Fabric Farms, a longtime fabric store and upholsterer in Hilliard, is set to appear on the HGTV show "Fixer to Fabulous" on Tuesday.

The episode, which airs on HGTV and the Discovery+ streaming app at 9 p.m., will feature owners Jeff and Rachel Ruetty, both 38, of Upper Arlington, whose team helped restore vintage furniture for a couple.

Owned and operated by the Ruetty family, Fabric Farms has been in operation since 1971. The business was founded on Riverside Drive in Upper Arlington before moving to 3700 Parkway Lane in Hillard, where it has been for over 25 years. Jeff and Rachel Ruetty took ownership of the store in March 2021 after previous owners Bernie and Cathy Iven retired.

The Ruettys are no strangers to business. Jeff Ruetty came from the corporate world, spending 10 years in corporate and partnership development, and Rachel has worked in retail, merchandising and small-business consulting, in addition to having a knack for interior design.

The company, which started exclusively selling fabrics, also offers upholstery services, custom cushions and pillows, custom window treatments, sewing and upholstery supplies and more for the Hillard community and beyond, with customers from across the country shopping through its e-commerce business.

Since taking over, the Ruetty family has continued growing its service and e-commerce business and has focused more on commercial upholstery work. But the bulk of its business is still within the community.

"Fabric Farms has been a destination for customers who want to have a piece of furniture reupholstered — something that's worth keeping that's been in the family — and people around Columbus have known to go there for those sorts of things," said Rachel Ruetty.

Fabric Farms: sewing together a skilled team

They've also concentrated on recruiting but are finding that those skilled in upholstery are difficult to come by, said Jeff Ruetty. Where before they had two upholsterers, they now have four master upholsterers, three apprentices and six seamstresses both on and off site.

Jeff Ruetty said upholstery services are in high demand and low supply. Vintage furniture restoration and upcycling are growing global trends, but the number of businesses that can provide this service is low, especially locally, he said.

"When we looked at the supply locally of people who could actually (do) vintage furniture restoration and customization, there was virtually no one in town who did it," he said. "Very, very few people in town have the skills."

There is generally no formal training for upholstery and sewing, said Rachel Ruetty. The skill is learned over time by working with an upholsterer, and it can be difficult to teach. So the Ruettys created an apprenticeship program to develop the next generation of upholsterers.

Some of their seamstresses and upholsterers have been doing this work for 40 years or more, and several employees have been working at the company for a decade or more.

"We have a team of really talented people. Some are new, but a lot of them have been in and around this business for a long time," said Jeff Ruetty.

Preparing for primetime

It's that dedicated team that Jeff and Rachel Ruetty are happy to highlight with their appearance on the HGTV's "Fixer to Fabulous."

They had met the show's hosts, Dave and Jenny Marrs, at a home and garden show in 2021. Fabric Farms had pieces on display at the show, and the TV show hosts expressed interest in their work. They kept in touch, and, earlier this year, the hosts reached out to the Ruettys about a few pieces of furniture they'd like restored for an episode.

The Fabric Farms team worked with the Marrses to restore the pieces. And in August, Jeff and Rachel Ruetty flew out to Arkansas to appear on the show and present Fabric Farms' work.

"This looks like Rachel and I taking furniture that we did. We did not do this work; our team did," said Jeff Ruetty.

The Ruettys said they are grateful to appear on the show, which airs as the fifth episode of its fourth season, and said they are especially excited for their three children to watch it.

"It was so kind of them to invite us to be a part of what they're doing and to help give us a platform for our small family business," said Rachel Ruetty. "It's really exciting for our kids to be part of seeing this. They love to come to our store with us, and they see the work that we're putting in to build something for our family. And so for them to be able to watch us on TV, it's just a fun thing for us."

tmoorman@dispatch.com

@taijuannichole

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Hilliard's Fabric Farms owners to appear on HGTV's 'Fixer to Fabulous'