I picked up 3 coconut ...
I picked up 3 coconut chairs yesterday and two were purple and one was red the fellow said they were from the 50s and they looked it with the mealy inside and the faded rip covers
I saw no labels but he said they had been moved 4 times in 50 years and i believed that, as they have a lot of suet and crap on the underside.
They are a lot bigger than i thought as i have only seen the Vitras in NYC and in black leather,
Even thoe these are so old and in need of a massive redo
it was great to see that back 50 years ago they used such good colors, and not just black leather!
I much prefer the coconut in...
I much prefer the coconut in bright hues.
LRF,
Funny about Hille making the lounge + ottoman. Did they make anything else by the Eameses? This explains something I have wondered about. I have a Robin and Lucienne Day book and in some of the Hille showrooms there was the lounge and ottoman coupled with Day's furniture. I just believed it was because Day was a big fan. Makes sense to me now.
There were also a few photos with wire chairs. Did Hille do these for Europe as well?
knoll
Knoll is the only one who has ever made or distributed the Bertoia wire chair,
Hans G Knoll set up Knoll International to sell funiture in Europe in 1952 ,
From what i am learning Herman miller never did this as they were just a American company
old Eames gave a licence to Hille first in England and Vitra second
Vitra covered all of Europe
there is some reason that they made that base in Europe that I still have no idea why
Does any one in Dream Land have any idea why the base was different ?
I am more shocked then any...
I am more shocked then any one to find 3 and the colores . They are shot but when we are finished they will be ready for the Vitra Chair museum or the LRF chair museum as my wife likes to say. The parts are all in good shape just 50 years of a lot of Dirt
A helpful hint that I am sure you smart ones know
keep an eye out for old retired architects, ask friends and neighbors, and check obituaries
These are the guys that have the originial stuff like we all like and want.
Track them down and ask if they might consider selling any of there old chairs, for some reason and I have no idea why ? these guys have all kinds of great stuff and I have purchased some incredible stuff on 3 separate occasions from old retired Archictects.
One told me his kids just were not interested and he had them in storage since 1992
I will be taking pictures of these 3 chairs in the various stage of renovation, trying to make up my mind in either a Maharam messenger or the George Nelson fabric that he did , all are in the Maharam books,
coconut...
When I first...
coconut...
When I first saw it some years ago, I didn't like the coconut chair at all. I thought it was too 'far-out' (and I think the price tag also had something to do with it...). I mean, it is a 'fun' chair, but I don't want to pay a small fortune for a 'funny' chair.
Then I changed my mind and now I think it is one of the coolest lounge chairs around. It is one of the few of the really 'far-out' fifties designs that have survived to become a classic. I just wish it didn't come with the hefty price tag, and I agree it is so much nicer in a solid red or yellow...
that i have no idea ...
that i have no idea about the wires maybe some one knows that answer but i have a sneaking suspicion that the chairs were made by Herman Miller in Zealand MI and shipped to the United Kingdom where the base was made and that qualified for made in Britian
It would not surprise me cause General Motors and Ford have been doing that for 60 years, had to do with the Marshall plan
The Marshall Plan (from its enactment, officially the European Recovery Program [ERP]) was the primary plan of the United States for rebuilding and creating a stronger foundation for the allied countries of Europe, and repelling communism after World War II. The initiative was named for Secretary of State George Marshall and was largely the creation of State Department officials, especially William L. Clayton and George F. Kennan.
The reconstruction plan was developed at a meeting of the participating European states on July 12, 1947. The Marshall Plan offered the same aid to the Soviet Union and its allies, if they would make political reforms and accept certain outside controls. However the Soviet Union rejected this proposal with Vyacheslav Molotov describing the plan as dollar imperialism.
The plan was in operation for four years beginning in July 1947. During that period some USD 13 billion in economic and technical assistance were given to help the recovery of the European countries that had joined in the Organization for European Economic Co-operation.[1]
By the time the plan had come to completion, the economy of every participant state, with the exception of Germany, had grown well past pre-war levels. Over the next two decades, many regions of Western Europe would enjoy unprecedented growth and prosperity. The Marshall Plan has also long been seen as one of the first elements of European integration, as it erased tariff trade barriers and set up institutions to coordinate the economy on a continental level. An intended consequence was the systematic adoption of American managerial techniques.
An organge coconut
I shared a loft in New york City in the 1980's with a late, dear friend, and he found an orange vinyl coconut chair. One of the seams was split open, and after he lived with it for awhile, he sold it (remember, it was completely unavailable back then and he got good money for it.)
so, obviously Coconut Chairs were sold with vinyl upholstery.
alexandersforum
It was not the first chair that I went for when i started collecting chairs and it is a little like Scotch and a acquired taste. like a lot of chairs
I hate to say these are so shot from years of who knows what.. but for me that is the challenge and fun and why i own this little business, I love to redo these fine old relics, ( I really need to start thinking about unloading some of them as of this date i have never sold a thing)
I sat in a New pristine coconut chair at Vitra in NYC and thought about buying it
the thing that i did not like was how they are made now with all the shiny chrome and black leather ( although i could change that in a day) but the way it sat so low but what the hell we will make it comfortable .
A footnote my wife the designer of knitwear works one day a week at a knit store (makes sense) and a older lady was talking to her, and my wife said her husband likes modern and collects chairs , The lady said I have two Jacobsen Egg chairs with ottomans for 40 years and they are real old in my attic, maybe he would come over and take a look and see if he wants them ,
I set a land speed record here in Oklahoma getting over to her house and my wife was yelling at me the whole way saying, she is a older woman don't be aggressive with her pay her a fair price (not 300 a chair, bad Karma )
I walked through the door and the first thing she said she wanted 3000.00 for everything including a rare Jacobsen table ,
i told my wife I would have offer her at least 2 grand a chair so she got what she wanted, and the table was worth at least a 1000.
I saw the table on the wright 20 auction site . ( I never put that in the greatest deals category If they were 100 each then they would go in that thread,) but here is two pics and the wife got to keep the chair in her sewing room she says it is real confy and we use all our chairs to sit in,
these chairs have been recovered in Maharam milestone Tendril color
news to me
I just saw this on the Herman Miller web site I thought that just Vitra was selling the chair but I guess we were all wrong.
Originally introduced by Herman Miller in 1955, the Nelson coconut chair is again available after a 23-year hiatus. This 20th century furniture icon has a simple, striking shape, and it's also a very comfortable place to unwind at home or in the private office or lounge.
The coconut chair is completely true to George Nelson's original design, materials, and detailing. With the unique shell design, he accomplished his goal of providing comfortable and attractive lounge seating that allows free movement so that people can sit in just about any position they choose.
Price: $3,745.00
Shipping: FREE!*
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