Tessa Vintage Furniture

By Frank Parker

What is Tessa Furniture?

Tessa Furniture is an iconic name in Australian furniture manufacturing being a prolific name during the heydays of the local furniture industry. We know re-furbished mid-century modernist furniture with a Scandinavian influence is a niche market. However the interest not only resides with those who have been fortunate to have witnessed this period of design history. Some discerning members of the younger generations are purchasing or inheriting or purchasing second hand Tessa furniture and having it restored.

Why is Tessa Furniture So Popular?

As per the above photographs Tessa lounges are extremely well designed and soundly constructed. This Tessa lounge suite was originally purchased in 1972. When the Tasmanian Blackwood timber was sanded and re-polished and new webbing and cushioning were re-upholstered – it looks amazing!

Tessa Furniture History

Tessa originally was known as Twen commencing operation in 1968. It then changed its name to Tessa in 1970. Tessa was formed by Fred Lowen, his brother Howard Lindsey and design technician Sigi Danielzik. Fred however commenced furniture manufacturing with Ernest Rodeck in the mid 1950’s having formed FLER which was sold in 1967. Tessa expanded operations during the 1970’s to become a national operation with international links.

Call Us So We Can Help You Restore Your Special Furniture

Similar Posts

  • Mid-Century Danish Chairs featuring the EK Easy Chair

    ByFrank Parker

    The ‘EK Easy Chair’ typifies the Danish chairs during the boom period of the 1950’s and 1960’s. This chair was designed by Illum Wikkelso who belongs to the group of famous “mid-century” Danish furniture designers.  

    The chair was manufactured by Niels Eilersen who commenced business in 1895 originally as a wheelwright and coach builder, then motor body-builder and entering into the furniture industry in the mid 1930’s. Niels Eilersen developed the technique of steam bending wood and ply which proved invaluable after the war with the production of bent-wood and spindle styled chairs. During the 50’s and 60’s the company progressed into manufacturing world class furniture and employing famous designers such as Illum Wikkelso to produce the EK Easy Chair.

    We were contacted by a client saying she has two Danish chairs requiring re-upholstering in leather. When arriving at their residence and viewing the chairs we knew they were special having an unimproved value of over $5000 per chair. Our clients specified that they wanted new elastic seat webbing, the sprung cushion inserts replaced with foam/polyester inserts and the cushion covers to be leather.

    We replaced the elastic seat webbing with firm high quality webbing which had previously be replaced by average quality webbing. We then fabricated laminated foam seat cushion inserts with a very firm high density centre core featuring high density softer overlays then encased with bonded polyester fibre. The back cushion inserts were fabricated from the slightly softer grade used in the seat overlays then also encased with bonded polyester fibre. The leather cushion covers were fabricated from a high quality semi-aniline leather being Tasman Tanning “Matisse Black”. The original leather cushions were vandyked however we sewed shaped patches allowing for the fullness created by the buttoning.

    The result was spectacular as the chairs still retained their authentic look but we had fulfilled our client’s wishes by also having the chairs more comfortable for sitting. We also gave the clients back the original sprung cushions for re-sale value if ever required. Two classic chairs now sixty years old and good for another sixty years!

    •   We Were So Happy

      We were so happy with the two black leather chairs you re-upholstered for us.
      Monique
      Shenton Park, WA
    Call us Today

  • Re-styled 1940’s chairs

    ByFrank Parker

    Occasionally clients are unhappy with the style of the chairs presented to us for repair and re-upholstery. This can be as a result of either initial design flaws, poor re-upholstery or poor reconstruction as a result of previous damage or sometimes a combination of these factors. The idea is not necessarily to bring a chair back its purest original form but occasionally compromise with slight re-styling to compliment the client’s décor.

    These two 1940’s chairs were presented to us by a client as they had been passed down to her through the family. She wanted the chairs to be re-upholstered however she wanted the arms modified on one chair and the wings to be altered on the other chair. This re-styling was required partially due to initial design flaws but also due to past re-upholstery exaggerating these flaws.

    We completely stripped the existing upholstery on both chairs down to the bare frames. The top arms on one chair were then cut down to a cigar shaped arm in keeping with the design while the other chair had a plywood strip removed from the inside wings which improvised as a thumb roll. The two modified chair frames were then re-upholstered using a combination of traditional and contemporary methods.

    When these re-styled chairs were delivered to our client she was ecstatic with the outcome. We trust the chairs will be enjoyed and continued to be passed down to future generations.

    Call us Today

  • Reupholster to Modernise

    ByFrank Parker

    Clients approached us as they had shifted from an older traditional styled house into a new modern mid-century styled home located in the Perth hills. They had a much loved traditional Torrance & McKenna lounge suite consisting of 2 x wing back chairs and a low back 4 seater settee. They wanted to retain this lounge furniture but re-upholster it to suit their new home.

    The most important aspect of this process is to select an appropriate fabric for the re-upholstery process. Our clients had two issues to consider, the upholstery fabric selected had to suit their existing lounge furniture while looking in place in a new mid-century styled home. The upholstery fabric selected fulfilled the criteria being an abstract floral design with the blue and autumn tones looking effective on the polished concrete floor and picking up the tones of the timber cabinetry.

    This job was a complete re-build so we removed all the existing upholstery. The frame was re-webbed with heavy weight jute webbing and the coil springs laced into place then the sprung edges constructed. New high density foam padding was laminated to the frame bodies with the upholstery back to original including lined and padded outside arms and backs. The cushion inserts were fabricated using premium foam and then encased with bonded polyester fibre. The cushions were upholstered back to the original finish being boxed piped seats and centre piped back and arm cushions.

    The result spoke for its self and our clients were ecstatic when their re-upholstered furniture was delivered. This is great example of up-cycling fine furniture which was purchased new 45 years ago and is now good for another 45 years.

    Call us Today

  • Refurbish Moran chairs

    ByFrank Parker

    Our Clients’ Favourite Two Moran Chairs

    A local Perth client approached us who had acquired quality pieces of furniture during the 1960’s and 70’s but was having to downsize and could only take her favourite two Moran chairs purchased new in 1972.

    The Moran Furniture Story

    The Moran story started with John Moran completing his upholstery apprenticeship then starting John Moran Furniture in 1950 at his mother’s garage then shifting to a rented factory. Moran Furniture grew over the decades providing furniture for several generations of Australians.

    The Steps for Repairing These Chairs

    These Moran chairs were worthy of complete reupholstery as the frames were sturdy and the sprung edge was in good condition. The original upholstery was stripped to the frame and the rejuvenation process began by doing the following:

    • new jute webbing
    • hessian
    • high density foam overlays
    • polyester encased premium cushion inserts

    The result is these two luxurious chairs are in new condition ready for many more years of enjoyment.

    The Moran Five Points of Difference

    Moran Furniture was always marketed with the “5 Points of Difference”

    1. Genuine 8 way hand tied springs
    2. Spring cell seat cushions
    3. Body correct lumbar support
    4. Kiln dried, close grain hardwood timber
    5. Premium leathers & fabrics

    Our customer was thrilled with their Moran Furniture repairs.

    Call us Today to Have Your Moran Furniture Repaired

  • Boans Furniture – reupholster

    ByFrank Parker

    The Boan brothers opened their first department store at Wellington Street Perth in 1895 then moved into selling furniture in 1912. After the First World War demand for furniture was strong so Boans commenced manufacturing furniture from a factory located corner Saunders and Glide Streets Perth. The range of furniture made was extensive from cabinetry to upholstered furniture, mattresses and cane furniture.

    With the anti -Asian sentiment dominate during this period the Factories Act of 1904 forced Asian furniture manufacturing companies to stamp on their products “Asiatic Labour” and so Boans like many other local furniture manufacturers of time took advantage of this situation advertising that their furniture was made with “European Labour Only”.

    During the late 1960’s Boans started retailing furniture from other specialist manufactures and also started importing furniture. Boans remained dominate and indeed an iconic retailing business in WA for almost a century and was sold to Myer in 1986.

    We were approached by a mother and daughter who had fond memories of their lounge furniture purchased from Boans in the early 1960’s which was made under licence to Parker Knoll in the UK. The lounge suite had served the family well for almost 60 years however it was certainly due for re-upholstery.

    They selected a Warwick linen to replace the original Sanderson linen so the furniture would retain an elegant appearance in their sitting room. We completely removed all existing upholstery then rectified a few minor structural issues with the timber frames. The tension springs were replaced and the bodywork padding was replaced with high density polyurethane foam and the cushions were fabricated from premium foam and encased with bonded polyester. The linen was pattern matched, cut and sewn then upholstered to its original splendour.

    Call us Today

  • Ercol Furniture – upholster

    ByFrank Parker

    Ercol Furniture was established in 1920 by Lucian Ercolani in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire manufacturing timber framed lounge furniture and occasional furniture. In 1944 Ercol was awarded a contract by the Government Board of Trade to produce 100 000 low cost spindled/bentwood framed chairs. This involved a process the company developed of steam pressing English Elm so the chairs could be assembled from pre-formed components.

    In 2002 Ercol moved into a purpose built factory at Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire. The company has gone on to produce many award winning ranges of furniture. Like many western countries, the UK has in more recent years also had a reversion back to purchasing from local manufacturers.

    A client from the Peel region approached us requiring a quote to have her Ercol lounge suite re-furbished. The furniture was originally purchased by her parents in the UK prior to her birth in Australia. There had been some rather amateur attempts to both polish and re-upholster this suite which has the effect of adding to the work involved.

    We removed all the upholstery and stripped back the lacquer to bare timber. The frame was then stained a mid-tone walnut and coated with three coats of 30% gloss lacquer. Quality seat webbing was then fitted and then we fabricated premium foam cushioning laminating it with bonded polyester fibre. We disregarded the old cushion covers and made new patterns bringing everything back to original with a blue tone fabric featuring a wide abstract diamond pattern being selected by our client.

    When delivering the furniture the look on our client’s face said it all, she simply said “Amazing!” This just reinforces our factory philosophy ‘work hard and enjoy the journey’.

    Call us Today