Pirate Upholstery just opened at 25 Broadway moving from its uptown location to the Rondout. Besides a sewing machine, bits and pieces of seats, and a test seat rigged up on a sawhorse, there’s some cool stuff to peruse, including owner Jay Teske’s 1962 blue Vespa—his first—and a snazzy Triumph, plus vintage photos of his in-laws scooting around in Israel.

Pirate Upholstery specializes in custom motorcycle and Vespa leather and vinyl seats, but it also does a lot more: Teske, a former tattoo artist from Staten Island, does leather tooling and makes handsome leather bags that fit on the back of a motorcycle (or a bike, for that matter). He also repairs briefcases and purses and can fabricate just about anything in leather.

The motorcycle seats average around $300 and are fashioned from memory foam, a material designed for NASA that conforms to and supports the body. Teske, who works with Vespa dealers from all over the country, gets most of his customers from the tri-state area. However, in the short time he’s been open he’s already gotten some walk-ins. He’s open from nine to five Monday through Fridays and does appointments.

 Teske and his wife bought the building on lower Broadway and plan to move in upstairs once renovations are complete. “I love it here already,” he said. ‘I’ve met every business owner on my side of Broadway, and everyone’s really nice.” Teske and his wife left the city in 2007 and opened a shop in New Paltz. However, they missed city living, and so moved to Kingston a year and a half ago. Kingston’s walkability and relatively stress-free lifestyle, compared to NYC, make it the perfect place, said Teske.

Pirate Upholstery - 25 Broadway – (718) 909-0764 Info@pirateupholstery.com