GREAT REPAIR
These people are great just look at there website they have 60 years of experience in fixing fine antiques and look at there client list. To fix an Eames lounge chair is just no big deal to them . They seem very curtious with out attitude and make a nice alternative to the people on the west coast. I would recomend them in a minute.
Eames Lounge Chair Design Flaw
If you purchased a car in the 50's and drove it for 50 years then had a tire b--w out does that mean that the car has a design flaw?
If your Eames Lounge is used every day for 50 years and finally the shock mounts dry out and pull away from the plywood is that a design flaw?
No its called maintenance.
Our service includes the removal and then installation of new shockmounts using our formulated bonding system.
This repair retains the flexibility, integrity, strength and value of your treasured Eames Lounge Chair.
We can also perform the same service for the Eames DCM, DCW and Fiberglass chair series.
Over the last decade XXX has performed thousands of shock mount installations for customers all over the country and a few from abroad all of which are still going strong today.
For inquiries and estimates visit
(edited: no advertising on the forum, thank you)
design flaw
I am not sure it is a fair analysis to equate a chair to a car tire. i am not sure a furniture manufacturer would lean on a crutch like that. That comparison would be better for fabrics and finishes on a chair, parts that are expected to have wear, i think. The standard i use is other high end chairs, either contemporary to the 670 or earlier. i can not think of any others that routinely fail like that from normal use. unless eames wanted to make a chair into a maintenance item (i seriously doubt it) then it is definitely a design flaw. But obviously the 670 has other redeeming qualities. i have no problem appreciating the innovative use of shockmount systems while at the same time rueing the fact that it causes them to be shorter lived compared to chairs made other ways. of course it is a design flaw, but no one seems to care enough to stop buying them. now that is the most brilliant part about them.
Few Things
First: 60 years of experience isnt that long in the grand scheme of things. The Eames lounge chair has only been around for 50 thus far.
Second: European craftsmen doesnt hold a lot of weight, especially since the chairs are American made to begin with.
And Third: Its not fair to say the shockmounts are poorly designed. What you have is a design based around a new technology. One that has encountered many incarnations over the development and history of the chair, and one that is still fairly solid. Generally speaking it isnt technically the shockmounts that fail but the glue that holds them. Herman Miller has admittedly used many different types of glue and has constantly tried to enhance the strength & durability.
Everything gets old, gets damaged, and needs to be repaired - everything. From cars to people. Why should a chair be any different?
No doubt about it....
rubber shockmounts and old foam rubber filling materials age over time; they get hard; they shrink; they get crusty; they start to sift into powder.
I believe the new shockmounts you can get from any Herman Miller dealer are made of updated material superior to the old originals.
I know for a fact that nobody used vintage quality latex foam for filling sofa and chair cushions; the new stuff is made of a material that is much more impervious to air, dust and sweat.
All of the great furniture companies (Knoll, Herman Miller, Cassina, Fritz Hansen, Artifort, Artek, etc.) produced their goods with the best, most cost effective materials available at the time. But when you get pieces redone, good, knowledgable upholsterers use up to date materials to replace the old foam and rubber.
So, contact your Herman Miller dealer and order the shockmounts you need.
I agree with Lucifersum,...
I agree with Lucifersum, it's unfair to criticize those designs from the point of view of today's technical possibilities. They're statements of the techniques of their time, if you buy such "oldtimers" you should embrace their spirit, including the construction which was progressive in their times.
Buying a jaguar xk120 nobody would criticize the suspension or the lack of ps compared to current cars, nobody would complain about the lack of insulation or ethernet hookups in a Frank Lloyd Wright-building. Just like with a vintage car restore it, if necessary, with nowadays means without ruining the patina and the character - they're pieces of design history! But in the end, some scratches or minor "damages" won't diminish the usability, if you want perfection, buy a new one.
The Eames Truth is Told and Agreed
Finally there are like minded people out there.
At no time over the last decade has XXX thought that it is better than
Eames or Herman Miller.
Over time every piece of furniture will require some kind of maintenance.
When we restore or repair a product for a customer we can assure them that at no time will we use quirky home made parts unlike other restoration companies.
We have invested many hours (and money) perfecting the process of shock mount replacement, from weight, stress to even vibration for all you shakers.
This includes all the plywood furniture, fiberglass shells and the LaFonda stone table tops.
We don't claim to have invented a new way of repairing your valuable Eames furniture, we have just perfected an old tried and tested process using modern materials and bonding agents.
Lets keep it real from start to finish.
(edited: no advertising on the forum, thank you)
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