Noden Collective

photos via Noden Collective

Generally speaking I don't like to mix my woods, but today I'm making an exception.  I mean, what better way to tackle my 'mix and match' issues than with these striking images from NODEN, a vintage Scandinavian and European furniture dealer based in Singapore. This compilation I've put together contains pieces in teak, rosewood and oak - all equally delightful, all possessing the grace and good looks one would expect of designs by the likes of Børge Mogensen and Hans Wegner.

The unfussy nature of the styling allows each piece to speak for itself.  Whether it's the organic shapes, tactile curves or angular edges, the rich tones or pleasing patinas, it's the furniture that does the talking.  But if it's words you're after, NODEN is pretty good with these too … I just love this quote from their website:

"Vintage items can have a way of holding you to the ground.  When you think of how long (and how far) a vintage object has travelled … its presence seems all the more significant – its character alluringly full."

restoration

Remember THIS?  Well remember away, 'cause that baby is yesterday's news.

So, how do you restore an Eames shell?  Easy.  First you read (and re-read) the ins and outs of restoring an Eames shell on CHAIRFAG, and for the sake of completeness head over to see how PLASTOLUX tackled a similar job  All good, except we were dealing with something a little different - a shell which, in a previous life, had been upholstered with naugahyde or fabric ... whichever, whatever.  What next?  Thankfully we were au fait with the goings on at MANHATTAN NEST, and it just so happened that Daniel had already undertaken a comparable RESTORATION with quite spectacular results.

We didn't deviate that much from the tried-and-tested way of doing things, but here's a few out-of-the-ordinaries we came up against:

Foam remnants: This was fairly dried out. Not flaky dry you understand - no, that would have been too easy. To remove this, our tool of choice was a bog standard kitchen knife. Using the tip of the non-serrated edge at just the right angle we scraped back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth ... like, forever.

Adhesive:  We managed to get rid of all but the most stubborn smears of adhesive using a fine sanding sponge lightly soaked in water.  Daniel at MANHATTAN NEST had left us a helpful COMMENT regarding a product he'd heard great things about called 'SOY-IT' to strip the adhesive off.  Upon further investigation, it turns out that here in the UK you can only buy vat loads of this stuff at a time. Great.  What next?  Oh yeah, that trusty workshop staple - nail polish remover.  Ah-huh.  Yeap.  It worked.

Discolouration:  We now had the beginnings of a great looking shell, but there was discolouration in the fibreglass between the area we'd worked on compared to the fibreglass which had been foam/adhesive free for some time.  Not to worry ... electric sander time.

Penetrol:  Except Penetrol over here is called Owatrol, and Owatrol sell about ten thousand different products ... it's this OWATROL OIL you'll need.

We covered the SHOCKS in a previous post and found ourselves a H-base courtesy of that well-known auction website ... everything fitted nicely, thank you very much.  It ain't perfect - it has three holes in the seat and the shock mount adhesive has bleed through the fibreglass.  Do we care?  No, no we don't.

tango

We can't get enough of Cast and Crew - both on Etsy and Instagram. This dynamic duo offer raw and iconic mid-century modern designs and they know how to find stuff - good stuff - and take fabulous images of their finds to boot. We were browsing through their archives just the other day and came across this two seater which they'd salvaged from a dilapidated laundromat. The two fibreglass shells mounted in a tandem style, have managed to hang on to much of their original shine and with a colour scheme that is hard to beat - one turquoise and the other bright red-orange - they're ready, as Cast and Crew put it, to tango!

Images:  Cast and Crew

anonymous

We know nothing about her other than she's Danish and her bentwood arms and legs swept us off our feet!

Image:  Circa Midcentury 

stitch up

What, another beautiful arm?  We need to get a grip.  Wait.  No we don't.  Here's another beautiful arm  - this time from Saarinen's iconic Womb chair - which details some pretty nifty handiwork in the stitching department.

Image:  Design Addict

woof

We're not really ones for cute and cuddly, but this Danish teak dining chair is a really sweetie ..... awwwwww!

Images:  HOWE

seeing red

We normally do the talking bit first and then leave you with the pictures, but this chair knows how to make an entrance and so we're happy to make an exception!  We spotted this gem over on Olive & Joy sometime ago now and it blows us away each time we look at it.  The shape ticks all the right boxes and the exposed frame is particularly pleasing, especially when viewed from the side.  With its red wool upholstery, those polished brass tips to the legs and the beautiful tone of the wood, this chair is, without doubt, a firm favourite.

Images:  Olive & Joy

rick, rock

We're going on a chair hunt, we're going to catch a big one, what a beautiful day, we're not scared.  

Oooo, a rocker, a remarkable Danish mid-century teak rocker.  

We can't go over it, we can't go under it, we'll just have to sit in it ..... rick, rock, rick rock.

Images:  Kinzco via flickr

exposed

A visual treat today in the form of an original survivor from the summer of 1951 ......

Images:  HOWE

credit where credit's due

We've long been admirers of the work of Andrea Simonutti, an upholsterer who, together with artist and designer Patrizia Sottile make up Urban Upholstery, a London based company that rescue abandoned pieces of furniture and expertly reinvent them.  So we were intrigued to learn that Barbara Chandler - a journalist best known for her design writing, but also an accomplished photographer who has been exhibiting and selling her work for nearly 25 years - teamed up with the creative duo on her recently launched Love London project.  For us, it is so refreshing to see the upholsterers being credited for their work, and here are some great images of the Urban Upholstery team working with some unique collages that make up the Love London fabrics.

Credits/Images:  Barbara Chandler via Flickr

restoration project

Picture the scene .... we're on that well known auction website, minding our own business, when this baby starts calling out our name. How could we refuse ..... look at the poor thing! Help was sent in the form of a hasty email to the seller - we had to act fast. One quick and illegal transaction later - yes, we did the deal outside of eBay and we're not ashamed to say so - and the shell was ours. We're mighty pleased, but now for the hard part - the dreaded and laborious task of restoration!

crowd pleaser

It's quite easy when browsing through all the deliciousness on Deconet to get side-tracked by all the designer classics, but it was this high-backed chair from the 1960s with its angular teak frame and sharp upholstery that, for us, stood out from the crowd.

Images:  Karlsruhe via Deconet