We have been fabricating replacement Wassily straps for 30+ years. It is important to note that we use top-grain leather hides, offering many years of durability. Each hide is a 7-8oz., veg-tanned leather equivalent to what was used on the original Stendig/Gavina, as well as the licensed Knoll chairs. We hand-craft each Wassily strap to order.

We think customer testimonials say it best:

"Dear Kevin:

I am writing to express my appreciation and admiration for the leather replacements for my Wassily chairs. I was away from my office when the materials came in and the staff went through the installation process. First, your how-to videos were extremely helpful. The clarity of the presentation made the installation process smooth. The staff who undertook this process had nothing but profuse praise for this helpful material.

The leather itself is fashioned in such a way as to evoke the image of true craftsmen at work. The stitching is perfect, the matching of the leather could not have been better done and the attention to even the edge detailing completes the picture of excellence. The chairs today look far superior today than when I bought them 41 years ago.

Your excellent work has helped me to restore icons of creativity from the Bauhaus tradition of design and design education.

Thank you for your dedication to the craft of design. We need more of your spirit in the design professions."

Marvin J. Malecha, FAIA, DPACSA

President, NewSchool of Architecture and Design, San Diego, CA

Due to sizing, aging, design, and stretching inconsistencies between original, reproduction, or knock-off Wassily chairs, we will need two things in order to fabricate replacement straps. One is the existing component/s. We need this/these for color matching purposes, as well as stitching patterns. Over the years Wassily chairs were manufactured without a consistent standard size, so we will also need frame measurements at specific points to ensure a correct fit. We request that you include a Wassily Order form, and a Frame Measurement form with the component/s that you send in. Written dis/re-assembly instructions (with pictures) are available here. Additionally, a YouTube video is available on Kevin's YouTube channel that shows the process of a Wassily chair re-assembly. Current fabrication time is 12-16 weeks. A flow-chart of the fabrication process can be found here.

Cost:

  • Single arm strap = $205
  • Single back assembly strap = $240
  • Seat = $320
  • Installation (full set) = $150
  • Black color edging (per strap) = $10
  • Custom contrast color edging (per strap) = $20
  • Off-color stitch (per strap) = $15

The cost for an entire chair set of replacement components (4 arms, 2 backs, 1 seat) is $1450, a 10% savings over the parts ordered individually (without per strap modifications).

If your existing Wassily leather is simply discolored, faded or stained, but the leather still has life left then you can purchase a color restoration kit and restore to its original color or make a statement with a new color of your choice. A color enhancement kit for a Wassily chair is $175.

wassily chairs
hair-on wassily chair