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31-May-09 |
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Yngve Ekstrom Lamino Chair
I bought this Lamino chair today, which was $425. I have no real idea of the market value of these chairs, and was wondering if that was a fair price (I love the chair, but it is also nice to get a good deal, especially since I probably should not have spent the money). It was advertised as Dux, by an unknown designer. It has no label or markings, although at one time it had a paper tag on the bottom held on with three staples, and only a tiny 1mm x 1mm fragment remains under one of the staples. It has vinyl replacement upholstery, but the chair appears to be of some vintage, with old brass hardware,etc.
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posted by
tchp
edited on 05-Jun-09 02:51 AM [edit]
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31-May-09 |
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Your chair
Looks to be in terrific shape... Is it all original? Is it vintage? If so, I would say it was a good price. One sold at auction in 2002 for 600 EUR. I found a vintage one online for 1400 USD. The price for a new one is 2700 USD. These show up on eBay, but I haven't seen one in as nice a shape.
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posted by
woodywood (USA)
[edit]
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31-May-09 |
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Thanks
I do feel better about having spent the money now, but at the time it was very much an impulse purchase, and sometimes I get into trouble when I do that.
Under the replacement vinyl is a purple upholstery fabric which could be original, maybe. It seems to be factory glued to a very yellowed foam padding. When I get the chair home and remove the vinyl I will have a better idea of what is underneath, and maybe take a photo of it.
Everything else looks original and without repairs. The slots on some of the brass screws are a little bit messed up from someone removing them or tightening them with an ill fitting screw driver, but it is not too bad. The brass is very brown and old looking.
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posted by
tchp
edited on 31-May-09 05:58 PM [edit]
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31-May-09 |
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The brass screws should be...
The brass screws should be tightened with a 'hex key' or 'allen key' (at least I think this is the english term for those...) on the Lamino. Maybe the last owner tried a regular screw driver on them and messed them up...
I have a more recent production Lamino myself and it still has the same brass screws, so you could probably get identical replacements if you wanted...
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posted by
alexandersforum
[edit]
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31-May-09 |
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I do not know when they started
using hex screws on this chair, but mine are old straight slotted button head brass screws, or tapered screws. I am pretty confident they are original, as they are perfectly countersunk, and the visible screws on the chair legs have corresponding metal fittings in the stretchers.
However, I am concerned now that I notice that my chair has an extra horizontal splat on the back, as I have yet to find a photo online of a Lamino chair that has two splats on the back, instead of just one.
Also, the blue arrow in the image points to a piece of the chair that also looks different on other Lamino's I have seen. In the case of my chair, this small piece of wood is quite thin where it is inlayed into the chair leg, and then it flares out to be thicker where the arrow is pointing to, where it attaches to the armrest. In other Laminos, this piece of wood appears to be of a consistent thickness, and is quite thin where it attaches to the armrest. Likewise, other Lamino chairs do not have a screw securing this piece either, and it is not inlayed into the chair leg in the same way either.
Additionally, other Laminos have metal brackets that hold the seat to the front and rear stretchers, whereas mine uses screws.
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posted by
tchp
edited on 05-Jun-09 05:38 AM [edit]
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31-May-09 |
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Oh, I don't think I've seen...
Oh, I don't think I've seen this one with anything else than the hex screws before, also on early examples. I think Ekström started to use the hex screws already in the 1950's, but I might be wrong.
On the other hand I've seen some of Ekströms earlier chairs with screws like the ones you describe, so maybe this is a really early example or even a US production of the chair...
It has been chosen as the most beautiful chair of the last century in a Swedish interior design magazine. Even though I own one myself, I can't really say that I agree... Anything by Bruno Matthson would've gotten my vote there. The Lamino is totally ok and very comfortable and absolutely perfect to be seated in for a good book or hours of browsing Ebay (with the laptop resting on my BM reading table which I found for $5 in a thriftstore).
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posted by
alexandersforum
edited on 31-May-09 08:19 PM [edit]
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04-Jun-09 |
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I emailed Swedese,
which is still making the Lamino chair, and they said they have no knowledge of a chair with details like mine being a Swedese/Yngve Ekstrom production, and that it must be a copy.
I guess I had been hoping, in the end, that my chair might be something transitional, between Ekstrom's Kurva chair and the Lamino chair. But, at this point I have no idea who made it.
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posted by
tchp
[edit]
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04-Jun-09 |
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Hmmm..
Seems odd that someone would copy this chair, so close to the original but with decided differences. For example, the curved piece under the back of the arm rest seems more refined in your version.
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posted by
woodywood (USA)
[edit]
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04-Jun-09 |
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It does seem strange.
I do not know how design patents were handled decades ago, but did many furniture companies just up and copy popular designs, without permission or license? It does seem like the differences that my chair has might cause it to be even more costly to manufacture than one made by Swedese, which seems odd if one were trying to simply produce an illegitimate copy. Even the person at Swedese said that mine appeared to be very finely made. It would be nice to think that mine was at least manufactured under license.
I kind of wonder if Swedese did license the chair design to another manufacturer, like Dux, but stipulated that the chair had to be different enough so that it could be differentiated from a Lamino made by Swedese. Maybe that is just crazy talk on my part though. It still all seems kind of weird.
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posted by
tchp
edited on 04-Jun-09 08:38 PM [edit]
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05-Jun-09 |
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We can assume it's a vintage...
We can assume it's a vintage piece, judging by the former upholstery.
I think the differences are of such a minimal kind that it can't be an 'interpretation' by another brand.
So it would have to be a copy in it's time, but then again, the quality seems far to high to be a copy (as this wouldn't have been profitable).
My guess would be the same as yours: it's a transitional piece or an altered original version.
It looks very nice, I have to say. Maybe it would look even better with the textile covering...
You purchased the chair going on your guts, so I wouldn't bother to much about value or originality, it's obviously a very nice example of a very nice design.
Good luck!
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posted by
bj (BE)
[edit]
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05-Jun-09 |
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I dont buy that it's a copy
Everything looks so similar between the two chairs, right down to the screw placement and two-toned back arm. I think it would be too much trouble to copy something this accurately. I bet it is original.
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posted by
rockybird
[edit]
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05-Jun-09 |
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Thanks for all of those obser...
Thanks for all of those observations. I think the thing that intrigues me the most about my chair at this point is the unknown circumstances of its creation, although I admit I would not mind knowing.
Probably the biggest difference between my chair and a Lamino is how the armrests are attached to the chair legs (the legs are made of about 18+ layers of veneer). The red arrows show how the joints on my chair armrest components are sort of half-dovetail joints. For a veneer/plywood chair, this kind of joint might actually be seen as disconcerting, since it creates a sort of inherent "wedge" that could be seen as threatening to help split the laminated veneer apart (and Lamino's can suffer from delamination problems). So, I can see why Swedese might opt to not produce the chair with that kind of joint. On an actual Lamino (yellow arrows), the joints are a scalloped sort of inlay cut, and without the dovetail/wedge shaped joint.
I have considered that the chair might be the result of an ambitious home woodworking project, or perhaps the product of a furniture making class that was stressing the use of laminate veneer construction. In any case, the person who made it was pretty skillful and paid a lot of attention to detail, and did not really leave any clues that would say it was done by an amateur or in a home workshop. In the end, it is hard for me to believe that someone would be able to remain so faithful to the form and profile of the Lamino by doing everything from scratch, especially making all the laminate components. It would just be so difficult to accomplish, and for what reason? It all just makes it seem more bizarre.
I have no way of knowing if my chair is a prototype, but it does seem to fit neatly between Ekstrom's Kurva chair and the Lamino, since the main difference between a Kurva and the Lamino is how the armrests are applied to the chair.
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posted by
tchp
edited on 05-Jun-09 07:40 PM [edit]
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17-Sep-09 |
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Lamino Chair
I have an original Lamino chair in black leather, and the leather needs to be replaced because of wear. The leather is 1/8-inch thick, and I have so far been unable to find it in Atlanta in that thickness. I need leather at least 18 inches wide and 55 inches long.
Can anyone out there help? Many thanks.
hthttp://www.scandinaviandesign.com/swedese/0301.htm
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posted by
Deb
[edit]
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18-Dec-09 |
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Leather
I just bought leather of that thickness at a leather supplier for shoes and purses. They sell leather that you can use.. Since that's in Holland, I don't think it's usefull to give you an address, but maybe you can look overthere.
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posted by
mamagem
[edit]
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18-Dec-09 |
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posted by
mamagem
edited on 18-Dec-09 12:37 PM [edit]
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18-Dec-09 |
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posted by
woodywood (USA)
[edit]
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02-Jan-10 |
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Laminett
Just found the Swedese mark under the pillow. So it is real, just as Ronald from www.dagrotterdam.nl has assured me. The armrests are patented, I learned.
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posted by
mamagem
edited on 02-Jan-10 11:36 PM [edit]
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08-Jan-10 |
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Wow, interesting
Besides the arms, it looks nothing like the original Laminett. The recline angle is totally different, the back is not as high, and the top of the back does not taper. And obviously, the upholstery is different. Actually, the arms aren't really the same either. Perhaps it is a later derivation of Ekstrom's design?
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posted by
woodywood (USA)
edited on 08-Jan-10 04:31 PM [edit]
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08-Jan-10 |
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posted by
tchp
[edit]
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10-Jan-10 |
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posted by
mamagem
[edit]
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