VINTAGE FURNITURE AND CONSERVATION: A TALE OF COMMITMENT

Dear All

The commitment shown by some of you towards  recycling and conservation simply touch me.  A small effort goes a long way in indicating the sincerity and seriousness of such commitment.  Action certainly speaks louder than words.  

I am referring to a phone call I received from a customer whom I regard as a friend now. She called saying an opera chest  made of camphor which she bought elsewhere had tiny holes, made by wood bugs. She was told not to worry about it affecting her other vintage pieces, some of which we had restored for her. Uncomfortable about treating it with chemicals, she decided to give it up.  She called me to ask,  not whether I will take the piece, but whether I would like to save the hinges and handles. I was touched that she thought of such details and of us.

 

For us in vintage business, any spare parts are valuables. So I gladly welcome it.  But before I could even make arrangement to pick up the piece, she actually took the trouble to bring it over in a borrowed car and inspite of the fact that she had to run around attending to her mother  and mother-in-laws  who were  in hospitals and that she is expecting.  Even before this, she had referred me to people who were giving up their furniture and asked me to take a look, so as to save whatever possible.  Such generous acts certainly reflect a generous spirit and a genuine commitment. Coming from someone who in 2003 received Her World's magazine's Young Woman Achiever Award for her humanitarian works,   I come to understand why.  To Dr Wong Ting Hway, many thanks and my utmost regard.

By the way, I was at the recent Singapore International Furniture Fair 2011 to keep in touch with the latest trends  in furniture and furnishings.  They were some very beautiful furniture, creative innovations, eco-friendly products and fine reproductions. But there were also some that tried very hard to make make new pieces look old and vintage.  Amidst such  attempts, I stand proud of our genuine vintage pieces.

Below are pieces that came back from restoration and upholstery (more are coming back at the end of the month) and new finds of the week.

Retro 1960's solid teak sofa with upholstery done for Ivy and Erwin.  The 

cushions are still in Kuala Lumpur waiting for delivery to Singapore. 

I sent this picture to Ivy ahead of  delivery to surprise her and loved 
her reaction:  "OMG!!! We love it!!! this is the look we  wanted, vibrant
and contrast.  This will be the centerpiece in our hall. Can't wait to see 

the actual piece when it's back in sing. Thank u so much!!!"

Another retro sofa that we did for Adi based in Kuala Lumpur.  The 

vintage fabric  is from Second Charm.  Of late, we had a lot of 

interests in this type of sofa, from both sides of the causeway.

A french sofa that we upholstered for Ling in Penang. Her choice of fabric

certainly brings out the elegance and granduer of french furniture.

A restored wooden piano bench with retro designed fabric for Dr Quek

A midcentury extendable table, fully restored for Puan Norlida.

Oval shaped once extended.

Pencil legged square table restored for Hui Ping.

An art deco coffee table, also restored for Hui Ping

A vintage 1920's-30's spiderweb sewing machine legs that we restored 

for Puan Faezah in Kuala Lumpur.  The top is made from old teak wood

that I scourged from our top floor at TamanTun outlet. 

A slim, slender 60's solid teak retro coffee table.  Awaiting restoration.

Taken up by Sanae Inada

My favourite find of the week. A cute retro piece of the 60's, solid teak.

L30 x W19.5 x H19 inches. Taken bu by Puan Norlida in KL

Another favourite find of mine for the week.  An art deco 1950's solid

teak coffee table with pink formica.  L30 x W20 x H19 inches.

A contemporary piece but made of solid wood.  Taken up.

A square wicker coffee table with wooden legs and glass top.

L32 x 32 x H18 inches.

A retro sideboard in shocking pink formica.  We probably remove

the pink formica to reveal the solid teak underneath.When the formica 

is removed, the piece will look like below. L48 x D14.5 x H44.5inches

You wont believe that this piece was originally in pink formica

like the above. Below is the original before restoration.

Pink formica sideboard with solid teak frames. Original condition. 

Another vintage sideboard.  With interesting concave and convex sides. 

Will come with sliding glasses at the top and bottom. 

L47 x D16 x H44.75 inches. Reserved.

A slightly smaller sideboard than the normal 4 ft ones.

Vintage 60's solid teak. L41.5 xD15 x H40 inches

A cute 1950's solid teak low sideboard. L36 x D17.5 x H31.5 inches.

A vintage 1960's chest of drawers with greyish, cream checked formica. 

Be nice just to keep the top formica for character in this instance.

L35.5 x D19.5 x H43.75 inches

A beautiful solid teak art deco writing table that was painted black. 

Taken up  in its original condition.

An art deco 1950's solid teak writing desk.  L36 x D20 x H30 inches

Another favourite find of mine.  A square tiled top on a cast iron base. It fits 

beautifully our 24 x24 restored kopitiam legs.  Would need to sand down

the rusty iron sides, though.

A close up of the square tiled top.

A vintage square table with red formica.  Some small cigarette 

burn marks on  on the formica top. L 29.75 x W30 x H29 inches.

One of the legs of the red formica table above. Love

the tiger stripes of the old burmese teak of this table.

A retro solid teak sofa set. A welcome find especially when this 

type of sofa is fast being snapped up.

An interesting find for us. 3 bent wood chairs, quite different from

our usual bent wood finds.

3 pretty carved chairs in solid wood.

A pair of Chinese style armchairs.  Taken up.

Another favourite find.  Vintage 60's-70's formica dining chairs 

with metal legs.  We had 3 pieces earlier, which makes total 6 pieces

available.

In the past, such chairs go with the table above.  The solid teak table top

with green formica has been restored and the metal legs painted black.

A bent wood rocking chairs.  Almost as good as new

The front view of the rocking chair above.

Another bent wood rocking chair with patchwork  leather seat and back rest.

The front view of the rocking chair.

A white swivel office chair.  Looks pretty ordinary isnt it

until you reupholster it with vintage upholstery like below. Available.

The same designed chair like the above in vintage fabric from

Second Charm, done sometime ago for Sham, an UKM lecturer. 

A vintage 2-layered side table.

A vintage shoe rack in white.

An old tuckshop bench repainted in turqoise blue for Fiona Choy.

Fiona has always been experimenting with colors for her vintage stuffs.

We had painted vintage luggages in pink and kopitiam chairs in yellow for her.

This hanging wicker swing is really nostalgic.

 

An art deco 50's solid teak wardrobe

An art deco teak bedside cabinet.  Reserved for Syntea.  The hole under

the handle will be for the lock and key.

A truly retro bed of the 60's with formica.  The headboard is pretty

interesting.   There's even a hidden florescent light in it.

  Taken up by Wang Zineng

A matching retro dresser for the bed above.

A vintage 1960's solid teak wardrobe.  What is interesting about this 

piece is the concave edges. The top tapered in and then tapered 

out at the centre. L 38 x D21 x H69 inches.

A solid 50' solid teak cupboard.

A retro 1960's solid teak bed.

A rare chest box, rattan weaved with brass handles and hinges.

A vintage teak wall cabinet, used either as a dresser or a medicine cabinet.

Taken up by one Mr Tan on the very day, the piece comes in.

Another wall teak cabinet like the above. Both taken up by Mr Tan.

A pretty round wrought iron table with rattan shelf. Comes with a 

glass top of about 36 inches.

A long mirror. L23 x 63 inches.

A pretty enamel tray.There are some serious collectors of enamelwares.  

The bright, lively colours of these enamels make for a 

happy collections.

A rare collection of fine handcrafted and hand painted masks. 

14 pieces.  Let me know if you want pictures of individual mask.

Hope you love our latest finds. Till my next postings,

Warmest regards

Sharifah

SECOND CHARM

Sunday 13 March 2011

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Write by: Dj Ganden - Sabtu, 12 Maret 2011