Philosophy
Philosophy
At William’s Antiks preserving history is our passion. We take pride in sourcing the finest examples of French Club Chairs and have sold over 800 pairs of these inviting, sumptuous fauteuil. We work directly with amazing partners in France that scour the country, always on the lookout for the best examples of leather Club Chairs. Finding chairs in good original condition is increasingly a challenge. The majority of our finds come from private homes, rather than commercial settings, where the chairs would see much more use & wear.
Are these vintage chairs fragile? In some cases, yes, they can be fragile. If they have not been well cared for, the leather might be a bit thinner or dried out. This means that we will pass on many examples of chairs due to bad styling, inferior original components or overall poor condition. That’s not to say that we won’t, on occasion, buy a thrashed pair or chair and treat it to a loving restoration. It just needs to have good bones and lines to make it worth restoring.
All of our restorations use only the finest sheephide from the Pyrennees. Sheephide is not commercially available in the states and there are very few producers of sheephide left in Europe. Most dealers looking to restore club chairs resort to the cheaper Moroccan hides. The other option is using horizontally split, vegetable dyed cow hide which has a more squishy feel. Sadly, the majority of restorers go for the quick/cheaper fix using one of those two options. They use smaller pieces of leather to get max value out of a hide which leads to unwanted, and frankly unsightly, extra seams. The appealing lines of a French Club Chair depend very much on uninterrupted leather on the arm, back or sides.
People often ask me why we give our Clubs names. The simple answer is when you call to enquire about a pair of club chairs I can recall each pair and the particulars of each chair/pair more easily with its name as opposed to its inventory number. The names chosen often reflect the area from which the chairs hailed or a nod to the previous owner who cherished them for many years.
Over the years, we have become the premier dealer of vintage and restored French Club Chairs on the west coast. Following our passion, making our living bringing these pieces of history to their new homes is a dream come true. We choose each chair ourselves. Testing how it sits, examining it from every angle. Making sure that the quality lives up to the high standards we have set for William’s Antiks. You can be sure that when you purchase from us, your chairs, properly cared for, will serve you well for many years to come.
king of clubs
French Club Chairs by William’s Antiks
“Great Product sold with Passion and Provenance”
