In the shop: Knoll Eero Saarinen Executive Arm Chair demolition.

I have started on the Knoll Eero Saarinen chairs.  Demolition is always fun, but I approach it cautiously as it can be a Russian Christmas Present.  :)  I bought these chairs with bad degraded seat foam, and unlike sellers who just flip things, I will take the time to fix it before I sell it.  The Dunbar chairs had foam in similar condition.  Basically, it hardens and dries out over the years.  Did you ever check out an upholstered piece at a thrift or yard sale?  Do you know what signs of deterioration to look for?  There are pieces out there that exist all of these years and are still usable, but certainly, they are not common.  The first thing I do when I check out a piece is take a good look.  What can I see?  Certainly any sagging or repressed areas are clues.  The seat fabric on these chairs were showing sagging around the front edge.  The other big clue, is to look for powder.....any sign that the foam inside has turned to dust.  You may not notice it right away, but turn the chair over if you can, check out any seam holes as that is where it would fall through.  Shake it up a bit if it's small enough and see if you hear anything or see the dust coming out.  If you see that, I can guarantee you have foam issues. 

Saggy seats are a good indicator that you have some foam issues going on.....

When I started disassembling, I put a cardboard sheet on the ground to make clean up easier and keep the mess intact. I bought a little tool for pulling tacks and staples up at JoAnn Fabrics and it is proving itself very useful in my projects.  I pulled out the dust cover staples first, then started on the velvet.  Dumping out the mess as I worked my way around.  Once the whole thing was apart, as expected, the original foam was glued to the bent ply seat.  I pretty much attack this by hand and pull off as much as I can.  Then I take the random orbital sander to clean up the wood and smooth it out. 

I am now working on the foam and getting it to look like I want before finishing and stapling back up.  I have used 2" high density foam, but because of the curved seat, I'm not sure I'm liking it not looking fluffier so I am taking my time to make my plan.  I have to be careful as not to make any tears in the velvet since I am not replacing the original fabric.  I will keep you posted as they come along!!!!  Don't miss out on the fabulous items I have in stock now!  Message me for a shipping quote or to arrange a regional delivery!  xo Malissa

Updates and coming attractions.

2 available!  Paul McCobb for Calvin Furniture BOW TIE chairs.  Ready to ship! Structurally rehabbed, new seat covers, new lacquer over original finish.  I can't believe I still have them!

Things have been busy on the personal end the last few weeks so my projects have been suffering.  I did pick up a super awesome matched pair of Knoll, Eero Saarinen designed executive arm chairs in fabulous olive velvet!  They are awaiting some new seat foam which I am ready to get moving on so hopefully will have them ready to list soon!  Behind them, you will see an adjustable slat bench!  It is already stripped so I just need to do some sanding and thinking I will teak or Danish oil finish it. 

Knoll Executive Arm Chairs by Eero Saarinen.

Our family is bracing for a collective bargaining event with my husband's job at Verizon which will be hitting the fan in a few days.  My part time job cannot carry our monthly bills, so if he is out long it will have a huge affect on our daily lives.  If there is anything in the shop you are eyeing up, please, this would be a great time to commit!  Thank you for your support during this trying time! xo Malissa

Collection acquisitions, cleaning and pest avoidance advice.

I am in between projects right now so what better time to add some new items to my own collection!  I do sell off the finest things but I will buy for myself if I can work it in to my home.  I have been working with a craigslist seller all week to buy a Bertoia Diamond Chair.  It is my holy grail of chairs, and I love many!  I found the ad and it was still available.  Appears to be in good shape, but for this kind of buy, I would plan on having it powder coated at some point as I promised my daughter it would be hers some day!  There is a full upholstery cover on it.  He did tell me the first person who looked on it mentioned the foam had degraded.  I know those covers are crazy expensive to replace but I also have the cover to use as a template and a mom who is very capable of patterning it, so that is half the battle.  I am willing to risk that detail.  I am going to buy it on Sunday, since that is when we are both available.  I cannot wait to sit in it!  It is the larger style lounge chair, which is no longer produced new.  Meanwhile, I need to bump my Grandmothers spinny slipper chair out of my living room!  It was technically given to my daughter, so I am hoping we can make room for it in her bedroom.  

Today we were hanging local and stopped by a few places we like to hunt and research at.  No luck at the thrift store, the used furniture place had a cool supposedly Knoll butterfly chair with a turquoise canvas sling for $125.  I hate seeing the Google print outs attached to things!  These butterfly chairs were highly imitated and I am pretty sure were not marked or stamped.  Too high for me to not be sure if it was the real deal, plus, with my other chair moving in, I really didn't need it.  So we left there and headed to one of the antique malls nearby.  I shop retail for myself if the price is decent and the value is there and it is something I collect or want.  I always remind myself that these folks are paying rent, picking expenses like gas, etc and have overhead.  So if I feel the price is good, I want the item and don't think it is something I will run across any time soon, I am in.  I came across a very cool wool Rya rug today.  I don't usually deal in textiles as I don't tend to run into them when I do my sourcing.  Rugs, lighting and art are, in my humble opinion, the most expensive items you can buy when sourcing for your home.  Those are the things you are likely to not find when out thrifting, yard sale combing and more.  Those are the things you should splurge on when you find that special piece that speaks to you and works in your space.  Of course, I put chairs in this category as well, but since I like to fix them, I can shop in the scratch and dent section!  ;)   I do not know much about this rug as there are no tags on it. I will try to describe it to you the way I saw it and how I determined it was a worthy investment.  Hopefully it will help you if you are contemplating a special textile and also, how I cleaned it up.  

This plush pile rug was placed under a coffee table to display.  The texture drew me in.  I have carpet in my 11 year old home.  No choice for hardwood unless we pull the rug up and invest in them.  Only draw back to new construction.  We had a toddler mishap many years ago and there is a large pink stain in the middle of the living room rug.  I have been using a throw on it for a while.  I recently found a hipster yard sale and picked up this awesome teal/turquoise rag rug from Urban Outfitters on the cheap.  I have been in the store once, and surely that was a $200 rug.  It tied the turquoise accents in my totally bland room of brown and tan (really, it sucks!) together.  I have a turquoise lamp and my grandmothers chair.  The rag part of the rug added a very cool texture to the room and I like that.  When I saw the rya rug, I immediate thought….oh yes, this baby would be sooooooo cool under my diamond chair!!!!  As soon as I bent over to feel it I got super excited as I knew it was wool!  (I am addicted to my 2 70s Icelandic Wool ponchos….I love wool!  The itchier, the better!!!)  When I pulled up the corner to check for tags, the bottom was actually very smooth and tightly woven.  It felt like my ponchos.  There is a lot of weight to this rug too.  No skimping on the threads at all.  I did notice some surface stains and spots.  Nothing horrible and I figured it had not been cleaned.  I know enough about fabrics thanks to my sewing and quilting mother to know that wool is a pretty cool fiber.  It has properties that synthetics do not.  Wool is known to self clean.  Well, not in the way you think, but things that absorb into other fibers won't always penetrate the wool fibers.  I was confident it would clean up ok.  So I purchased it, met the booth owners who just happened to come in before I checked out and had some quick words about our businesses and travels and home I went with my treasure!  

The worst of the stains

My arsenal of cleaning products.

Cleaning.  I did not want to go on instinct alone, so a quick google search showed me that I can use water and dish soap to safely clean wool.  I used warm water, but not hot as I know wool shrinks in hot water.  I got to work finding the spots and stains and using a cloth dipped in my soapy water, started to gently rub the spots.  Some of the dirt was lifting right away!  There are 2 areas of a more yellowy stain and those were lightening as well, but not coming as quickly as the others.  I slowly worked my way around the whole rug.  Then I tried to rub lightly around the rest of it.  I can tell you my bucket was pretty dark gray after this and my ringing in between dips. It definitely was pulling out the dirt.  The pile on this rug is deep, so I was taking care to inspect down deep as I went.  There were some dirt and leaf/sticks/grass residue down in the rug.  I did shake and beat it to try to knock some of that out but I think it is impossible to get rid of all of it. Once I was happy with my cleaning, I hung it over my deck railing to dry in the sun.  One last step.  I buy this spray called Wondercide.  I get it at a local pet store, but you can order directly from them online.  The BioDefense spray (about $40 per bottle) is the best stuff I have found to really douse my upholstery and fabric items with when I bring them home.  It kills every bug known to man.  Fleas, ticks, lice, bedbugs and a host of other pests.  It is all natural and smells strongly of cedar (which I love because I am a total hippy like that! ).  The smell disappears in a few days but I use it to freshen up my couch, curtains and more.  I like it better than febreeze and it is not a chemical cocktail.  It is safe for humans and pets too.  For items I cannot wash…..the yard sale rug, my wool sweaters and ponchos, upholstery on chairs I pick up….it is a godsend!  I do spray any of my used upholstery items I sell with it as well.  I sprayed both sides of the rug and let it dry in the sun.  Then I moved it in!  Looks great!  I am putting it just next to a higher traffic area so hopefully it will stay clean.  I love it!   

I would not have guessed this much dirt would come out of the rug!

So for my next project, I think I may take a look at this adjustable slat bench I picked up a month or 2 ago.  It seems to have been stripped so I will clean it up and really inspect it, see what needs to be repaired in the structure and I am hoping I can teak oil it as a finish.  It will make a nice piece for a sunroom or open space area holding some plants.   I am looking forward to getting to know it.  xo Malissa

Dunbar Chairs, ready to ship!

It's been a busy last couple of weeks!  I have been really trying to move forward with the Dunbar chairs and my mother got the sewing done and on I went.  It's kind of like an obsession for me when it gets to this point and I am ready to get the project done.  Mom did a great job, and yes, I will be paying her for her talents when the chairs sell.  The assembly went smooth and I expected nothing less after my mother did her thing.  I sat and did the buttons one evening and that was tedious, but not a bad deal.  It was very hard to get the buttons to line up straight as the long needle did not go straight through no matter how I tried to line it up.  I did end up fixing a few wonky ones after I was finished.  When I finally was happy, I added the new dust cover and hand stitched the Dunbar labels back on it.  They are now ready to rock.  Took some new pictures yesterday outside and now they are ready for a new home!  I have them priced at $600 each, only after careful consideration of my time and expenses and others for sale.  I have found none is small quantities, however, there are a set of 6 and another set of 8 on first dibs for $18,000.  So, I can say I believe my price is a bargain for such exquisite pieces.  Surely there is a Wormley fan somewhere that would like one or both as samples of his earlier designs.  I am so proud of them and pleased I had a chance to bring them back to their former glory!  That's what it is all about!  I have already considered the shipping and will definitely be wrapping the chair backs in cardboard to protect the delicate cane during shipping.  I will definitely deliver these in person if I can be met in central/eastern PA, NJ or a reasonable distance from my Reading/Allentown area home.  Please reach out via email or etsy message!  I will also be traveling through Philadelphia in another week so please hit me up if I can deliver anything!

Upholstery taking shape!

Mom has been cranking on the upholstery as she has some other sewing to do for some clients so she wants my chairs in her past.  haha  Today, she actually has everything complete on her end and ready to give back to me to start the assembly and buttons.  I have not seen the final covers, but will get them in the morning.  Meanwhile, I had an extra day off work today as my company closed while we gear up for new work coming in so I had the day to get some errands done.  Click on the photo below to scroll through the gallery.

Some pics of my mom fitting the newly cut foam, batting and her muslin to the board and chair.  Everything fit great!  Next she was working on the piping and assembly of the top. 

Piping pinned to the seat top.  The bottom piping will be stapled onto the board under the seat.

My mother is a highly skilled sewer, quilter and pattern maker.  Although this is probably an entry level project, I do feel that the piping and button details on this chair do make this project more advanced than a simple chair covering like most I have done to date.  I am glad my mother was willing to help out.  I cannot say what this would have cost if I had to pay an upholsterer to do it.  Not cheap.  Rest assured, I plan on compensating her for her time when the chairs sell.

What the piping will look like all sewn in place!!

Meanwhile, I went on a mission for buttons.  Stopped to visit my upholsterer, who was out when I got there.  The other employee there spoke no English.  I used my very rusty Spanish and within minutes we were talking the universal language of upholstery.  She had a sample button made.  By the time Albert (Alberto) came back to the shop, he merely needed to provide me with cost, take my money and tell me when I can come back and get them!  In 3 hours, I was back.  He even gave me an extra button....so I got 27 for $53.  He used my fabric, provided the buttons and the labor to create them.  Figure I'd let you in on that price.  Buttons add not only more materials to an upholstery job, they also add LOTS of time.  I am going to be spending a lot of time installing these buttons, but I feel like I need to stay true to the design of the chair and any modifications would surely take away from that.  Even the piping, was important to me. 

A few shots from the upholstery shop.  Not a large or fancy place.  Albert does nice work and is quick to accommodate.  He speaks great English.  I am happy to support his business and he has been truly an asset to my projects. 

I just spoke to mom and the seats are ready to assemble.  So I will bring them home tomorrow and start tacking and stapling everything together.  I was also able to pick up a very large needle today for the button work.  I am looking forward to them coming together!  My weeknight schedule right now is crazy with my kids swim team stuff and I do have a day job, so will see when I can get through the remaining items.  I will have some more pics soon!  The chairs are still available for reserve, please message or email me if you are interested in holding them! 

Malissa