Hey yall!
I am looking to repair both an Eames lounge chair and ottoman in Germany. The leather has detached from the base at the zip on both the chair and the ottoman. From the pictures you can see the stuffing is coming out the sides. Would anyone have any advice or know of specialist refurbishers in Germany to help repair this little original beauty and bring her back to life? Or tips of what to keep in mind when asking potential specialist about making the repairs? Any info or help is greatly appreciated.
B
I have done this repair before. What you need is a separating zipper with black webbing and metal teeth in the same guage as the original. Measure the perimeter of the plywood section and choose a zipper that is longer than your measurement. Then see if you can find an upholsterer or cobbler that will replace the zipper for you. The one I did had some age damage to the plastic base side of the cushion right in the stitch holes making it unusable. I located a suitable plastic sheet and used the original as a pattern and transferred the snaps and stitched the zipper to it. It worked great. For the leather side, it would be great to mark registration notches before you remove the old zipper every few inches, especially at the corners, so that each half of the zipper comes back together properly. The two halves marry a bit counterintuitively, but once you match your notches it all makes sense.
I don't know if you're willing to ship to the UK, if you are, I suggest you try Graham Mancha. The tricky thing about these chairs is now to do the repairs CORRECTLY. A lot of people claim they can do and in fact they can. But the problem is how well it turns out. Graham is the guy if you want Eames done right.
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