Obsessed with chairs.

It has been quite a while since I posted, but now I am on holidays I can do some catch up posts.  There seems to be something special about chairs suddenly, and in the last couple of months I have bought a few with no real purpose in mind.  The design of chairs is very cool, and every chair has a different personality.  Unfortunately a lot of people also share my enjoyment of chairs with unique design, and the really special ones are expensive when they are for sale.  Like the Eames chair (right) valued at about $3000 plus.  Replicas sell on eBay for about $600.


I am especially loving Tessa chairs.  Tessa is a company in Melbourne that sells beautiful chairs worldwide.  Designer Fred Lowen founded Tessa with his brother Howard Lindsey.  The Tessa T1 chair received an award in 1970 and the T4 hammock design chair was in the Cologne Fair in 1971 and they loved it.  Tessa still make leather chairs and lounges that are still popular today.


Recently at Abbey's auctions I watched a chair that looked like a well used Tessa style chair, together with 2 well worn footstools, come up for sale.  Even though the sale had a special Mid-Twentieth Century design section, no one really wanted the chair and footstools.  I hadn't really looked at the items to buy, but I jumped in.  I paid $50 on the hammer (about $60 all up).  They are pictured below.

During the auction, Sam and I sneaked a closer look at the chair.  We raised up the seat cushion, and what did we find, but a Tessa tag.  Of course we did.  NICE PICKUP!  They are all cute retro pieces.  Even though each one would be a great project, I decided to sell the footstools.  I have made my $60 back selling them alone.  The Tessa chair is a T8, without arms.  The seat is worn and coming away from the frame at the top.  T8s can sell on eBay in good condition for about $140.  I rang Tessa, who will redo their chairs to your specifications.  They can do any Tessa cushion design on my Tessa frame for $485.  Seeing that the chair has now cost me nothing, I don't know whether to list it as is, and get whatever I can for a worn Tessa T8 on eBay, or, get it recovered and keep it.  So, at the moment it is living in my shop room.  It's great to sit in while I look at all my shop stuff and think.

The chair obsession may also be contagious.  Sam loved this Wellington chair with a swivel base so much we HAD to have it.  It came from Mrs Secondhand in Brunswick.  Sam jumped into their moving truck to test sit on the chair, before it had even be unloaded into the shop.  I wish I had a photo of his legs sticking out from the back of the truck while he was test driving it, it was super funny.


This last chair I want to show I also got from auction, from Steven Graham Auctions. I got some cute children's chairs that day, plus this industrial style office or desk chair.  I can only guess how old it is and where it has been used over the years.  When I bought it, I had intended to sell the chair, but so far it's stayed on display in the hall way.  I love walking past it and appreciating the shape and unique design.  And the little Foo Dogs that my Dad gave me to guard the front door love sitting on it.

Shoppers Notes


I get my approximate valuations courtesy of www.carters.com.au
Tessa website- www.tessafurniture.com
Abbey's Auctions- www.abbeysauctions.com.au
Mrs Secondhand- www.mrssecondhand.com.au/
Steve Graham Auctions- http://stevegrahamauctioneer.com

Sleepy Hollow Chair

Just a few hours after we arrived back from Singapore I bought the most fantastic chair.  It really proves you have to act quick sometimes, or the best finds will be snapped up.  I had slept a few hours, then woke to do my obsessive routine of checking my eBay searches on my iPhone.  I was really just half awake and very tired from being on a plane all night.  I quickly found a chair just listed by one of the sellers I follow, that really caught my eye.  It looked cool, kind of unusual, with a bit of honest wear, but not too much, and was the right look and colour for where I wanted to place it.  It was called a "Sleepy Hollow chair".  I had seen another chair advertised using this name previously, but knew nothing about the design, who produces them, where, their value, etc.  Knowing that this was probably not a good time to make a decision regarding a chair, I decided to open my laptop and vaguely made a search about Sleepy Hollow chairs.  Not much, a couple of pictures in ads, a definition, very little info.  According to Dictionary.com: 

Sleepy Hollow chair

noun U.S. Furniture .

an armchair of the mid-19th century, sometimes on rockers, having a single piece forming a high upholstered back and a concave upholstered seat.

The seller also had a picture of the chair on her Facebook page and after looking at the photos and listing a couple of times I had decided I really liked this chair.  I thought I should wait until the next day when I had a chance to properly rest, to have clear mind and see if I still liked it before I bought it.  Except, it was a Buy It Now item, I also knew the seller had a lot of followers and very reasonable prices, and the ad stated it was rare and a bargain, so I anticipated that it might only be minutes before someone else bought it.  It was probably now or never... So, I pressed "Buy It Now".  "I think I may have just bought a chair" I told my partner.  He laughed.  SO very like me.  I put a message on the Facebook photo:  "It's mine!"  I sent an email about picking up the chair.  Then I put my laptop on the floor, rolled over and went back to sleep.

Sleepy Hollow chair: $349.

When I went to the shop to pickup my chair, Mrs Secondhand, aka. Tracey, said she had so many enquiries about the chair after I bought it, especially from dealers.  Phew, lucky I acted on inpulse!  She had even sold it to me cheaper than it was marked in the store.  When you sit in the chair it's super comfy.  And it looks so fantastic too!  I love the usedness of it, the unique shape, the fact that it was a bargain, and that for once, I was lucky.

Mrs Secondhand is online: http://www.mrssecondhand.com.au/

on Facebook:  mrs.secondhand

and eBay:  mrs.seconhand1

and Gumtree: mrs.secondhand

and in Brunswick Thurs, Sat, Sun: 11 Ann Street, Brunswick 3056.