Furniture Restoration, Conservation and Custom Fabrication
We have the benefit of hindsight to see what mistakes in manufacturing techniques were made over the years, and learn from the experience. If we see a repair technique or material that will improve the strength and life of furniture, without changing the design intent or appearance, we incorporate these improvements into our repairs, if the Owner of the furniture approves the change. We are familiar with the various materials from an engineering standpoint- this is critical to making appropriate and effective repairs. For instance, we understand the differences between thermoset plastics and thermoplastics, the various adhesives from aliphatic glues to resorcinols, epoxies, and others, and what structural designs and improvements are necessary for repairs to be effective, to prevent the mistakes of the past, from being the burdens of the future. What we don’t know, we can research, using engineering design handbooks, and expert craftsmen.
Herman Miller Eames Chair Shock Mount Repairs
You can count on us to repair furniture or woodwork joinery with integrity, true to the original design, so you will enjoy the furniture for many trouble-free decades after it has left our shop. There are occasional instances when the original design was flawed so we will suggest an improvement for durability, as with the Eames Lounge Chair manufactured by Herman Miller. The shock mounts attaching the back to the seat break typically in five to thirty years, due to inappropriate use of materials. The Herman Miller Eames Lounge Chair #670 was not the only Herman Miller Eames furniture to suffer problems with shock mounts, the LCW, LCM, DCW, and DCM chairs all have shock mounts attaching the seats and backs together, that loosen up over time. We have developed a superior proprietary solution for the Herman Miller shock mounts. We specifically offer this improvement as an alternative, although it appears indistinguishable from the original design. We will always offer such a solution and seek our clients’ approval before taking action to change an aspect of the furniture we restore.
To attain impeccable, meticulous results, we employ the finest European craftsmen; cabinetmakers, metal machinists and welders, carvers, upholsterers, and artists. They respect the integrity and know the importance of maintaining the original design when repairing your furniture or architectural woodwork. We will not insert a dowel into a mortise-and-tenon joint that will compromise a tenon’s function for a cheap “glue job” some would call a “repair”. We will not inject glue into the joints of a loose doweled chair (a 3 – 9 month “fix”), when nothing short of complete disassembly, cutting off and drilling out of old dowels, and reinstallation of newer, larger dowels is necessary to obtain the original longevity of the chair joinery.
Obtaining the Finest Results
Timeless Beauty in Honduran Mahogany
350 benches, more than 2-miles of them unfortunately presented with graffiti, deeply carved with ball point pens, scratched and well worn from time and by those maybe not so informed to their colorful history. We fully restored them all to their original beauty and for another generation experience.
Our abilities to repair antique period wood joinery on furniture or woodwork ranging from the middle ages to modern, from Rococo to Regency is well known. No matter how complicated the repair or how poor the condition of the furniture, no repair is beyond our expert grasp. Our European cabinetmakers perform complicated, intricate restoration of missing marquetry, carvings, and joinery, on wood that is in good condition, or suffering from smoke or fire damage, or the ravages of powder post beetles. Our mission is to restore your furniture, to the level where you cannot tell that a repair was made. Olek Lejbzon & Co. was established in 1950, and has repaired furniture not only in the metropolitan NY area including NY, NJ, CT, and PA- but worldwide, with esteemed clients shipping furniture and components to us at our 25,000 square foot shop in Newark, NJ
Capabilities and Knowledge for the Ages
Custom Furniture and Parts Fabrication
At Olek we focus on the unique details of your items and ensure that our restoration work exceeds the original designers specifications so that you can enjoy your treasured items for years to come.
A partial list of designers whose furniture we have repaired includes:
Hugh Acton, Aalvar Alto, Ero Baughmann, Harry Bertoia, Marcel Breuer, Wendell Castle, Joe Colombo, Corbusier, Charles & Ray Eames, Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Arne Jacobsen, Vladimir Kagan, Poul Kjærholm, Florence Knoll, Oliver Morgue, George Nakashima, George Nelson, Isamu Noguchi, Verner Panton, Ico Parisi, Warren Platner, Jean Prouve, Jens Risom, Mies van der Rohe, Hans Wegner, and many others...
We can arrange for pickup and delivery promptly throughout metropolitan NY, including NY and NYC, NJ, PA, and at CT at modest cost. We can also arrange for pickup and delivery of furniture throughout the United States east of the Mississippi, as well as all of Louisiana and eastern Texas with a recommended common carrier, TSC Moving (Hallandale, FL), and other carriers west of the Mississippi and globally. Fine furniture deserves the best care, and is worth the trip to Olek.