Strippy Chair



There was this gorgeous chair from the 50s, that proudly sported a metallic plate on the back part of the seat with the registered Spanish trademark (Gifré & Escoda, Barcelona -Madrid). It had a lovely design of simple, round lines and perfect proportions; it was very well built and therefore still firm.. its only weak point was the seat (multi-layered birch wood), that had cracked and sunk.

So I took over.
I selected some old boards -same thickness, interesting grain, nicely aged and with rests of paint which colours would combine well- and cut them into the shape of the seat. I also painted -and distressed- the back, sanded and varnished the whole piece, and hop! the rescue was achieved.




The cheerful, eye-catching Strippy Chair measures 35x37cm, 80cm high in total. It's not only nice to look at, but very comfortable as well!
Here are some general views:
Some details: The chair's lovely lines, the plate with the registered trademark, the back and a close up of the seat.
And some pictures of the making process:
The chair before, just after removing the broken seat -Scraping the rests of the seat off the frame -Sanding (and more sanding) -Cutting the slats to make the new strippy seat -Painting the back -Varnishing

I was curious about the trademark stamped on the plate, so I did some research. It turns out that Grifé & Escoda used to be a renowned Catalan firm that offered furniture, lamps, tableware and cutlery, serving also to the most luxurious Spanish hotels from the 40s to the late 70s. This is a picture of their two storey shop in Tangier in the 50s! Pretty impressive...

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