Thank you, thank you, thank YOU!

A sincere thank you to all my followers!  The Yummy Furniture and Design first ever Open House was a complete success.  Friends and associates, old and new clients plus passers by stopped in to see the newly designed line of pillows, ottomans, benches, chairs and vintage upholstered pieces.

Sherbert bench with David Austin Roses. Photo SHS

Corner Chair with Carol's Day Lilies. Photo SHS

Two Pillows. Photo SHS

 

And thank you to all who entered the raffle for the Victorian Savonorola chair. 

Victorian Savonorola Chair, Photo SHS

L to R: The Author with Eric Webber

Eric Webber was the surprised and lucky recipient.  

The proceeds were split between the Jefferson Area Food Bank

Image Courtesy of Bing Maps

and the  

Humane Society of Jefferson County.

Photo Courtesy of Humane Society of Jefferson County

Line up for seconds, the second show is in the making!

Theresa Haffner-Stearns

Yummy Furniture and Design

theresamhs@sbcglobal.net

608-345-7027

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Yummy Furniture and Design Sweet Dreams Pillows

Only two days until the Open House and I am a bundle of nerves! For your viewing pleasure!

A patchwork of pillows.

Photo: SHS

Why waste design space?

All of these pillows are double sided with a different design on each side.  Come and see! 

 

 

Yummy Furniture and Design Hot Seat Sale and Open House

Sunday July 24th and Monday the 25th  

The event: Noon to 6:00PM both days at 502 Sherman Ave. E., Ft. Atkinson, WI 53538

 

 

Theresa Haffner-Stearns

Yummy Furniture and Design

theresamhs@sbcglobal.net

608-345-7027

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If You're Cornered, Have a Seat.....

Make it a yummy seat.  Designed from scratch and built by hand, this corner chair is guaranteed to make sitting in any corner a memorable experience.

 

Photo: SHS

Unlike its predecessors, it's fully upholstered in celadon silk complimented with sage velvet trim. This chair is a focal point as well as conversation piece.

Yummy Furniture and Design Hot Seat Sale and Open House

Sunday July 24th and Monday the 25th  

The event: Noon to 6:00PM both days at 502 Sherman Ave. E., Ft. Atkinson, WI 53538



Theresa Haffner-Stearns

Yummy Furniture and Design

theresamhs@sbcglobal.net

608-345-7027

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Peekaboo Preview Three!

It's coming down to the wire for me; only 6 days to the open house. Today and tomorrow are my last full days to work on projects for the event!

Photo: SHS

Steve took this photo of what he dubbed my spicy cinnamon seat. The hidden surprize is that the back and arm pads are upholstered in a faux leopard fabric.  It's details like these that everyone should expect to see at the open house.

Yummy Furniture and Design Hot Seat Sale and Open House

Sunday July 24th and Monday the 25th  

The event: noon to 6:00PM both days at 502 Sherman Ave. E.,Ft. Atkinson, WI 53538



Theresa Haffner-Stearns

Yummy Furniture and Design

theresamhs@sbcglobal.net

608-345-7027

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Peekaboo Preview Too!: Win this Curvy Designer Chair for a $1-and help hungry people eat and homeless animals, too!...

Yummy Furniture and Design Hot Seat Sale Sunday, July 24th and Monday the 25th

are the dates you should be saving.

The event: noon to 6:00PM both days at 502 Sherman Ave. E. in Ft. Atkinson, WI.

 We will be raffling off this curvalicious designer chair and pillow for just a dollar-all proceeds to help the hungry folk and homeless animals in Jefferson county.

...looking forward to seeing you there!

And, Peekaboo Preview 3 tomorrow-

coming up with a spicy cinnamon sit-down

and

a great place for your buttocks if you get cornered!

Theresa Haffner-Stearns

Yummy Furniture and Design

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Peekaboo Preview!:Yummy Furniture and Design Hot Seat Sale & Open House-July 24th and 25th,12-6 pm-502 Sherman Ave.E.,Ft. Atkinson, WI

Even if Bear doesn't think so, the excitement is building as the Yummy Furniture and Design Hot Seat Sale gets closer!  Sunday, July 24th and Monday the 25th are the dates you should be saving. The event is noon to 6:00PM both days at 502 Sherman Ave. E. in Ft. Atkinson, WI! We will be raffling off a chair (look for a pic tomorrow) to benefit the area Ft. Atkinson food pantry and Humane Society of Jefferson County ($1 per entry, all proceeds shared equally between the pantry and humane society.)

shs photo

Color is the theme of the event; exciting, vibrant (and yummy!) color.  I've spent a great deal of time experimenting with new color combinations. For example, I threw in a touch of red trim on the aqua pillow to the right. The two sit in the belly of a fully lined round ottoman.

shs photo

Feather and faux fur mix nicely here. And, I'm not sure where they will find a home, but I've made some vibrant eggplant pillows and will be throwing in a tangerine or two!

shs photo

See you soon - until then, sit pretty!
Theresa

Yummy Furniture and Design

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Yummy Furniture and Design Hot Seat Sale and Open House

Yummy Furniture and Design HOT SEAT SALE AND OPEN HOUSE. Serving New, Vintage and Antique Upholstered Furniture. PLUS a ton of fabulous pillows. All items are one of a kind and uniquely designed by Theresa of Yummy Furniture.

ZERO CALORIES BUT OH SO YUMMY!

Enter to win this Ooooutrageously Designed Victorian Savonarola Chair from my personal collection.

ALL proceeds from the raffle ($1.00 donation) will be given to the Jefferson Food Pantry and Humane Society of Jefferson County.

Event held at: 502 E Sherman Ave in Fort Atkinson, WI 53538. Hours on both Sunday July 24th and Monday the 25th are 12noon to 6:00PM.

Questions? 608-345-7027.

Refreshements (with real calories) will be served.

A Sampling of the menu:-Sherbert Bench iced with a bouquet of flowers shown below.


Photo: SHS


-Milk Chocolate Corner Chair topped with orange and rasberry sprinkles.
-Spicy Red Cinnamon Louix the XV chair.

Photo by SHS

More to come!

Theresa
See you soon!

Yummy Furniture and Design

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Back into the Swing

As we swing through the month of June and head toward July I am once again reminded how quickly time passes by.  My fascination with time's fleeting nature inspired me, just seven days ago to hold an open house of my upholstery designs in just four weeks. On Sunday July 24th and Monday the 25th I promise to WOW guests with my most innovative upholstery techniques ever!

Photo by SHS

While a few vintage objects will be included, the majority of the show will be chairs, ottomans and pillows I am designing specifically for this event.  Sketches of the fabric designs for upholstery and pillows are being compiled daily. Several practical lists are in progress as well; organization is key when throwing a show with a five week time line.

If I had to pick a catch phrase it would be: Tradition with a twist!  I am a traditionalist at heart and love to work with frames designed after antiques. Styles included will be King Louis the XIV and XV, as well as my own version of the 18th century corner chair.



Photo by SHS


All photos included are a preview of a few fabric groups I am working with. So Keep watching: things will unfold in the upcoming weeks as I post more of the work as it becomes photo ready.

Theresa

Yummy Furniture and Design

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More Frame Damage,..and Bear!

Here is a photo of the fabric that covered the blog chair's seat.  Notice the deep cut out of the fabric just behind Bear’s tail and on the opposite side in front of his wet nose.  

Photo: SHS

These cuts are made to allow the fabric to go around the arms posts. It is probable that a pattern was made for the the seat fabric when it was first manufactured at the factory. As later upholsterers recovered the seat, these cuts were more likely made during the process of applying the fabric. An astute upholsterer would use the old fabric as a pattern after discerning if its application was accurate. 

Here is a picture of the arm post around which the cutout of the fabric was placed. The majority of the padding that covers the seat is a natural unbleached cotton batting. it is off white and contains tiny dark brown bits of the cotton seed hull. Notice the whiter  filling closest to and surrounding the post.

Photo: SHS

This is a Dacron like substitute for cotton and curled hair. It is similar to the fill inside most contemporary pillows. Any type of fill will compacts over years of use. When the most recent upholsterer recovered the seat, the Dacron was used to fill in the space around the post that had worn down. It is likely the most recent addition to the padding of the chair seat.  It follows that is is probable that the chair seat was not rebuilt by the most recent upholsterer. 

Recall the photo of the long 5/8" staples in yesterday’s blog. 

Photo: SHS

Here is a photo of their removal.  

Photo: SHS

Notice that the pliers grip the fabric. I pull the fabric away from the frame at an angle perpendicular to it. The staples are applied at the same angle.  By removing the staples at the same angle at which they were installed, less wood is taken out with them thereby minimizing damage to the frame. Notice the staples are clean and no shards of wood attached to them. 

The good news is that the 5/8” long staples were not used around the entire perimeter of the chair. 1/2” staples were used around the rest. The 5/8” long staples  were only used on the left side chair rail as you face it.  We call that LSF, or left side facing.  Bad news is that is my clue that the wood on the LSF rail is probably very dry and in poor condition. Longer staples are usually employed to compensate for this condition.  I hope it is not dry rotted. 

Bear would say this frame has had it.....ruff! (:

Theresa

Yummy Furniture and Design

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For more on the wood's qualities and how people crafted in the medium, see John T. Kirk's, American Furniture, Understanding Styles, Construction and Quality, New York, Harry N. Abrams. Section 2, pp 17-25.
 

Nails, Heat and Lack of Moisture = Frame Damage

Greetings from my favorite furry friend Bear!

Photo: SHS

The summary of last weeks work is that nails used in ways unanticipated by the blog chair frame’s designer damage the integrity of its structure. Today we document some of the damage.

In this first photo the webbing is pictured how I found it; metal straps placed over the jute.

Photo: SHS

Next the metal is removed and just the vinyl strips and jute remain. Recall that these thin vinyl strips were nailed through the webbing and into the inner sides of the frame. 

Photo: SHS

Finally, all the quick fixes are removed and we can see how the webbing bulges down from the wood frame.

Photo: SHS

This is a direct result of releasing the metal strapping and vinyl strips used to shore it up.  Re-webbing plus re-installing and retying the springs would have been the proper way fix the sagging webbing, but that takes more time and effort. 

Recall that both of the "quick fix" efforts drove more nails deeper into the chair’s frame and at angles unforeseen by its designer.  In this photo of the under side of the back seat rail, notice the large crack extending from the right and spreading left towards the center. This occurred over time as nails were repeatedly driven into the wood.  

Photo: SHS

Notice the placement of the last nail head on the right side of the webbing. It is below the crack.  This leads me to believe that the crack to the frame existed for quite some time. The damage was obvious and the nail placed under it to keep the crack from spreading further.  This had to be done by the last person to web the chair

Also playing into this picture are heat and humidity. The wood is dry and there is very little moisture left in its fiber. It was probably stored in an attic or placed near a heat vent when in use.  I would have preferred storage in a barn as there would have been more humidity present. The lack of moisture in the wood causes it to crack more easily, especially when all those nails are used.

Further evidence of parched dried wood is in the use of extremely long staples by the chair’s most recent upholsterer technician; used to apply the decorative fabric. 

Photo: SHS

These staples are 5/8” long. The industry standard is 3/8” long. The added 1/4” penetration helps the fabric stay put but also damages the chair further by forcing the staples further into the wood and spreading its fibers.

Undoubtedly I will discover more damage as I remove the rest of the cover. 

So the moral of the today's story is?  Understand the importance of employing an upholsterer who understands that she/he should repair your frame before attempting to recover it.  

Love your dog,..and give him something yummy to chew on! 

Theresa

Yummy Furniture and Design

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For more on the wood's qualities and how people crafted in the medium, see John T. Kirk's, American Furniture, Understanding Styles, Construction and Quality, New York, Harry N. Abrams. Section 2, pp 17-25.

Reupholstery 101 Part III

On March 22^nd, we talked about the twisting action of the nails grinding against the wood as it moves in and out of the frame. I will document the damage after the jute webbing is removed. Today another problem is discussed; tightening the stretched out webbing in lieu of replacing it.

Notice the light colored strip of fabric that is visible on top of the webbing running diagonally to the metal strap we discussed last week.  This was the first attempt to shore up the webbing via a quick fix. 

Photo: SHS

Over time all webbing stretches out. This fix takes the slack in the length of webbing and literally nails it to the frame.

Keeping in mind that the chair is upside down, the process is as follows. First the strip of strong fabric, in this case vinyl was placed on top of the webbing. Then the technician placed pressure on it and forced it down.  With even more pressure it was forced sideways against the inside of the chair rail; at which point tacks were driven through the strip and the webbing at an angle into the chair seat rail.  

 The slack in the length of webbing is nailed to the frame, making the webbing tighter and forcing the springs back up to their original height.

Photo: SHS

This process is detrimental to the chair for two reasons. The chair frame is receiving more nails than it was engineered for. Plus It was manufactured with the idea that only upholstery tacks would enter the frame from the top and the bottom of the rail.

The fabric method puts nails at an angle through the rail. In the prototype process, the grain of the wood is taken into consideration as the cabinetmaker considers how the chair is joined and weight will be distributed. Nails entering the seat rail at an angle were not taken into consideration and will at first cause bits to fracture off and eventually larger portions of the wood to split.

The metal strap method mentioned on March 22nd also causes damage to the wood frame.

Photo: SHS

The twist nails(1") used to attach the strap to the frame are longer than upholstery tacks (3/4") and consequently forced deeper into the wood. Upholstery tacks are tapered. They separate the fibers as they enter the wood. But the twist nail shafts are thicker than upholstery tacks and the shaft is twisted: as it enters the wood it crushes the fibers. 

These ill considered repairs were not anticipated by the woodworker.* 

Pictured below (left to right) are a twist nail, a size 14 upholstery tack and a size 8 upholstery tack.  Note how the shafts of the upholstery tacks are tapered and that of the twist nail is only tapered at the very tip.

Photo: SHS

You might be wondering why two attempts were made to shore up the webbing?!?  

Replacing the webbing on the bottom of a chair hinges to another time consuming job; that of removing, reinstalling and retying the springs.  It is a time intensive process which requires a certain level of skill.

Illustration by the Author

Only the craftiest upholsterer can retie the springs to new webbing through the webbed bottom. 

Photo: SHS

So to save time and/or avoid work many upholsterers technicians ignore the obvious and strap on whatever quick fix they can thereby compromising the frame of the chair.

The integrity of the blog chair frame has been weakened.

As the nail continues to turn....

Theresa

Yummy Furniture and Design

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*For more on the wood's qualities and how people crafted in the medium, see John T. Kirk's, American Furniture, Understanding Styles, Construction and Quality, New York, Harry N. Abrams. Section 2, pp 17-25.

Change of Pace: Discussion on Postwar Suburbs in America

Have you ever really thought about where you live and how it came to be? 

At a panel discussion (3.28.2011) entitled “History and Fate of the Postwar American Suburb” at the UW-Madison, WI, I got a new perspective on how a sense of place-and history -is so important to our perception of home.

Presenting the panel:

L-R, Arnold R. Alanen, Brad Murphy. Dianne Harris, Daina Penkiunas, Brad Murphy, Anna Andrzejewski

Moderator Anna Andrzejewski opened the discourse by posing several questions:

Anna Vemer Andrzejewski

As postwar suburbs become historical sites, both preservationists and city planners alike are asking:

What do we preserve?

How can we accommodate commercial development within these areas? 

How do we study these places and finally…

How do we live in them? 

Arnold R. Alanen provided the background.  

Arnold R. Alanen

Citing the popular movie Revolutionary Road in which Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio play a young couple struggling with the everyday monotony of suburban life, the movie’s inspiration was John Keats 1957 novel, The Crack in the Picture Window.  Per Alanen, “the ethos of over conformity at any price” was sweeping the country at this time.

While conformity was the name of the game, a great deal of anti-suburban sentiment existed.  Yet suburbs provided things that every American sought; an affordable home in a safe family centered neighborhood. The Levittowns of Long Island, New Jersey and Bucks County naturally played into the discussion.    

Early in the forum it occurred to me that race would become part of our dialogue. And it did as our central guest speaker Dianne Harris brought to the fore that these ordinary post war houses represented our race, class and identity. 

Dianne Harris

In fact the first studies of the Bucks County based Levittown were about the race riot that occurred as Daisy and Bill Meyers, the first African Americans residents moved in on August 20, 1957. The couple remained for five years but moved when Bill’s job was transferred to another area.

Levittown, PA - courtesy Wikipedia

Andrzejewski mentioned how her own experience of living in a suburb clashed with her preconceived notion. The private neighborhood chosen by her family allowed  little privacy as the prized suburban feature the picture window afforded her neighbors an unlimited view into their everyday life.

To wrap things up the question of “Where are we at this moment?” was posed. It was  mentioned that changes in individual perception of place, culture and history cannot be mandated.  However, it was more or less agreed that the past model has already been broken and the nuclear family changed with it. Just as additions to houses change the appearance from the original plans, contemporary families are made of different societal expectations which will help foster a more vibrant and diverse suburban life. 

 ...this panel helped all of us think about where we live, and why we live there:
 
--Dianne Harris, Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture, Architecture, Art History, and History; Director, Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
--Arnold R. Alanen, Professor Emeritus, Department of Landscape Architecture
--Anna Vemer Andrzejewski, Associate Professor, Department of Art History and Buildings-Landscapes-Cultures Program
--Kurt Paulsen, Assistant Professor, Department of Urban and Regional Planning
--Brad Murphy, Director, Planning Division, City of Madison
--Daina Penkiunas, National Register Coordinator, Division of Historic Preservation, Wisconsin Historical Society
 --Thanks also to Preeti Chopra for arranging  Dianne Harris' visit.


Hope you are sitting pretty wherever you live!

Theresa

Yummy Furniture and Design

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Reupholstery 101

During the next days of this blog I will document the entire process of tearing down and re-upholstering this 19th century Chippendale style ribbon back armchair. 

Photo: SHS

What will be done?

The following items will be removed:

-The fabric seat covering and tacks that attach the fabric to frame.

-The fill (cotton, hair or other?) under the fabric. We will discover if it was it tied to the burlap spring cover. 

-The burlap cover of the springs and the tacks that attach it to the frame. Is the   cover burlap, the typical fabric for this job in the 19^th century?

-The spring tying twine and the tacks attaching the twine to the frame.

            -We will also examine the type of knot(s) used.

-The springs; we will measure them in the compressed state and released.

-What type of twine was used to attach the springs to webbing? (looks original) 

-The webbing in order of removal:

                    -Metal (not original)

                    -Nails that hold the metal webbing (not original)

                    -Vinyl "spacers" that shore up the jute webbing (not original)

                    -Tacks that hold them (not original)

                    -Jute webbing, measure

                    -Tacks that hold the jute webbing in place

Photo: SHS

   

*At all times I will look for original fabric fragments under any original tacks found.*

If you've ever wanted to learn how to reupholster a chair, this is your opportunity! Taking notes of the process of tearing down chairs and reversing them is how I learned to upholster.  

In these segments I will document both processes! After completely ripping down and documenting every tack, spring and fabric; I will completely re-upholster the chair from the webbing up!

This is the most time intensive part of this blog so bear with me. New posts will appear on Mondays and Tuesdays. If you have questions as we go, don’t be shy, my email address is at the end of every blog!

I should have some photos of the rip-down process posted later this evening.

Theresa

Yummy Furniture and Design

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Rococo AND Colonial Revival?

 

As mentioned in the previous blog, Charles F. Hummel of Winterthur wrote me to say that since the blog chair used plied wood in its back it was definitely Rococo Revival. Today I propose that while the blog chair is in that category, it holds a dual identity. Since it is an obvious remake of an 18th century Chippendale style ribbom back chair, it falls into the additional category of Colonial Revival.

19th C Ribbon Back Chair. Photo by SHS

18th C chair in Plate XV in TG&CMD

          It is generally thought that the colonial revival period began around the time of America’s centennial.  Interest in period furnishings was spurned by the Philadelphia Exposition of 1876. During this time all periods of American colonial furniture; Mannerist, William and Mary, Queen Anne, Georgian, Chippendale, Federal, Neoclassical and Empire were simply lumped together into one category called colonial.(13)

Furniture adaptations on decorative and structural elements were called improvements.(14) For instance, on the blog chair there are three improvements that spring to mind.

1.The use of the three layer plied wood back to allow the chair’s back to curve and fit the contour of the human body. 

Photo: SHS

 

2. Springs in the seat, to make it “give” under weight and be more comfortable. 

Photo: SHS

3. Castors on its feet to allow it to move more freely about the room. 

Photo: SHS

This begs the question; where these changes in fact improvements?

1.a. Since the pieces of wood used to make the three plies are wider and taller than the individual parts of the tri-part back used in the 18th century, they would not be a measure to save raw materials. But the curve in the back would add comfort.

Photo: SHS

2.a. The springs used in the seat are stiff because they are too tightly compressed. They offer no additional comfort over an un-sprung seat.

Photo: SHS

3.a. The castors on the feet would definitely allow the chair to be moved more freely about a room.

Photo: SHS

 Some of these changes were improvements; others not so much. What I will say is that human inventive genius was illustrated through the multitude of technological  advances pioneered during the Victorian period when the blog chair was made. For more on this subject I suggest the text in Footnote 13. 

Theresa

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Footnotes
13. Edgar Mayhew and Minor Myers. The Eclectic Decades: 1865-1895 In A Documentary history of American Interiors: From the Colonial Era to 1915. New York, Scribner's. 258-262
14. Ibid