The listing price is $995 for EACH 2-seater sofa. We also have 2 matching swivel chairs priced SEPARATELY at $1,450 EACH and the matching footstool that hasn’t been photographed yet (it’s the most desirable footstool Tessa did with the single central buttress- some people call them the swivel footstool). Priority will be given to buyers who’d like to buy the full suite or most of the suite. We’ve sold these suites on many occasions for more than this asking price. Priced to sell! These suites rarely come up in this tone particularly where EVERY piece is in immaculate condition. An opportunity to buy multiple matching pieces is also very rare! (It’s also very hard to get a matching pair of sofas.)
Retail Price of a full suite like this NEW from Tessa (now defunct) in leather- approx. AU $19,000.
LOCATION- Geelong, South of Melbourne. Freight for both 2-seater sofas to Sydney would be ABOUT $340- this will give you a general idea of freight costs to your location.
This is an AUTHENTIC VINTAGE SUITE FROM THE 1970’s in vintage TOP-GRAIN leather- incredible condition!
Background Info and Provenance
This is arguably one of the most sought-after lounge suites to ever come out of Australia. (Listed price is PER 2-seater sofa. There are also two matching swivel chairs, priced SEPARATELY.) The Contour range by Grant Featherston is probably the most collectable in terms of dollar-value, but this design, the T21 swivel executive lounge chair, released by Tessa in the early 1970’s is, in my experience, the most asked-for chair. And I understand why so many people want them. The quality jumps out at you but it’s the comfort that everyone wants. OMG … after sitting in a Tessa T21 chair you’ll instantly understand why so many people say they are the most comfortable chair ever made! We have sold vintage Tessa T21 lounge suites in leather for upwards of $8,000 and can show bank statements to prove this.
This Tessa T21 lounge suite was made in the 1970’s- it’s TOP-GRAIN vintage leather. I normally steer clear of TOP-GRAIN leather because it’s usually very processed and quickly rips and falls apart. This suite however is from the very late-1970’s or 1980. Leathers aint leathers anymore. Modern-day “leathers” have left us all scratching our heads in confusion. Normally TOP-GRAIN is not a good quality leather if it was made recently. (These days they use the very TOP of the leather only. The underside of the hide has been split off to make that stupid stuff that’s mainly glue!) From about the early-1990’s on, they started doing everything they could to cut costs when producing leather. Most TOP-GRAIN leathers made about 20 years ago (up until about 2015) are VERY THIN- they’ve split off multiple layers from the underside to get even more money out of every hide (and call all the resulting products- leather). It’s an irresponsible and stupid thing to do because most modern furniture made out of Top-Grain Leather ends up as landfill in 10-20 years. Sadly, the whole item usually ends up in landfill as well, because if the frame is not as good in quality as something like this, furniture will rarely be reupholstered.
You’ll sometimes see second-hand Tessa suites where the leather has completely ripped at the seams- this is always MODERN Top-Grain Leather. The leather here is NOT MODERN though. It’s thicker than any other top-grain leather I’ve ever experienced which is why the condition is so extraordinary for a second-hand suite of this age. I’ve even questioned whether they accidentally put the wrong label on this- it’s definitely thicker than modern Top-Grain leathers. Our vendor’s family bought it new around 1980 (give or take a few years on either side). I don’t have to take their word on this though. I took photos of the underside of this suite. After studying my files, the labels on the backs of the cushions are those used by Tessa in the late-1970’s to very early 1980’s. On top of this I have photos of the underside of the cushions- the fabric on the reverse side is vintage (and it’s faded!)- it’s not like the new fabrics Tessa used on the undersides.
This ORIGINAL upholstery was made in Australia in the 1970’s by HOWE leather and is brilliant in quality. As a result, this suite is very close to being in the same condition it was in when it left the Tessa factory about 50 years ago.
After a 50-year stint in the Australian Marketplace, making all their furniture in AUSTRALIA, Tessa Furniture closed its doors in 2019. It’s a sorry 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 the second-hand market for 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 these? The QUALITY of this furniture is so exceptional that second-hand Tessa chairs often still look basically new after 10, 20, 30, 40 even 50 years of use. In this listing you’re getting a suite that looks close to new but for about one third the price of a new suite.
These days, I believe the Tessa T21 swivel chair is THE best investment in the furniture marketplace. Everyone seems to want T21s and because they are no longer in production, more and more people will hang onto theirs for a lifetime of enjoyment- this means that less and less will be coming onto the secondary market. Tessa T21 chairs retailed NEW in leather for about $4,400 EACH just before Tessa went under- at our price, it should be obvious to anybody that the only way the value of these chairs can go, is up.
These tones are classic Tessa colours too- some of the most sought-after in the Tessa range.
This Tessa T21 lounge suite is about 50 years old. After much of the world’s furniture ends up as landfill, this suite will be passed onto another user and eventually a whole new generation. Now that Tessa Furniture is no longer made, 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. $8,800 for the matching pair of chairs in leather). 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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