$1,850.00

SOLD for MORE than our reserve price. June 2022. (The reserve price of $185o was for ONE CHAIR ONLY– no footstool.) Call us if you have interest in Tessa furniture. Much of our Tessa pieces are now being sold before a listing is done for them.

LOCATION- being sold by a regular iNVISeDGE seller in GEELONG, South of Melbourne.

This listing has also been uploaded for people to express interest in buying or selling a similar suite. For BUYING enquiries, please call us on the number provided on our Home Page- for SELLING enquiries only SMS this number. (Please … never call me for SELLING enquiries.)

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Description

SOLD for MORE than our reserve price. We rarely disclose what we sell Tessa furniture for anymore. SOLD June 2022.

Our listing price is OFFERS OVER $1,850 for ONE CHAIR ONLY. Offers over $2,750 will be considered for ONE CHAIR and ONE MATCHING footstool. Offers over $4,600 for BOTH CHAIRS and ONE FOOTSTOOL will be considered. We understand there are a LOT of people wanting just ONE FOOTSTOOL. Offers over $900 for ONE FOOTSTOOL will be considered ONLY if the buyer of this suite doesn’t buy BOTH footstools. (I’d be surprised if this happens- the right buyer will understand how hard it is to get these footstools and the solid investment appeal opportunity of having two of them.)

These colours are VERY hard to get in the Tessa Delmont design.

2021 / 2022. Not all our Tessa Furniture is listed online anymore. Call us if you have interest in this furniture so we can discuss what we have in the pipeline. Many pieces are sold from direct enquiries before an online listing is done for them.   

This listing is being sold UNDER CONSIGNMENT by a regular iNVISeDGE seller in GEELONG, near Melbourne. My vendor can deliver these chairs to Melbourne buyers for a reasonable fee. Delivery Australia-wide can also be organised for reasonable rates. (Approx. $220 for a Sydney delivery for ONE chair and ONE footstool.)

This is FULL-GRAIN vintage leather- the real deal. Tessa often used the shitty TOP-GRAIN leather after the mid-1990’s until 2019 (when they closed because they couldn’t compete with China anymore). Top-Grain leather is NOT TOP-GRADE leather- it’s the inferior THIN modern-day leather that usually deteriorates within 10-20 years- don’t be deceived. FULL-GRAIN leather is the best leather you can get (and the only leather you want). Use the iNVISeDGE SEARCH BOX (on the Home Page) and type in “Howe Leather Brochure” for heaps of information about leather and how to get the most out of vintage leather for 70 years and more.

The investment appeal of this suite is a NO-BRAINER. This FULL suite (PAIR of CHAIRS and BOTH FOOTSTOOLS) retailed new for about $13,500 in 2019 just before Tessa went out of business. iNVISeDGE price- OFFERS over $5,500 for the FULL 4-piece suite.

Background Info and Provenance

(Written in 2022. Some information contained within may be time-sensitive.)

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 / Delmont 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 swivel 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 never wanted to get back up! During lock-down (March 2020 to 2021) I had phone calls from people almost on a daily basis asking for T21 / Delmont swivel chairs or suites. I sold my last Tessa T21 chairs a few months back now- that listing got record interest and various offers above our reserve price.

I think the camel-coloured leather and blonde timber looks amazing here. This is a bold design- this lighter / vibrant coloured leather pares it back significantly. This suite is nowhere near as imposing as black or dark-brown T21’s (virtually all Tessa Delmonts are chocolate, this is the only lighter coloured Tessa Delmont furniture we’ve ever had in 20 years of trading. I can even picture this suite in a small nook (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 “softer” feel and pares back the look a notch or two.

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 or 20 years of use- this is always MODERN Top-Grain Leather. This leather is VINTAGE FULL-GRAIN leather (from 1983)- it’s NOT the cheaper leather we see around today. The suite has various labels on the underside of the cushions to help substantiate the date of production.

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 they’re VINTAGE (c. early 1980’s)!

Today in 2022, I believe this design- the T21 / Delmont 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 come 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 (a bit 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.

These pair of chairs are about 40 years old and look at them! Just mind-blowing really! No guessing the quality on offer (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 our local community.

2202

Both chairs and footstools are in excellent original condition for a suite that's about 40 years old! The pieces have some minor signs of use consistent with age. Both chairs and footstools are heavy and very solidly built- the T21 design is particularly strong and durable. I've never seen anything structurally wrong with a T21 Tessa chair ever (and this design is now 50 years old)- these chairs are no exception. The swivel mechanism on both chairs works perfectly. The chairs and footstools present nicely- there is nothing that spoils them. If you get up close you will see that the leather has some minor signs of use. There are some minor marks on the outside backs (hard to see unless you are really looking closely for imperfections). NORMAL for vintage chairs. The leather on the seats and the back cushions has minor wear and some small feint scratches. The headrests have some warts, which is normal for leather. There are NO cracks into the leather, NO holes, NO unsightly / deep scratches. The timber has a few minor dents. These are VINTAGE originals and anything that is not unsightly and shows they're vintage is actually DESIRABLE. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The cushioning is all in excellent condition- Tessa use top-quality cushioning that lasts several generations. I think we need to ponder that comment for a little while here... Modern cushioning-foams can break down and disintegrate in 10 years. THIS AUSTRALIAN-MADE CUSHIONING IS 40 YEARS OLD AND STILL AMAZING! Furniture manufacturers CAN make quality cushioning- most of them just choose NOT to! The cushioning is all plush and comfortable AND these cushions / chairs are very supportive as well. The angles of these chairs are obviously also SPOT-ON for sublime comfort! _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Overall, the chairs and footstools both present very well overall and will last the long-haul. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Tessa Delmont swivels. Across- 79cm. (Width measurement may be increased by a couple of centimetres on each side if there are armrest protectors present on the model). Depth- 79cm. Seat Height- 42cm. Total Height- 92cm. Depth of seat- 47cm. Comfort is absolutely sensational- you'd be very hard-pressed to find a more comfortable chair. High-back and PERFECT angles for sitting comfort and proper support. Read my 1200+ ebay feedback comments (ALL for furniture and decorative arts SALES) to be assured that the lounges are described as accurately as possible and that I will not purchase items of inferior quality or with significant cosmetic flaws.
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