Charles and Ray Eames aren’t brothers. They are husband and wife.
No?
G
No?
Is that a question for me?
I was pulling your leg Josquin. If you look a few posts above the motorcycle you will see this common misconception was corrected by @anon4489532 ‘s realisation.
G
I see. I can no longer keep up with all the posts anymore. Too much to deal with at home these days.
I’m pleased to have generated a little humour. Goodness me we need it. Next I’ll be finding that Little and Large were in fact both the same size.
Here’s my 10 year old Chinese knock off, of an Eames chair. We have it in our lounge and it has lasted quite well. The screws that hold the ottoman onto the stem were too short and they used to fall out into the floor, allowing the ottoman to swivel awkwardly when putting ones feet on it. These were upgraded at an upholstery shop along with a broken button on the seat base. It lacks the plush luxury of the original, not so much like sitting in a baseball glove, rather a train seat with arms, but it does the job.
You obviously bought yours from the same place as ours, I’m forever putting the screws in back in the ottoman.
And it’s very hard to get a long screw as well!
Ooh Matron
That’s been the story of my life
Here is my conservatory
Would an Eames rocker go in ?
I think it’d be a great match.
And a big dog to keep people away from it!
Ok … now I know that I have inherited an original Eames chair and Ottoman. May I have your recommendations for leather and care for them please?
I’ve turned them upside down to eliminate the crumbs, wiped them down with a damp cloth to remove old paint stains and spider droppings. I have half a 20 year old bottle of Tumi leather conditioner, which I apply to a brief case when I remember, so will test it out on the Ottoman. But any recommendations would be appreciated.
Apart from checking the bolts on the bases are done up well, there are a couple issues that you will probably come across with any old Eames Lounge Chair, whether it’s a Herman Miller, Vitra or any of the others, whether license built or not. Biggest issue concerns the large shock mounts that join the back of the chair to the base and arms. With age these can fail, usually quite suddenly, and that can also damage the ply shells. So on any old Eames Lounge Chair, it’s advisable to have new shock mounts fitted before disaster occurs. The other issue is more minor - the buttons. The string holding them can fail, but re-stringing them souldn’t be too hard. In fact, that’s one of the jobs I have to do on my own Eames. Luckily the cushion on the Ottoman and the main chair are interchangeable so I might just swap them over first…
Fantastic news on the discovery! We need pictures…
Thanks Richard for the advice.
I’m not sure how old the chair is, although there seems to be some sort of numbering on the Vitra label.
The leather has been scuffed in places, but I’m hoping that some conditioner will bring it back to life. Photo (sans Badger) of first application of conditioner to the chair; the ottoman is serving duty as a foot stool whilst watching the cricket.
I was going to suggest Properts Saddle Soap, which was the only brand an upholster I knew would use, I guess it must have been OK because he worked on Rolls and Bentley seats. Doesn’t seem to be available any more.
Another chap uses Leather Restoration Conditioner on camera bellows. Checking that out shows it is also used by bookbinders when conserving leather bound books, so may be quite safe.