What do you recommend to upholster a pair of Girard chairs?  

i can make those chair l...
i can make those chair look like a million bucks i love them !!!!!!!!
thanks big tv man
Those chairs can be done in black and white checker with black on the sides, or any Girard fabric and then solid, give me a email at retroredo.com and we can fix those babies right up perfect.

i think those chairs have...
i think those chairs have endless combinations and we all could write about t hem all day and night!
you should have fun, [Case study] picking out something cool.
I wish they had the better bases as those chairs were in the original call center, and Braniff's headquarters. still very nice but the chrome leg bases bring the big bucks at the auctions,

zepp02
A guy from Santa Fe...
zepp02
A guy from Santa Fe bought them for 1500.00 two years ago. The fabric is in bad shape but he has been offered all kinds of money for them and he has ketpt them in that condition cause he can not find any replacement that he likes,

I gotta have one of those chairs
Thanks for the update--I really think this is the chair to have. I have thought that for along time but never had the big bucks to invest. I wonder if Braniff had them in all there airport lounges worldwide. That would mean there might
be some lingering in most major world cities that Braniff
serviced. Also any way to find out from Herman Miller the total production amount. Also didn't Girard retire in
Santa Fe?

More important,.,.....why
doesn't Vitra or some knockoff company produce a small grouping of these beautiful Girard pieces?
I'd buy some.....

Girard he lived and ...
Girard he lived and retired in Santa Fe
he has a folk art museum in Santa Fe
Those chairs have been sucked up by every collector and picker out in modern land , they started breaking up the call center 25 years ago so anything you find is a lucky find. I know lots of guys who bought chairs from the Dallas call center, and shipped them North and kept shipping them all over.
My Lafonda table designed by Eames was from Harding Lawrence's office chairman of Braniff. and a rare and great find.

I can't imagine a better...
I can't imagine a better chair...
Sexy beyond....
Deserves the best care and restore.
Send it to LRF.
Or find someone that understands.

Vitra are you listening
It would be nice if they would reissue them but perhaps
it is better that the supply is limited. Do we really need more knockoffs? It is already a challenge to find items
that are unique and special. Thanks Retro Redo for the info.
I am glad to know about your services.

Does anyone know where to get vintage Herman Miller fabrics?
As I live in the UK it's really hard to find vintage HM fabric does anyone know any good websites (except eBay!)?

Maharam
All vintage Herman Miller fabrics are now available from Maharam.
Click on Maharam Virtual Library, then TEXTILES OF THE 20TH CENTURY.
http://www.maharam.com/maharam.html

Case Study
You can find vintage (actually OLD - not new production) fabrics on Ebay from time to time. I would begin my search there. Then I would give a call to Alfie at HumeModern and see if he has any sources of vintage fabrics.
I agree with the sentiments of restoring them to their original glory rather than creating a new color scheme.

maharam sells the best ...
maharam sells the best of Alexander Girard Charles and Ray Eames and George Nelson only
they do not sell any of the solids, that Girard created
for Herman miller only his print designs. and they are limited to around 50 of a 1000 designs that these great people did for the company

Case Study Design i have...
Case Study Design i have searched and searched for that fabric and no luck
i would just check out maharam and you will get as close as you are going to get,

Yes, Case...check Maharan first
to see what's available....then check eBay for the fabric you want.
I was looking for the Ray Eames Crosspatch fabric, and I prefered the darker hue, but I found a great buy on Crosspatch in the lighter Spring color hue on eBay and I paid MUCH less than buying it new....so I went for it.
The Girard check pattern was common for the cushions, with a darker hopsack stitch on the inside top and arms with a vertical stipe Girard fabric on the bottom side of the plywood sandwich.
Study the sofa above for a good example of typical Girard color schemes.....of course, each Brannif office used a different color scheme.
If you can't find the Maharam fabric on eBay (assuming you know how many yards you'll need for the pair of chairs), then contact your better local Mid Century Modern stores and find out if any of them can get you the Maharam fabric you need.
Do you have an expert upholsterer in your area?

Personally I think it would...
Personally I think it would be weird to upholster these chairs in anything but two solid colors. The bases show that these two chairs were intended for an office and in my opinion it would look strange with one of Girard's more 'pop' patterns, such as the checkers or stripes, even though I agree they are great. I may come off as a bit boring, but I think these chairs look great the way they were designed for Braniff...
I have seen vintage examples of the Girard solids on Ebay several times. The solids were quite common, so it shouldn't be too hard to find the nice colors for your super-rare chairs...