The Greek-Cypriot brothers who moved to Australia in the 1970s began Buttoning Upholstery on Sturt Street in 1979, at a time when there was six other competitors throughout the city. 

When the pair shut their Latrobe Street store at the end of the year they will be among the last to go from a once flourishing professional upholstery industry.   

The business has been responsible for working on some of Ballarat’s most iconic spaces, from manufacturing the old seats in Her Majesty’s Theatre to lining vintage carriages at Sovereign Hill.  The 66 and 67-year-old brothers said while it was sad to see the decline of such a specialised skill they “couldn’t work forever”. 

“When we started we worked a lot with antiques and special jobs but over the years the antiques have started disappearing and losing value and in terms of quality people don’t want to pay,” Chris said of the changing business landscape. 

“One by one through retirement the shops have gone and there’s no replacement and it’s been quite a few years now when it’s been just us.”

The announcement follows a series of Ballarat manufacturers shutting up shop and also coincides with the release of census data on Monday which revealed manufacturing jobs had fallen by 24 per cent in the five years leading to 2016. 

Despite the shortage of competition in the Ballarat market, the pair say business continues to be strong, with orders and jobs coming in from around western Victoria.   

Along with their wives who also assist in the workshop, the old masters still spend up to 12 hours a day honing their craft. 

While both men said they were likely to continue to ply their trade at home in their spare time, they were looking forward to stepping away from the full time commitment. 

“In a business like this you have to work your guts out and we’re very lucky we’ve had our wives supporting us and working with us all the time, so if it wasn’t for them there’s no way we could have done it,” Chris said.