Description

This pink pair SOLD quickly for $825 PER CHAIR in 2021!

Listing price is- $825 PER CHAIR (for the pink ones). We have TWO matching chairs (in pink vinyl) currently available. If you want both, come forward quickly because we are prepared to break up the pair if 2 people only want one.

FOR SALE from a private consignment seller’s home in Werribee, not far West of MELBOURNE city. Pick-up / delivery may be delayed due to the current restrictions of movement in NSW and Queensland (and often Victoria as well). Delivery Australia-wide can be organised for a very reasonable price. (Approx. $200 for a Sydney delivery.)

Background Info and Provenance

(Written in 2021)

An amazing 1950’s PAIR of  FLER “IDLER” sculptural easy chairs (PRICE IS PER CHAIR). These would give a stunning architectural slant to any space. And the comfort is brilliant! Featherston’s Numero IV design takes very strong cues from this design but this design is infinitely better (and came way before the Numero IV)! The comfort of the FLER Idler is incredible- the angles of the seat and back coupled with the curves create a design that holds you in a perfect seating position. I have a bad back and these are perfect for me- my back needs to be held at the right angle to take all pressure off my back muscles. These chairs do that- I can’t do the soft squishy chairs (like the Featherston Numero IV) that feel comfortable the second you sit down but then become less comfortable the longer you’re in them. With the stunning architectural styling of this pair you’d be forgiven for thinking something that looks so incredible would be uncomfortable- these are NOT! The Numero IV has little or no support- they’re basically like sitting in a shaped beanbag- these are proper chairs that have been carefully designed with full ergonomic comfort in mind.

I’ve tried researching the designer of these- I’ve given up. Over the past 5 or so years I’ve been actively trying to get more information about them. I know this design was done by FLER (and is called the FLER “Idler”) but to my knowledge they were NOT designed by Fred Lowen. I believe that this was one of the first designs done by Fler AFTER Lowen sold the FLER business. I’m not sure who was involved in the design. Maybe someone in internet-land may know. I’ve seen this design for sale about 4 times over the years- one set was being sold by a dealer with considerable experience and he said they were designed by Grant Featherston. This is definitely NOT right- these are way better than Featherston’s Numero designs and to my knowledge Featherston has never had any allegiance to FLER. I believe that Featherston actually got his inspiration from this design (and he didn’t actually improve this design!).

These chairs (priced separately) have very obvious investment appeal- they’re SUPER RARE! I can only find 2 other photos of this design online (except for my own photos).

You want something unique, COMFORTABLE with very strong investment appeal these could be the special pair you’ve been searching high and low for. They look great as they are but reupholstered in fabric they’d be as stylish (or fun) as you want. (See the photo of the single chair included in this listing.) This vendor bought these as a set 3- it was one of her first furniture purchases ever (she bought them second-hand a long time ago and there’s a story there but this listing is already too long). She has held onto them for many years and recently decided to get one re-upholstered- her third chair now takes pride of place in her second lounge room that has a cool 1950’s / 60’s vibe. Everything in that room is retro (and very cool!). She didn’t have space for any more than one more chair so it was with much reluctance she called me to say she was thinking of selling of them. I understand why it has been so hard for her to let go of these- I’d have this pair (re-upholstered) in my own home in a heartbeat. They’re minimalist, restrained and sophisticated- they’re not visually dominating but they’re very comfortable for something that has a very small visual and physical “footprint”. Okay I’d better stop because Michael you’re not getting them (as much as it pains me to type that!)

Oh but there’s actually one more thing to say… the DURABILITY of this design is also exceptional … these have a good deal of age to them (they’re mid-to-late 1960’s). Aristoc re-branded with a name-change in 1968 so they’re definitely OVER 50 years old. This design was not put into “proper production”. I think FLER went bust not long over Lowen sold the business to whoever took it over. After most modern “designer” chairs have ended up as landfill this fascinating pair (with a load of stories to tell) will be passed onto a new generation hopefully telling more stories than I could ever put in this listing. Watch the value of these go up in the future- I can’t see any possibility of downward movement here … ever. A company couldn’t even make them for this asking price but these are vintage originals done in the day when they did NOT cut corners! There’s no better way I can think to invest in your home, reduce your carbon footprint and support Aussie small businesses.

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