$1,350.00

Listing price is for the VINTAGE (late-1970’s) Tessa T8 lounger in vintage FULL-GRAIN leather.

LOCATION- Haberfield, SYDNEY. But this piece can be transported Australia-wide for a reasonable additional price. (Approx. $240 to Melbourne). Contact us if you have interest in buying or SELLING a similar lounger.

 

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Description

FOR SALE under consignment from a private seller in Haberfield, SYDNEY.

Late-1970’s or early-1980’s piece in GREAT condition.

Background Info and Provenance

(Written in 2021 but updated in 2025)

Fred Lowen designed the T8 range of lounge furniture for Tessa in 1976; it remained in production until the early-1980s. The cushioning changed and then it was re-released much later but not for long at all (I think they also changed the name when the cushions changed ?). The T8 range was based on the Norwegian designs of the 1960’s and 70’s, with gorgeous minimalist curves, and vintage FULL-GRAIN leather.

This piece was made in AUSTRALIA. It has exceptional comfort with great back support and plushness- the minimalist look is also stunning plus there’s excellent durability to top off this very astute investment. Just imagine lying on this reading a book, working on your laptop at home or having that sneaky afternoon power-nap (in your office, whilst still “at work” !). Whether in a library, music room, sunroom or lounge room, the relaxing comfort and minimalist design makes this a piece of furniture that will be used and loved for years to come (if not forever).

This lounger is upholstered in FULL-GRAIN VINTAGE leather that has just been cleaned and conditioned. The leather is thick, soft and supple and in brilliant condition for leather of this age. The vendors purchased this back in the late-1970’s or early-1980’s and look at it after all these years of use! Leather from this era is the best leather you can buy (and the only leather you want). Verification of the quality on offer here is shown in the condition of this piece after almost 50 years! Tessa later went onto use TOP-GRAIN leather in some of their furniture- TOP-GRAIN leather is inferior and often cracks through and rips at the seams within 1-2 decades of use. Don’t be deceived! For more information about leather types find our listing about HOWE leather in our NEWLY LISTED Section. (Type, “howe leather brochure into our SEARCH box to find this listing quickly.)

The labels with only the word LEATHER on them verifies that this lounger was made in the late-1970’s / early-1980’s. These labels were only used by Tessa during that period and this was when Tessa ONLY used QUALITY FULL-GRAIN leather.

After a 50-year stint in the Australian Marketplace, making virtually all their furniture in AUSTRALIA, Tessa Furniture closed their doors in 2019. Unfortunately, many Australian businesses are no longer able to compete with cheap inferior imports (mainly from China). Tessa designs are so well-made that vintage second-hand pieces ended up becoming more sought-after than new Tessa Furniture. The investment appeal here is a no-brainer. These T8 loungers are VERY RARE (!) and these days, this design is more popular than ever. Since COVID-19 lockdowns, the T8 lounger in particular has become highly sought-after. In 24 years of trading, I’ve had only FOUR of these- one of my more recent ones sold in the first DAY it was listed! I haven’t had one of these to stock since 2021 (almost 4 years now). (And I had countless people after the last ones sold express much sadness in missing out- one lady start to cry when I told her it was already gone. You snooze, you lose!) The T8 lounger had a very limited production run- they nearly NEVER come up.

This lounger will last you the long haul- it has already survived ABOUT 50 years and is still in brilliant condition- just look at the photos! And this is what we love about selling designs such as this- this piece has only needed a minor clean-up only. Now it’s ready to be enjoyed by the next generation. This furniture follows our belief of conscious consuming and is perfect for those committed to making purchasing decisions that have a sustainable economic, and environmental impact. How is this purchasing decision a “stable-economic decision”? By investing in something like this you’re saying you believe our furniture should be made LOCALLY again (BY PEOPLE!) Vote every time you open your wallet or purse. Vote ONE for- QUALITY FURNITURE made in AUSTRALIA!

2501

This lounger is in brilliant original condition for something that is ABOUT 50 years old! There are very minimal signs of use. Vintage T8 furniture is particularly strong and durable. The frame is overall in brilliant vintage condition. We have had the ORIGINAL FULL-GRAIN LEATHER cleaned and conditioned and it's looking fantastic. There are a few minor scuffs to the edges of the leather. Very minor and very hard to notice. You can use a brown felt pen to rectify this. This is a consignment item and I travelled interstate to Sydney to work with this item so I didn't have a felt pen on me. The leather presents extremely well overall (as our array of photos show). Click on the Magnifying Tool icon to enlarge each photo, then click on the enlarged image to Supersize it! Know what you're buying- pore over every image- that's why the Magnifying Tool is there! ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The leather itself has NO noticeable wear, NO noticeable dark marks, NO cracks into the leather, NO smells, NO noticeable scratches. The leather is soft and supple. The cushioning is all in excellent condition- Tessa used top-quality cushioning that lasts several generations. The cushioning is all plush and comfortable. These cushions are supportive as well. The canvas back shows some fading but is fully intact with no rips or tears. As with nearly all T8 suites, the elastic that attaches the cushion to the frame has stretched, but it is intact and does not affect usage at all. (I do not use these buttons on Tessa furniture anyway- the cushions stay on without them.) This just shows us how pedantic Tessa Furniture was and why Tessa became the great Australian institution it was. This stretching could be rectified with needle and thread if this is what you want. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Overall, this lounger presents very well and will last the long-haul. The colour is accurately represented on my monitor in our array of photos. The colour changes depending on how intense the lighting is. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Measurements of the last one of these we had. (This one should be the same or very similar.) Across 62cm. Length: 146cm. Height: 80cm.
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