traditional techniques include the use of only hardwood for the frames and coil springs double tied ten ways. Pieces are double-stuffed and upholstered in muslin before final upholstery. The best feather down is used for cushions.
     At the Belmar studio showroom, designers can choose from an array of styles at designer net prices. They can also bring in their own sketches for realization by Miretsky, who will work closely with them to create a piece that will suit the vision and the budget.
     Myriad styles of pillows, bolsters and cushions are available. They also offer a line of headboards and screens. Any sofa can be carefully disguised as a sofa bed.
You've seen Belmar's work in national design magazines, and in the homes of noted business, sports and entertainment figures. Most of the best antique stores in the Bay Area employ his talent for restoring worn or damaged heirlooms.
     Local designers have admired and supported Miretsky's work since he opened Belmar in 1985. Avner Lapovsky, co-owner of Sloan Miyasato in San Francisco, has been a close friend and business associate. The following are just a few of the design and antique firms, which have come to rely on Miretsky's expertise:

     "Markus does the simplest things as beautifully as the more elaborate," says Lopovsky. "People tend to come to him first for the difficult to unusual. Then they discover that he can also make the simple sofa that's of higher quality than a commercial piece."
     Miretsky has also become a legendary problem-solver. For an Aspen chalet, he produced a tour-de-force stepped seating unit to be built into a sunken area around a fire pit.
     "It was madness," Lapovsky laughs. "No one else in town would take the job. But it was an immense success."
Another potential nightmare that became a design coup for Belmar and the designer was a set of upholstered seating unites to be built into model condominiums. Designer Charles Pfister envisioned oversized banquettes covered in an animal print. Because of a tight construction schedule for the condos, the units had to be built from plans while the raw space was under construction.
     The banquettes were so large that they had to be craned through the windows of the building. There, Miretsky and Pfister found that the spaces where to be installed four inches shorter than plans had shown. In an outstanding feat of craftsmanship, Miretksy went to the site, opened up the pieces, cut four inches out of the frame, and repaired the upholstery, all in one day.
     "This is a magician," Lapovsky says. "This is a man who specializes in solving problems. He's a yes man; he'll rarely say no to a challenge. It's won him customers for life."