Leather Joe Colombo Elda  

Is Elda a swivel chair ? Is the base weighted ?

Yes, the Elda is weighted and a swivel chair. Does it change anything for the replacement of the leather ?

Do you have a good contact for this job ?

Thanks in advance

Is the does-not-look-so-good coating a poor vinyl patch repair to the leather? It could possibly be removed and repaired more properly by a good craftsperson. You might try the service department at a larger furniture store in your area for a referral. Otherwise, you'll probably just have to interview upholsterers, be extremely specific in describing what you want, and stay right on top of them the whole way through it. It's an unconventional job; I wouldn't trust anybody to get it right without some coaching. Post a pic, Elda makes good chair porn!

he lionel,

the others already spoke out what s important! be specific in what you want! pictures would indeed help to talk about the condition of the chair. I worked on three already and the restoration turned out satisfying. also saw reupholstered ones in auction houses who looked terrible. It s not an easy chair to work on. my recommendation would be to contact an upholstery trained conservator. conservation of the original material,

if possible, will always increase the value of a chair like this.

hope I could help somehow.

Hi !

Thanks for your answers.

Yes, I am aware of the risks with a bad work on the leather. I also saw some terrible ones.. This is why I am looking for people with good experiences in that field.

Unfortunately it does not seem possible to keep the original (?) leather as the coating on it (not a patch repair, more like a painting on the whole surface) made it completely dry and cracked with some tears.

Here are some pictures.

wilhelm, could we take contact to know more about your restoration experiences ?

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That looks like a cheap leather dye job, the kind of thing people do when they want a chair to look new again or when they don't like the original color. It's not so much a dye as it is a surface coating. It probably only works when no one ever sits in the chair---like never, ever. It also feels like plastic.

What about looking for someone who restores leather upholstery in high end cars? You want someone not just with a lot of experience and skill with leather but who also understands the importance of doing it exactly like the original---and who likes a challenge. Widening the search to car upholsterers might help.

Be prepared to pay freight charges to and from the shop.

hello once more,

first thank you for the pictures. they really help to see what we are talking about.

the condition looks used but to keep you calm, it is possible to repair!

the leather used by comfort was a thin chrome tanned top coated leather.

It is soft but has this plastic like touch to it and feels really cold. the cracks of the surface into clods is also a sign of a paint which was applied to the leather when it was manufactured. the folds are the first parts where the paint peels of.

It is possible to consolidate the clods and thinly repaint the loses or the surface. with textile tissue or thin leather the ripped parts can be supported and the original leather stabilized. the feel will be a little different but the original material restored. changing the whole upper leather is more complicated, if you take a look at how the case is sawed together on the edges and at the middle fold upfront.

how is the condition of the foam? anything dusting out?

for more information you can contact me here: wilhelm.felix@googlemail.com

conservation, restoration & reconstruction of MCM 20th & 21st century furniture