Not yet
Not yet. There is only one retailer in Boston who has them on the floor to see - and they were closed when I ventured out last. I'm not going to buy anything without trying it - altho funny enough, I have a friend who insists I should - just so I can be pleasantly surprised when they arrive.
I'm going to circumvent his advice, try them, and lie to him when they arrive 🙂 And I'm going to continue searching for a pair of vintage ones locally (hint hint if anyone has some they want to part with)
Try before you Buy
I stayed quite during the wood finish debate, but now that we are discussing comfort I feel I have something to add.
I have owned a wishbone chair for a couple of years and love looking at it. As a piece of sculpture it is great. It is one of those things that I had to have; and you guessed it, I do not like sitting in it.
If you are going to use these chairs everyday or even every week I strongly urge you to test drive them first. Take a book or magazine and slide one up to a table. Squirm around reposition yourself, lean forward, lean back, read for 10 minutes and if you can last that long the chair fits you.
Personally, I rarely can finish a short article before I switch seats.
A little
A little alarming that you find them uncomfortable. As I mentioned I'm going to try them tomorrow. While I can tell the difference between a chair that is very comfortable and one that isn't totally good, there are very few chairs I find horribly bad.
The only notable one I can think of is a Knoll Gigi chair. I spent a night at a restaurant in one and was MISERABLE the entire time. I have never had such a bad experience sitting down. The curve part dug into my lower back and caught on my belt/pants the whole night.
I will be so sad if the wishbones are not comfortable! lol. I've been hunting for chairs for so long.
Although stil entirely of...
Although stil entirely of oak it is quite likely that the black finished chairs use a slightly lower decorative grade of wood ie. the more nicely grained or figured (and expensive)stuff is used on the soap finished ones where it can be seen and the blander stock is used on the black ones. Oak also comes in a lot of tones - if you black lacquer it doesn't need to match.
Doing my part to help the economy
Okies.... despite economic downturn, grumblings within my company, and having already blown this years chair budget on the Eames Aluminum reupholstery, I pulled the trigger and bought 2 oak/soap finish Wishbones.
Which will arrive in 2-3 weeks. Uggg... this part of furniture shopping is torture! Will post photos when they arrive 🙂
As a side note, I did buy them locally. Not to be moralizing, but I think it's important to practice what you preach. The difference ended up being about 160$ between tax and shipping. I hope the nice gal puts her commission to good use.
Thrift Store wishbones
God!
I was there when the local drug addict thrift store here in Los Angeles unloaded two of these Wishbone chairs from the truck. They sold for about 15.00 each. They were unpainted wood, oak, it looked like to me, with good woven seats. I was impressed with how comfortable they were.
I wish I had bought them!!!
Similar thoughts and where to buy soap flakes?
I've stumbled on this thread a little late.
I'm intending to buy a Wishbone: after much resarch, a soap-treated Oak with a black seat. The only thing that puts me off is the long wait time, as this configuration is unusual and not carried in stock, anywhere, seemingly.
I'm going to use the Wishbone as a desk chair, which will shock those who find it uncomfortable. Still, I currently use a Prouve Standard Chair, that my girlfriend picked up at the Vitra Sample Sale and that is very uncomfortable. The Knoll Nakashima Straight Chair I considered buying is uncomfortable too, if less so. I have tried out the Wishbone at a couple of places and, by comparison, the back support suits my body much better, plus the cord seat gives somewhat.
Room&Board carry the Wishbone in oiled Oak, and I personally don't love the glossier, browner finish and prefer the soap-treated finish I have seen in photos. But where do you buy the soap flakes to treat the wood with?
Incidentally Just Scandinavian in Tribeca, New York City, carry unusual coloured lacquered versions of the Wishbone, like bright green and blue. ApartmentTherapy had a post about the green. I was initially dubious, but it really looks good in person, even if I prefer the natural wood myself. Just Scandinavian also seem to be one of the few people in the U.S. to carry Svenskt Tenn (and their many Josef Frank furnishings).
Just did some research
Here's a link to purchasing soap flakes. Seems like they almost disappeared, but this company brought them back. I'm going to get a few bags - just in case 🙂
http://www.msodistributing.com/shop/orders.html
Thanks
Thanks -- I too have bought some of those soap flakes. In case anyone is interested, the company I have since bought the chair from also offered me a thin leather cushion especially designed to go with the Wishbone. It cost something like $160. It didn't appeal to me but might be worth knowing about if you want more comfort.
Ta Da!
So they have finally arrived! And man are they WHITE! I know it's just the new wood, but it's kind of hilarious next to the very aged oak of the table.
I am very happy 🙂 We'll see what the man has to say when he gets home from work.
Below - Before & after pictures of the space.
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