Caning-learn a new skill.

Circa 1950’s Gavina (Italy) production Marcel Breuer ‘Cesca’ chair imported by Knoll

I have been back to work for about a month now. In this time, I picked up a really awesome set of Marcel Breuer Cesca chairs. These were designed in 1928 and sadly never copyrighted by him so probably one of the most knocked off chair ever. You may remember it from the 70s or 80s when it seemed to make a comeback in American kitchens. The chrome cantilever base is very distinctive and Breuer gets credit for being one of the first to use it in a chair design. The Cesca chair was manufactured first by Thonet in Yugoslavia and later (by the 50s) at Gavina in Italy. Around this time, Knoll began to import the chair for it’s distribution. They eventually bought the rights from Gavina and today are the authorized producer of the chair. I really hesitated to take these on as I knew they would be hard to authenticate and honestly, one chair needs to be re-caned. But, there is a great story here and an even greater appreciation of this chair after seeing them in person.

My set lived with a former Knoll executive whose daughter I found on Craigslist selling some vintage Knoll fabrics (I now own two tubs of amazing and colorful vintage designs!) as she is cleaning out his home. He did not retire from Knoll but worked there for maybe 20 years in the 50s/70s. This knowledge definitely helped my decision as I could date them to that era and I know Knoll was importing them from Gavina at that time. There are sticker residue on all 4 the size and placement of Gavina’s labels as well, although none retain them. The black finish is awesome on this chair and is much sexier than the natural. A key quality mark for me is the fact that these are hand caned. Most of these chairs, including today’s production by Knoll feature machine woven cane sheets and not hand woven cane. It’s a work of art when you see a hand woven piece. Even knowing I would need to take on that skill to repair one of the seats to make this set sellable, I was still willing to invest in them. This is what I do, after all..,,,preserve these fine pieces of history and make them usable for the next generation of fans and appreciators, So here I am, recently visiting my local cane supply shop (yes, I got one handy!) and walking out with an awl, pegs and reed plus a little oak kit stool so I can do a practice round before I start on the Cesca seat, There are 7 steps to hand caning plus some calluses.

Example of how a Gavina chair from this Era would be labeled.

At the cane shop buying supplies. I had to wait for them to reopen after covid-19

How to tell if a piece is hand caned? This is important to note. A machine caned piece is inserted into a channel and finished by gluing a spline piece into the channel. It is tricky but not difficult to remove and install. Hand caning consists of weaving a frame through drilled holes in the frame. The pattern made on the edge has a fisheye pattern. Instead of a channel, you will see that pattern and little nodules at each hole.

What is the going rate for hand cane repair? It is generally charged by the hole. This seat has 100 holes! A fair price is about $2 per hole plus materials.

Before I start the chair seat, I am going to try my hand at a small stool. It is oak and I will be using a fabulous product called Rubio Monocoat to finish the wood. I chose ‘Cotton white’ which will give it a nice white washed finish letting the grain show through. Monocoat is a oil based finish that seeps into the pores and gardens into a durable finish. It also is plant based, 0% VOC, food safe, child safe and sustainable. I ordered a second color, charcoal, and hope I enjoy this and the finished product is marketable! Perhaps I can make a custom colored stool just for you as there are many cool colors to choose from! Will see where this takes me! Stay tuned got updates.

Thanks to everyone who have been making purchases! I have been steadily moving things this whole time. Will need to have some fun restocking soon but work is keeping me busy!

XO Malissa