Description
Sorry SOLD in 2021 within the first few days this listing appeared here. Call us if you want to discuss investing in other Tessa T21 suites we have in storage.
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June 2021. We have regular enquiries from people wanting Tessa T21 / Tessa Executive furniture. Therefore, the ONLY fair way to give everyone a chance to see the listing is to put our VINTAGE T21 listings in an OFFERS OVER situation. A Buy It Now price has also been set for this suite (or parts of this suite). Call Michael on 0412 757 348 if you want to buy a Tessa T21 suite without having to submit an offer.
Delivery Australia-wide is possible. Approximately $330 to get this full suite to Melbourne.
OFFERS OVER $1695 for ONE CHAIR ONLY. Offers over $2600 will be considered for ONE CHAIR and ONE MATCHING footstool. Offers over $4300 for BOTH CHAIRS and ONE FOOTSTOOL will be considered. Offers over $8000 for the 3-seater sofa, 2-seater sofa and pair of swivel chairs will be considered more favourably than offers breaking up this suite. We understand there are a LOT of people wanting just ONE FOOTSTOOL. Offers over $925 for ONE FOOTSTOOL will be considered ONLY if the eventual buyer nominates not to buy a footstool. (I’d be surprised if this happens- the right buyer will understand how hard it is to get one of these footstools and the solid investment appeal opportunity of having a footstool.) THE FOOTSTOOLS ARE VERY RARE AND SOUGHT-AFTER (ever since Tessa went out of business in 2019). Offers under our reserve prices will be noted but I can’t imagine they will be entertained. If you bid above our reserve price/s and don’t receive a courtesy email stating your offer has been received, it’s best to call me. We receive THOUSANDS of emails EVERY day so our email account has a very high level of security. Some of our emails are blocked– we don’t know why a few are blocked when about 98% of what is sent is received by us.
This VINTAGE Tessa Executive / Tessa T21 suite is being sold UNDER CONSIGNMENT from our NORTH BRISBANE depot (Morayfield).
This is FULL-GRAIN vintage leather- the real deal. The cushioning was also later IMPROVED by the original owners of this suite at a considerable cost. The cushions are softer and more plump than the original Tessa cushions. Sit in this suite after a hard day at work and you’ll probably fall asleep in one of these chairs- the comfort here is PURE BLISS!
The investment appeal of this suite is a NO-BRAINER. This FULL suite (PAIR of CHAIRS, 3-SEATER SOFA and 2-SEATER SOFA) retailed new for about $20,000 in 2019 just before Tessa went out of business. iNVISeDGE price- OFFERS over $8,000 for the FULL 4-piece suite. This suite was purchased new by the grandparents of the people we bought it back in 1972! This is an authentic VINTAGE Tessa suite in incredible condition!
Look at the frame here … specifically the steel sub-structure underneath and the metal seating springs. This suite was built to last GENERATIONS (… forever???). Proof in that comment is in the condition of this suite after 50 YEARS of family use. Marvel at the craftsmanship. It’s no wonder Tessa T21’s have held up so well to use over the years- quite simply these pieces were built to last generations!
Background Info and Provenance
(This section about Tessa T21 chairs was written in 2020 with some adaptions made for these pieces on offer. These chairs are technically called the Tessa Executive Chair (and not the T21- the cushions here are more streamlined compared to the Tessa T21. These streamlined cushions are more desirable compared to the standard T21).
This is arguably the most sought-after chair design to ever come out of Australia. The Contour range by Grant Featherston is probably the most collectable in terms of dollar-value; this one, the T21 swivel chair, released by Tessa in the early 1970’s, is easily the most asked-for vintage chair through our website. When I experienced sitting in a Tessa T21 / Executive swivel chair for the first time, I instantly knew why so many people ask me to buy them. The quality just jumps out at you but it’s the comfort that everyone is after! … OMG … after sitting in a Tessa T21 for the first time I didn’t want to ever get up! During lock-down (March 2020 to 2021) I had phone calls from people almost on a daily basis asking for T21 swivel chairs or suites. I sold my last Tessa T21 chairs a couple of months back now- that listing got record interest and various offers well above our reserve price.
I think the cognac leather here looks amazing on this design. This is a bold design- this lighter / vibrant coloured leather pares it back a bit. This suite is nowhere near as imposing as black or dark-brown T21’s. I can even picture this suite in a small nook (or even in front of a small fireplace). The footprint of these chairs is not big but visually these chairs can normally be quite imposing. This lighter-coloured suite has a more “homely” feel and is not so bold. This suite is upholstered in 100% FULL-GRAIN BOVINE LEATHER- the real deal. I will write a blog describing the differences between Top-Grain and Full-Grain leather in 2021- for now be aware that Top-Grain leather is NOT TOP-GRADE leather- it’s the inferior modern-day leather that usually disintegrates within 10 – 20 years of use.
You’ll sometimes see second-hand Tessa suites where the leather has completely ripped at the seams or cracked all the way through within 10 years of use- this is always MODERN Top-Grain Leather. This leather is VINTAGE (from 1983)- it’s NOT the cheaper leather we see around today. The suite has various labels on the underside of the cushions to substantiate this.
After a 50-year stint in the Australian Marketplace, making virtually ALL their furniture in AUSTRALIA, Tessa Furniture died in 2019. It’s a sad state of affairs when an Australian business can no longer do what they do so well because of cheap imports destined to end up as landfill. And this is the very reason why Tessa eventually died. Their designs are so well-made that vintage second-hand Tessa pieces ended up becoming more sought-after than new Tessa Furniture. And who can blame people going straight to the second-hand market for designs such as this? The QUALITY of this design is so exceptional that second-hand pieces (in quality upholstery / leather) often still look basically new after 10, 20, 30, 40 … and even 50 years of use. In this listing you’re getting chairs that present extremely well but there’s REAL investment appeal on offer here because these are VINTAGE with irrefutable proof of the age!
Today in 2020, I believe this design- the T21 swivel chair by Tessa- is THE best investment in the furniture marketplace. Everyone seems to want them, they are NO LONGER in production so more people will hang onto theirs for a lifetime of enjoyment. Therefore, less and less will be coming onto the secondary market. T21 chairs retailed NEW for about $4400 EACH (in FULL-GRAIN leather) just before Tessa went under- at this RESERVE price (not much more than ONE THIRD retail) it should be obvious to anybody that the only way the value of these chairs can go … is way up.
This pair of chairs IN UNRESTORED CONDITION is about 40 years old and look at them! Just mind-blowing really! No guessing the quality on offer here (including the leather). After much of the world’s furniture ends up as landfill, these chairs will be passed onto another user and eventually a new generation. Now that Tessa Furniture is not made anymore, I can’t see any reason why this design (made in AUSTRALIA) won’t slowly increase to the value they were selling for new (ie. $4400 EACH). There’s no better way I can think of to invest in your home, the future of our environment and local community.
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