$1,550.00

$3990 for the pair of swivel chairs and one footstool.

LOCATION- for sale from a private home in Point Cook, MELBOURNE. I personally photographed these chairs and inspected them. They get the iNVISeDGE tick of approval. This listing has also been uploaded for people to express interest in buying or selling a similar suite. For buying enquiries call (or SMS) using the number in our CONTACT section (go to the Home page). For selling enquiries, SMS us on this number (please don’t call for SELLING enquiries). Call for genuine buying enquiries as I will not sell to anybody unless I’ve spoken to them on the phone (this protects us from buying SCAMMERS- they are actually more common than selling scammers.)

 

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Description

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LOCATION- for sale from a private home in Point Cook, MELBOURNE. I personally photographed these chairs and inspected them. They get the iNVISeDGE tick of approval.

Price is $3990 for BOTH CHAIRS and ONE FOOTSTOOL (as pictured). NOTE- the chairs on the white staged background are display photos of a Tessa suite we sold in the past. The actual chairs on offer are photographed in our vendor’s outdoor area. There is only ONE footstool available! I apologise for the lighting- it was a very glary day and this light is reflecting off the leather- the colours are a lot richer than the photos show but at least the condition of this suite is shown very clearly.

The investment appeal of this suite is a NO-BRAINER. The PAIR of Tessa swivel chairs with one footstool retailed NEW for about $11,000 before Tessa went out of business in 2019.

Look at the frame here … especially the steel sub-structure underneath (the timber base-pieces are clad onto steel). This suite was built to last GENERATIONS (… forever???). Proof in that comment is in the condition of this suite after 40 YEARS of family use. Marvel at this craftsmanship. It’s no wonder Tessa T21’s have held up so well to use over the years- 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 (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 the iNVISeDGE 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 T21, I didn’t want to ever get up! During lock-downs (especially around April 2020) I had phone calls from people almost on a daily basis asking for Tessa T21 swivel chairs, T21 swivel chairs WITH MATCHING FOOTSTOOLS or full T21 lounge suites.

I can picture these Tessa swivel chairs in a small library nook (or even in front of a fireplace). The footprint of these chairs is not big but visually they’re stunning- they have a bold, confident look. This suite is in the most popular colours Tessa ever did for these. These pieces are all upholstered in 100% FULL-GRAIN BOVINE LEATHER- the real deal. There is now a blog in the iNVISeDGE NEWLY LISTED section describing the differences between Top-Grain and Full-Grain leather (put Howe Leather brochure into the SEARCH box to find it). Be aware that Top-Grain leather is NOT TOP-GRADE leather- it’s the inferior modern-day leather that usually disintegrates within about 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 after about 10 years of use- this is always MODERN Top-Grain Leather. This leather is VINTAGE (from the late 1970’s)- it’s NOT the cheaper leather we see around today. This suite retains various labels on the underside of the cushions to verify the age of these.

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 pieces with irrefutable proof of the age (because of these labels)!

Today in 2023, 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. Tessa T21 chairs retailed NEW for about $4400 EACH (in FULL-GRAIN leather) just before Tessa went under- at this price (not much more than 1/3 retail) it should be obvious to anybody that the only way the value of these chairs can go … is up.

These Tessa T21 chairs are over 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. $4,400 EACH). There’s no better way I can think of to invest in your home, the future of our environment and local community.

2311 2112 and 2107

Both chairs and the footstool are in excellent original condition and have only minor signs of use- nothing that draws the eye or spoils the suite (as shown in our photos). All 3 pieces are heavy and very solidly built- the T21 design is particularly strong and durable. The timber has a few signs of use and some minor wear to the finish. When the armrest protectors are taken off, the timber underneath on the armrests is noticeably darker as it has not been exposed to UV. This is shown in our photos. This could be rectified easily by sanding the armrests back and re-finishing them- a few hours work. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ This leather is FULL-GRAIN leather from the late-1970's and has little noticeable signs of age and use. (Nothing that's noticeable. The leather has NO holes, NO noticeable marks, NO stains, NO rips, NO bad scratches, NO scuffs, NO cracks. The leather is in excellent condition on ALL 3 pieces with minor creases and minor wear only (as is clearly shown in our photos). The cushioning is all in excellent condition- Tessa used top-quality cushioning that lasts several generations. The cushioning is all plush and comfortable. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Overall, both chairs and the footstool presents very well and will last generations to come with normal use. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Measurements of the last Tessa swivel chairs we had. (The dimensions here will be very similar, if not the same.) Across- 79cm. Depth- 79cm. Seat Height- approx. 43cm. Total Height- 91cm. Depth of seat- approx. 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. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 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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