Ella, Gorgeous Ella.

Hi Vintage Lovers,

I can hear you asking, who is Ella? Ella is our 1939 club lounge and our oldest daughter had the fantastic idea to call her Ella. My grandma on my mum’s side of the family, we call Lala. Ella was Lala's nickname that her family called her when she was younger. When my brother and I were little, Lala told us that the family called her Ella, but neither of us could say Ella properly - it came out as Lala, and that just stuck!



Lala in her heyday in 1939, aged 21 years.

Lala and Papa bought Ella in the early 1970’s (second-hand) so Ella brings back so many memories of growing up for me. Even as I type right now I am sitting in Lala’s spot, the spot that she always sat in. We were given Ella when Lala went into a nursing home about 11 years ago. We used her in our family room for quite a while, until she was really coming apart at the seams. She still had her original material and had never been touched.

 



Ella in need of some TLC

 

Begrudgingly, I agreed to pop her out in the shed until we had the funds to re-upholster her (as I knew it would be a few years down the track). Last year, while we were selling and moving houses, we decided it would be the perfect time to get her restored. So instead of putting her on the moving truck, we popped her on the trailer and took her for a three month stay at an upholsterer. After a wee bit of debating, we decided on an olive brocade material, the closest one I could find to the original material. I am a firm believer that any restorations that are done on anything old should be carried out so that the piece remains as it came from the factory, or place of origin.

It was a really long three months to be without her. The upholsterer did a fantastic job and also made a matching ottoman, which looks great. I am really really happy with her and so glad to have her home now. We even found out the month, year and who made her because it was stamped on her frame. She was made in March in 1939, six months before World War II started. The upholsterer displayed her in the front of the shop (for a week or so) and she had people stopping and coming in to ask if she was for sale! She’s certainly not for sale and never will be! She looks amazing and fits in perfectly in our family room and complements our other old bits and pieces.



Ella in her glory

I love old, anything old - it has a story to tell. Old is a lot more interesting than a new item made in China and bought at any retail shop – where is the story in that? And while I am at it – it probably won’t last long enough to gain any stories anyway. I try to buy everything old and vintage because we are just too much of a throwaway society these days. Old and vintage items have all sorts of tales to tell but the best ones are family items handed down that have a personal story to tell. I am very lucky to have a few such items, more of which I will share with you in blogs to come.

Have a great weekend.

Mel