Although interior shops mainly sell new furniture, they are also often asked to maintain furniture that has been previously purchased or purchased from other stores.
I myself do not have the skills or knowledge to perform maintenance, so when there are things that furniture manufacturers or other manufacturers cannot handle, I ask local craftsmen to maintain furniture that has been used by customers for decades.
The most common request we receive is for sofa reupholstery.
We also receive many requests to reupholster the CH24Y chair. If you search online for Y chair reupholstery, you will find many different places, but our current shop is an authorized Carl Hansen dealer, so we ask Carl Hansen to do it for us. (I've heard that Carl Hansen reupholstery is only available in Denmark and Japan.)
Previously, we were asked by a couple in their 60s to replace the paper cord of a Y-shaped chair that they had purchased as wedding furniture when they got married and had been using it for nearly 40 years, but which had become torn and loose.
Although paper cord is sturdy, there will eventually come a time when it will need to be replaced if you use it for a long time.
Apparently, the customer had a dog, and I told them that there were many bite marks on the wooden frame and that some parts could be replaced, but they said it was fine to leave it as it was as long as it didn't interfere with sitting on it.
We often hear and read that scratches on furniture or a house become memories, and I thought that this person might feel the same way.
However, at first, when you have furniture that you like, you want to use it as cleanly as possible, and I myself use it with that in mind at first, but somewhere along the line, your way of thinking changes. You think, "It doesn't matter anymore, if I worry about scratches I won't be able to use the furniture," and from that point on, you start treating it with the same loving carelessness that an adolescent high school student would treat his parents lol. (By the way, the scratches on the furniture in my house are all scratches that I don't know why they are there.)
When it comes to reupholstering sofas, many brands use a covering method, so I think the current mainstream method is to simply create a new sofa cover and then replace it at the customer's home.
The good thing about the cover is that it can be removed and cleaned, but the more elaborate the cover, the more difficult it is to replace. People who are not used to it probably won't be able to do it. When serving customers, it's best to be skeptical of phrases like "Easy to do at home!" lol.
It can be done, but it's not easy.
The cushion filling is also a consumable item, so if possible, replacing it at the same time as replacing the cover will bring the sofa back to life. I once had a customer ask me to recreate a cushion that had slightly worn out from a new one, and I had a hard time doing so.
It will happen in a few years, but they said they couldn't wait so I even made two prototype cushions that were already flat lol.
In the case of leather sofas, most repairs are for stains and discoloration.
This is something that we ask a leather craftsman to do, and it really does look beautiful. I repaired it the other day and the client was very surprised and impressed with the result.
The reaction was even better than when we delivered new furniture, which left me with mixed feelings, but also made me realize the joy of delivering something that had been cherished and cleaned.
However, there are some items that cannot be repaired, or even if they can be repaired, the cost is so high that people give up and end up buying a new one.
I'm not particularly opposed to replacing things. I like the idea of "good things that can be used for a long time," and I think it's good to have things that are like that, but I think it would be great if replacing things could change the atmosphere of a room and make it more comfortable, or if you could find something that you want to use for a long time as your next piece of furniture.
We also have a Y chair at home whose paper cord has broken.
I've been thinking about reupholstering it, but I've left it alone because I have other chairs to sit on, but I'm sure I'll have to reupholster it someday.
However, I'm conflicted because I also want a new chair. My goal these days is to move to a house where I can keep as many pieces of furniture as I like.
Repair service for the EIZO FORIS has ended. I definitely don't want it to break.
The Y-chair in my home that I've been neglecting
I have a BRAUN watch that I can't tell the time properly anymore. I think I have no choice but to buy a new one.
(text: Doi)
DOI KOUHEI
Born in Toyama Prefecture, currently living in Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture, 40 years old
After becoming interested in furniture, I wanted to work in the interior design industry, so I went to an interior design school in Kanazawa. After working at a store interior design company, I started working at an interior design shop when I was about 23 years old.
Currently, I work at an interior design shop in Kanazawa City, doing everything from sales, corporate sales, furniture planning, and occasional delivery.
My hobbies are moderate running so I can drink alcohol without gaining weight, and simple cooking because I enjoy cutting vegetables with a knife.