Herman Miller dealer here - DM me and I can get you an at-cost replacement. There’s no good way to recreate that edge with a water jet that wouldn’t cost as much as replacing it I’d wager.
Anyhow, it’s a beautiful table and deserves a perfect top :)
I’m absolutely not going to do that, but I think your username is *perfect* - but likely it will not be thousands.
These companies use a multiplier so the answer is a spectrum based on a number of factors, all of them meant to be for that retailers eyes only.
Not even a ballpark figure? Precision cut glass ain't cheap!
Now I'm curious about these factors...cost price used to be cost price.
Can't produce a receipt? It's no longer cost price, OP!
Hey - I’m a person of my word being altruistic because OP’s situation sucks. I don’t owe you a thing, and you’re being a bit demanding don’t you think?
As an independent retailer I’m not really supposed to discuss the costs of things. That’s not a new concept, and my ability to serve future clients is vastly more important than anyone’s curiosity.
I don’t mind going out of my way for one person with a really bummer story, but I’m not here to jeopardize my account.
My post history would give me away, buddy. We’re sort of a unique shop that does hifi and modern furniture and I have six people that rely on our income working for us so I tend to be overly cautious. I love our people and really just want to help this one person out because it’s the right thing.
Ballpark: probably half part cost?? I literally have to do a math problem later today to figure it out myself - it’s not like, in a book, as unusual as that may sound :)
Yeah this looks like 19mm glass and a big piece at that material will be expensive. But also because otlf the shape alot more work to cut and edge it. At least it's not tempered.
Pretty awesome of you to offer this to OP. I hope it works out if that's the route he goes. Cause crate shipping this halfway across the country would be expensive AF at well
It’s not a “want” thing at all - my wife and I run a shop we own together that does hifi and modern furniture. We’re just a little place but we do well enough to be able to grow each year and pay our staff really well.
There’s a cultural thing in high end retail where the back end math for cost is best not to be discussed. With this line, unlike the others, there’s a matrix of multipliers involved that get you the cost.
If I divulge costs, then that might be frowned upon for a host of reasons.
Let’s just say that it’s probably somewhere around half of what the part cost is, roughly? That’s what I would expect - but I’ve been surprised both ways before, and you don’t know until you crack the price list and do the thing.
Super weird, but it works for them, I guess?
That sounds like a dream job for you, and your employees.
I worked in a niche retail shop for a bit in University, a hobby that people were 2 out 3: affluent, highly educated, or altruistic and other than less than a handful of customers, it was amazing. They were more particular and/or eccentric than rude, so it was fine.
The store paid full time management decently too.
Very cool! I fell into Hifi 25 years ago at 18, and have always loved modernism. There's a direct throughline where stereo/hifi overlapped in the post-war economy with modern expressions of design and it just made all the sense in the world to blend the two, right?
We're not setting the world on fire financially but as long as we can pay everyone to do a job they're passionate about at least as well as we pay ourselves, we're happy. So far, that's been the case and we continue to get busier every year. Fingers crossed we get to stay at it until we can all retire and enjoy whatever old nerds do.
Totally just out of curiosity—are you willing to explain the context behind that cultural thing? Completely understand if you don’t wanna get into it, just curious if it’s social/class traditionalism or something more specific
For sure:
Each shop is a microcosm. Within each shop various brands have their own pricing protections, and this is both to keep their identity as a luxury brand intact but also to keep dealers from getting price shopped and cutting each others throats until none exist.
Each shop has its own location, which is the local culture, education level, and general wealth within a given population size. I’m central NC, where I am, hifi and modern design have a low/medium level of awareness among a somewhat modest population size, but we’re also the only remaining brick and mortar hifi shop and one of very few modern interior retailers. Our overhead each month is around $18,000 a month.
In my time in SF we had a super high density of clients, blinding wealth, but also had six competitors within 50 miles and an overhead of $99,000 a month.
Each shop with X brands in a given location is shaped by these factors and will or won’t discuss pricing, make deals, or pick brands based on how much money they can make versus picking brands based on their passion for the products, which reflects their willingness to see it as a widget and make a deal.
Finally, there’s a spectrum of retail shops from “Benny’s Modern Design Dealsporium” to whatever it is we do at my shop, where we aren’t even asked for deals.
If your goal is just making a lot of money, pro-tip: don’t open a retail shop.
If you want to make a living doing a thing you love and actually helping people via consulting with them, then it’s a fabulous business.
Our approach is heavily demonstration/education based, takes a ton of investment on my wife and I’s part (think a million dollars cost of construction, furniture and gear) and requires a team of six people to properly set up and tear down for demos.
Our average appointment with a client takes 2-6 hours, and we never ask for “the sale”, we just interview the client, present the best options and let them ask questions.
As a result, the brands we’ve attracted are protective of their value and know we will be too. We also just don’t often get asked for a price accommodation. We’re proactive about understanding the clients budget and ensuring we are making it fully feel like they’re getting amazing value.
So our culture is formed out of these factors, internal and external, and it just seems to work here in a way it never would in SF.
Head a hundred miles in any direction and we’d have a hard time functioning exactly the way we do now in relationship to price, for better or worse.
Another, shorter way to say it is this:
“There’s price and there’s value for money.”
If we do our job right, we are in your threshold for price, and giving you enormous value for money.
I’m not fully caffeinated and have to get ready for work, so this is likely a bit disjointed but I hope that gives you some sort of insight :)
I have never heard anyone describe my job and shop so accurately. I'm a consultant dealer for Minotti, Maxalto, Frau and several brands of top end furniture and this is exactly how it works. I am always astonished at how things are so different at the high end -- shopping around is discouraged and can even get you blacklisted and old school practice looks at asking for discounts as an indignity.
Absolutely - and that’s largely because at the the high end of quality (setting aside price, which usually comes along with it), there is a massive expectation of service, knowledge, and very little “sales” pressure or posture: you’re there to assess what, if anything is right for the client, and ensure their product has a happy life.
It requires a massive outlay from the business owner, decades of training, and a gift for asking the less-than-obvious questions and translating responses into “needs” that can be met.
Also, at this level, we’re more available. My clients don’t reach out to me within business hours - I am available. I have to be.
To me, that commitment requires and deserves that I charge the full price, as there’s no other way for me to run the business effectively. I rely on talented staff to assist and duplicate me, and having a slush fund to acquire rapid access to new products when client’s needs demand it, and a state of the art showroom.
For all that, after underwriting the enormous costs of starting and running a high end retail shop for fifteen years, I can basically pay my bills and do something slightly nice for myself a couple times a year. I drive a six year old VW I share with my wife, own a small house, and have a little savings - but I’m happy.
That’s as good as it’s going to get for now, and I’m fine with it.
This entire response describes our path and methods exactly.
Heads up: years 20-30 could be where your tipping point is and where you make your (small) fortune. It would be interesting to visit your shop if I'm ever in your country (USA?) again. There are so few doing this work globally.
Much appreciated - and it’s nice to exchange with someone that understands the actual variables of the work. I’m definitely not complaining about my station as it’s largely self-inflicted:
I am 25+ years into hifi and 5+ into interleaving design into that model, so if it weren’t for my pesky need to pay everyone at our shop the same living wage my wife and I receive I could be a fairly upper middle-class bastard, but the real wealth here in the states comes from owning your own building, long term.
For us, we’re actively preparing to make that leap and take our shop from a rented 4500sqft to owning 21,500sqft, 10,000+ with another 11,500 we can lease to compatriots at a non-predatory rate to help them stabilize and grow along side us.
That will give ourselves and our cohorts each a piece big enough that when the time comes we can sell it off and all have a shot at retirement - and there’s a lot between now and then as I’m only 43.
As long as we can ethically stick to our guns and keep growing, the hope is that we get to do a thing we love and have a positive impact on our people and community without worrying about working into our 70’s.
If you’re ever in North Carolina, look up EMBER and reach out - I’d be happy to take you to dinner and show you around the shop :)
[Contact Information - Herman Miller](https://www.hermanmiller.com/contact/)
If they can't help there's a small industry for specifically repairing the Eames and Plycraft chairs. You can buy most of the parts online if you're going to restore it yourself. Obviously not cheap. Or if you want someone to repair it for you they're online as well. There's a good chance there will be a quality furniture restorer/flipper in your area that can do it for a price. Good luck!
Great answer.
Miller/Knoll does have a way to repair almost anything, and has regional specialists that handle different brands and types of repairs.
They can usually quote the repair ahead of time and often can be done on site.
Appreciate you reaching out - but as you can imagine I've had about ten requests like this. I'm doing this one because I can without creating a ton of work for myself and my staff. I'm not even sure there's a sku for me to order just these parts as a lot of replacement stuff is behind a service wall.
Sorry I can't help.
Thanks. I was just trying to find out where to turn to get these restored. Not trying to get replacements. For what it’s worth, they are pretty solidly attached to the metal supports so I don’t think they are replaceable.
As an owner of many original DCM chairs whose shock mounts have been replaced by Herman Miller over many years, HM has changed the way they handle repairs to ply products.
They’ll probably advise r/boldaslove24 to send their repair (in my case, the chair backs) to them via a regional dealer as middleman; they don’t take repairs directly from consumers any longer.
Trace the table top on a large piece of paper. I don’t know the consumer price, but a glass shop with a decent water jet can cut that out pretty easily and cheaply on their end. What they charge you is up for debate.
I think this would be the best (and probably cheapest) option. Find glass cutters near you who can do the beveled sanding/grinding on the egde, and see if they will just gradually grind down around the chip to remove it. You still get to keep the original glass & the chip will be completely gone.
I got a crystal award from work and then it fell off my desk and cracked and I'm preparing to send it to a crystal grinder to do the same thing, just re-angle the curve to omit the fractures.
Yes tempered glass CAN chip, but it's usually a long shard of the outer 5-10mm. It would never shell like this. Especially almost an inch into the glass.
Source-I ran a tempering oven for 5 years. And I have broken ALOT OF GLASS. both tempered and flat.
But also, you'd never temper a piece like this without putting a trim or edge on it. All it would take is someone catching the edge with a heavy handed coffee cup and its donezo
Don’t do this OP. While this is authentic, there are plenty of fake ones for sale for cheap on marketplace or Craigslist. Just buy one of those for the glass and toss the base. You’ll save a couple hundred bucks.
I have a kidney bean shaped glass table. It’s been in my family since it was new in 1959. It was broken the night after my mom moved to her new place, and I ended up with what was left. I traced it and spent about $800 for a replacement piece.
This table top would need to be tempered glass. No standard annealed, even at what I assume is a 1/2", would hold up as a table top. Not to mention, the glass looks to have a slight edge bevel, at very least softened edges. You're looking at an expensive piece of glass. Direct from manufacturer, probably $250-$500, but most glass shops have a mark up. Shop carefully, but it can be done.
There is no way this is tempered glass. If it was we would be looking at a pile of glass where the table used to be. You can tell that the shell is like an inch into the glass. That could not happen if it was tempered. And this looks like 19mm (0.74") which is definitely thick enough for a table like this.
It could chip. But not she'll like that. And you wouldnt temper it BECAUSE it could shatter. You leave it untempered so that if someone smashes their coffee cup into it it just shells like this.
I ran a tempering oven for several years. This is my professional opinion as a journeyman Glazier.
Herman Miller has 2d/3d [models on their site](https://www.hermanmiller.com/resources/3d-models-and-planning-tools/product-models/individual/noguchi-table/). You can send those to a local glass company and they should be able to cut a new top. Can't imagine it would be more than a couple hundred dollars for a replacement.
Eh. There is no value to be retained. The base is spray painted. These tables are still in production and in abundance. It's not unusual to see these at giveaway prices. They're the Toyota Corolla of coffee tables.
Edit: don't get me wrong, op scored a deal, but even without the chip there is no real money to be made on something like this. The the enjoyment of having/using it is of greater value than ever getting any resale for it.
Oof. You will probably be able to epoxy repair that chip. Yes it will be noticable but at least it won't cut anyone.
Getting replacement glass is an option but it'll be crazy expensive.
Nice find!!
To people from North America, perhaps. But not everyone is from North America.
I'm in Europe, and whilst I'm aware of the table, I probably wouldn't put it, or anything American in the top 20 'most iconic' mid-century designs. Not because I think it's inferior design, but because it just didn't really impact European tastes at that time.
Hi. IIRC, the edge of the glass should be signed / etched as well with Noguchi signature. If yours is the original glass top it should have that signature. If it does have the signature, I would recommend trying to get it fixed. Will keep alot of the value if you do. Replacement glass will be expensive and detract from value significantly.
Yeah maybe OP can do a kintsugi esque repair (not necessarily that style but something similar that makes "art" of the chip) lol
Or just replace it as others suggested or see a glass shop
This can be fixed by casting epoxy into the break (HXTL epoxy is non-yellowing and has the same refractive index as leaded glass, i.e. the interface t the repair won't be visible). You can use scotch tape to dam the edge and then add the epoxy drop-wise to the area until it is up-to-level. Leave to cure for a week. Clean up with acetone is possible within the week. Use a food scale to mix the the epoxy and only glass or wooden implements (no metal) for mixing.
Bro, we moved our kidney glass top across multiple state lines, only for the base to completely collapse and shatter the glass. Replacement piece was about $500 from a glass shop. You're still the luckiest bastard.
We chipped ours but nowhere near as bad as that. Good thing is if you can prove its authenticity (we still had the certificate), Noguchi will sell you a replacement glass top (not cheap sadly). Thats what we did and we still plan to do something with our slightly chipped one as it has the signature on the glass :) Perhaps build it into a concrete countertop and have it cantilever, which we think will look really cool.
I don’t see how getting new glass cut from the old should change the value of the piece? Am I being dumb? It literally undetectable that the glass was replaced (if you do so). Is that unethical?
I audibly groaned when I got to pic 3. I have a Pearsall side jacks table with v similar glass and looking at yours hurt me deep in my soul.
OP I hope the HM dealer can hook you up, I’m so sorry that happened. Try not to despair, after all technically it is only a table. I hope your spouse gave you a big cuddle though, that does suck.
Ouch!
I am familiar with this table and know just how heavy the glass is. Maybe, have a glass guy soften the chip, removing the sharp edge. Replacing the glass....well you need about 3/4 thick....and someone to etch Naguchi's name on the edge. Or, buy another table.
I have moved my by myself. I lay 3 towels, stacked 2 inches, on the dining room table. Wear Playtex gloves (it makes it harder to slip from your hands) and carry the glass to set on the towels.
As an old dude who has downsized my residence, Don't expect the person who is giving away stuff to pack it up and haul it for you too. If you want an item, be prepared to get the item. I know I can't pick up heavy things, that's why I give it away.
Ouch. I’d cry too. However I once drilled a hole through the perfect top of a Saarinen table reassembling it after scoring it at the thrift, if it makes you feel any better.
Oh. I feel this on a primal level. My parents had a [coffee table made entirely of inch thick glass](https://imgur.com/a/FENEHIf). It was 4 feet long by 20 inches tall, in three pieces.
Thought I'd get it out of storage and enjoy it. People helping me move this very heavy table sat tool pouch on it. It chipped. It's back in storage.
Ugh, I'm sorry. I'm a dealer and that happened to me with a high-end vintage end table when I first started -- my dad was helping us load it in a uhaul and didn't strap the glass in correctly, and it shattered all over the sidewalk. Lesson learned. Chips are even more frustrating because you can still use the table, but damn!
I feel you! The other day, a lovable tweaker friend (I know, few and far between) gifted me an enormous Venetian blown glass decanter from the 60s but it was so damaged it’s like in garbage condition. 😭 It was so thoughtful tho!
Herman Miller dealer here - DM me and I can get you an at-cost replacement. There’s no good way to recreate that edge with a water jet that wouldn’t cost as much as replacing it I’d wager. Anyhow, it’s a beautiful table and deserves a perfect top :)
You are the kindest, good on you for that generous offer to OP.
This is one of those cases where it costs me literally nothing to help another nice person - happy to do it, because it is a *bummer*!
I'm a nice person. Can you get me an Eames chair at cost? (/s, unless the answer is yes)
You’re a good person, dude.
You have to let us know what cost price is though. If it's 500 bucks I doubt OP is going to pull that trigger
I’m absolutely not going to do that, but I think your username is *perfect* - but likely it will not be thousands. These companies use a multiplier so the answer is a spectrum based on a number of factors, all of them meant to be for that retailers eyes only.
Not even a ballpark figure? Precision cut glass ain't cheap! Now I'm curious about these factors...cost price used to be cost price. Can't produce a receipt? It's no longer cost price, OP!
Hey - I’m a person of my word being altruistic because OP’s situation sucks. I don’t owe you a thing, and you’re being a bit demanding don’t you think? As an independent retailer I’m not really supposed to discuss the costs of things. That’s not a new concept, and my ability to serve future clients is vastly more important than anyone’s curiosity. I don’t mind going out of my way for one person with a really bummer story, but I’m not here to jeopardize my account.
You rock!
Alright I can back off, haha. Don't think a ballpark figure from an anonymous account is going to hurt anyone though.
My post history would give me away, buddy. We’re sort of a unique shop that does hifi and modern furniture and I have six people that rely on our income working for us so I tend to be overly cautious. I love our people and really just want to help this one person out because it’s the right thing. Ballpark: probably half part cost?? I literally have to do a math problem later today to figure it out myself - it’s not like, in a book, as unusual as that may sound :)
Yeah this looks like 19mm glass and a big piece at that material will be expensive. But also because otlf the shape alot more work to cut and edge it. At least it's not tempered. Pretty awesome of you to offer this to OP. I hope it works out if that's the route he goes. Cause crate shipping this halfway across the country would be expensive AF at well
You forgot the “but”
u/CHEESECAKE_YES just pinging to make sure you see this!!
Awesome 🏆 Curious how much the replacement glass is at retail price? Assuming you don’t wanna divulge the at-cost price here though
It’s not a “want” thing at all - my wife and I run a shop we own together that does hifi and modern furniture. We’re just a little place but we do well enough to be able to grow each year and pay our staff really well. There’s a cultural thing in high end retail where the back end math for cost is best not to be discussed. With this line, unlike the others, there’s a matrix of multipliers involved that get you the cost. If I divulge costs, then that might be frowned upon for a host of reasons. Let’s just say that it’s probably somewhere around half of what the part cost is, roughly? That’s what I would expect - but I’ve been surprised both ways before, and you don’t know until you crack the price list and do the thing. Super weird, but it works for them, I guess?
That sounds like a dream job for you, and your employees. I worked in a niche retail shop for a bit in University, a hobby that people were 2 out 3: affluent, highly educated, or altruistic and other than less than a handful of customers, it was amazing. They were more particular and/or eccentric than rude, so it was fine. The store paid full time management decently too.
Very cool! I fell into Hifi 25 years ago at 18, and have always loved modernism. There's a direct throughline where stereo/hifi overlapped in the post-war economy with modern expressions of design and it just made all the sense in the world to blend the two, right? We're not setting the world on fire financially but as long as we can pay everyone to do a job they're passionate about at least as well as we pay ourselves, we're happy. So far, that's been the case and we continue to get busier every year. Fingers crossed we get to stay at it until we can all retire and enjoy whatever old nerds do.
Hmm…retire with some sweet hi-fi equipment and furniture!
You have the coolest job 😍
Totally just out of curiosity—are you willing to explain the context behind that cultural thing? Completely understand if you don’t wanna get into it, just curious if it’s social/class traditionalism or something more specific
For sure: Each shop is a microcosm. Within each shop various brands have their own pricing protections, and this is both to keep their identity as a luxury brand intact but also to keep dealers from getting price shopped and cutting each others throats until none exist. Each shop has its own location, which is the local culture, education level, and general wealth within a given population size. I’m central NC, where I am, hifi and modern design have a low/medium level of awareness among a somewhat modest population size, but we’re also the only remaining brick and mortar hifi shop and one of very few modern interior retailers. Our overhead each month is around $18,000 a month. In my time in SF we had a super high density of clients, blinding wealth, but also had six competitors within 50 miles and an overhead of $99,000 a month. Each shop with X brands in a given location is shaped by these factors and will or won’t discuss pricing, make deals, or pick brands based on how much money they can make versus picking brands based on their passion for the products, which reflects their willingness to see it as a widget and make a deal. Finally, there’s a spectrum of retail shops from “Benny’s Modern Design Dealsporium” to whatever it is we do at my shop, where we aren’t even asked for deals. If your goal is just making a lot of money, pro-tip: don’t open a retail shop. If you want to make a living doing a thing you love and actually helping people via consulting with them, then it’s a fabulous business. Our approach is heavily demonstration/education based, takes a ton of investment on my wife and I’s part (think a million dollars cost of construction, furniture and gear) and requires a team of six people to properly set up and tear down for demos. Our average appointment with a client takes 2-6 hours, and we never ask for “the sale”, we just interview the client, present the best options and let them ask questions. As a result, the brands we’ve attracted are protective of their value and know we will be too. We also just don’t often get asked for a price accommodation. We’re proactive about understanding the clients budget and ensuring we are making it fully feel like they’re getting amazing value. So our culture is formed out of these factors, internal and external, and it just seems to work here in a way it never would in SF. Head a hundred miles in any direction and we’d have a hard time functioning exactly the way we do now in relationship to price, for better or worse. Another, shorter way to say it is this: “There’s price and there’s value for money.” If we do our job right, we are in your threshold for price, and giving you enormous value for money. I’m not fully caffeinated and have to get ready for work, so this is likely a bit disjointed but I hope that gives you some sort of insight :)
Are you in Greensboro? I keep hearing about a great shop there.( Please DM me if you want to stay private)
Close! I’ll DM you :)
this is an interesting read, thank you for sharing.
I have never heard anyone describe my job and shop so accurately. I'm a consultant dealer for Minotti, Maxalto, Frau and several brands of top end furniture and this is exactly how it works. I am always astonished at how things are so different at the high end -- shopping around is discouraged and can even get you blacklisted and old school practice looks at asking for discounts as an indignity.
Absolutely - and that’s largely because at the the high end of quality (setting aside price, which usually comes along with it), there is a massive expectation of service, knowledge, and very little “sales” pressure or posture: you’re there to assess what, if anything is right for the client, and ensure their product has a happy life. It requires a massive outlay from the business owner, decades of training, and a gift for asking the less-than-obvious questions and translating responses into “needs” that can be met. Also, at this level, we’re more available. My clients don’t reach out to me within business hours - I am available. I have to be. To me, that commitment requires and deserves that I charge the full price, as there’s no other way for me to run the business effectively. I rely on talented staff to assist and duplicate me, and having a slush fund to acquire rapid access to new products when client’s needs demand it, and a state of the art showroom. For all that, after underwriting the enormous costs of starting and running a high end retail shop for fifteen years, I can basically pay my bills and do something slightly nice for myself a couple times a year. I drive a six year old VW I share with my wife, own a small house, and have a little savings - but I’m happy. That’s as good as it’s going to get for now, and I’m fine with it.
This entire response describes our path and methods exactly. Heads up: years 20-30 could be where your tipping point is and where you make your (small) fortune. It would be interesting to visit your shop if I'm ever in your country (USA?) again. There are so few doing this work globally.
Much appreciated - and it’s nice to exchange with someone that understands the actual variables of the work. I’m definitely not complaining about my station as it’s largely self-inflicted: I am 25+ years into hifi and 5+ into interleaving design into that model, so if it weren’t for my pesky need to pay everyone at our shop the same living wage my wife and I receive I could be a fairly upper middle-class bastard, but the real wealth here in the states comes from owning your own building, long term. For us, we’re actively preparing to make that leap and take our shop from a rented 4500sqft to owning 21,500sqft, 10,000+ with another 11,500 we can lease to compatriots at a non-predatory rate to help them stabilize and grow along side us. That will give ourselves and our cohorts each a piece big enough that when the time comes we can sell it off and all have a shot at retirement - and there’s a lot between now and then as I’m only 43. As long as we can ethically stick to our guns and keep growing, the hope is that we get to do a thing we love and have a positive impact on our people and community without worrying about working into our 70’s. If you’re ever in North Carolina, look up EMBER and reach out - I’d be happy to take you to dinner and show you around the shop :)
Thank you! That makes a lot of sense!
$1800
😊😊
This! Hope OP sees this!
Is there a form online for something like this? I had a fin on a vintage eames rocker split where the two plys went together
[Contact Information - Herman Miller](https://www.hermanmiller.com/contact/) If they can't help there's a small industry for specifically repairing the Eames and Plycraft chairs. You can buy most of the parts online if you're going to restore it yourself. Obviously not cheap. Or if you want someone to repair it for you they're online as well. There's a good chance there will be a quality furniture restorer/flipper in your area that can do it for a price. Good luck!
Great answer. Miller/Knoll does have a way to repair almost anything, and has regional specialists that handle different brands and types of repairs. They can usually quote the repair ahead of time and often can be done on site.
How about two Eames Hang -it -alls with the colored spheres? The spheres are pretty scratched up and I would love to have them restored.
Appreciate you reaching out - but as you can imagine I've had about ten requests like this. I'm doing this one because I can without creating a ton of work for myself and my staff. I'm not even sure there's a sku for me to order just these parts as a lot of replacement stuff is behind a service wall. Sorry I can't help.
Thanks. I was just trying to find out where to turn to get these restored. Not trying to get replacements. For what it’s worth, they are pretty solidly attached to the metal supports so I don’t think they are replaceable.
That may be a thing I can ask my account person? PM me and I’ll respond once I’ve talked with them?
As an owner of many original DCM chairs whose shock mounts have been replaced by Herman Miller over many years, HM has changed the way they handle repairs to ply products. They’ll probably advise r/boldaslove24 to send their repair (in my case, the chair backs) to them via a regional dealer as middleman; they don’t take repairs directly from consumers any longer.
Trace the table top on a large piece of paper. I don’t know the consumer price, but a glass shop with a decent water jet can cut that out pretty easily and cheaply on their end. What they charge you is up for debate.
Do you think they could reshape the existing glass to remove the chipped edge?
I think this would be the best (and probably cheapest) option. Find glass cutters near you who can do the beveled sanding/grinding on the egde, and see if they will just gradually grind down around the chip to remove it. You still get to keep the original glass & the chip will be completely gone.
I got a crystal award from work and then it fell off my desk and cracked and I'm preparing to send it to a crystal grinder to do the same thing, just re-angle the curve to omit the fractures.
And that’s just part of its story now. Antiques have stories.
Well from seeing the real vs the fake, its a much higher quality glass and the fake would likely be thinner too with different edge treatment
I bet dollars to donuts this is tempered. Can glass be un-tempered? As a stained glass hobbyist I can attest it can be ill-tempered!
There's no way this is tempered! It would have shattered into a million pieces. Tempered glass doesn't chip like this
Used to manage a glass shop, can confirm it CAN chip. I've had to send back many pieces dinged in delivery.
Yes tempered glass CAN chip, but it's usually a long shard of the outer 5-10mm. It would never shell like this. Especially almost an inch into the glass. Source-I ran a tempering oven for 5 years. And I have broken ALOT OF GLASS. both tempered and flat.
But also, you'd never temper a piece like this without putting a trim or edge on it. All it would take is someone catching the edge with a heavy handed coffee cup and its donezo
Stop whining and go to a glazer and get an exact replica of that tabletop cut.
If it's tempered glass, it's not possible
If OP had tempered glass their tabletop would be in a thousand pieces right now.
That is usually what happens, but I have had really thick tempered glass chip like that too
It would be tempered glass. A gentle hand can soften the ding, but also can pop it like a balloon.
Yes, I’ve had this done with a glass top table before
Nope because it’s likely tempered glass, and as soon as you polish into it it can explode from the pressure unfortunately.
Don’t do this OP. While this is authentic, there are plenty of fake ones for sale for cheap on marketplace or Craigslist. Just buy one of those for the glass and toss the base. You’ll save a couple hundred bucks.
I have a kidney bean shaped glass table. It’s been in my family since it was new in 1959. It was broken the night after my mom moved to her new place, and I ended up with what was left. I traced it and spent about $800 for a replacement piece.
This table top would need to be tempered glass. No standard annealed, even at what I assume is a 1/2", would hold up as a table top. Not to mention, the glass looks to have a slight edge bevel, at very least softened edges. You're looking at an expensive piece of glass. Direct from manufacturer, probably $250-$500, but most glass shops have a mark up. Shop carefully, but it can be done.
There is no way this is tempered glass. If it was we would be looking at a pile of glass where the table used to be. You can tell that the shell is like an inch into the glass. That could not happen if it was tempered. And this looks like 19mm (0.74") which is definitely thick enough for a table like this.
Professionally, I can tell you that is incorrect. I managed a glazing shop for several years, it absolutely could chip and not shatter.
It could chip. But not she'll like that. And you wouldnt temper it BECAUSE it could shatter. You leave it untempered so that if someone smashes their coffee cup into it it just shells like this. I ran a tempering oven for several years. This is my professional opinion as a journeyman Glazier.
Oh, it absolutely could. If I felt so inclined, I could upload at least 50 pics of different pieces CHIPPED in ways you'd be surprised to see.
Herman Miller has 2d/3d [models on their site](https://www.hermanmiller.com/resources/3d-models-and-planning-tools/product-models/individual/noguchi-table/). You can send those to a local glass company and they should be able to cut a new top. Can't imagine it would be more than a couple hundred dollars for a replacement.
A replacement won’t have the signature laser engraved on the edge. Not a good idea if you want to retain any value. Get it repaired.
Eh. There is no value to be retained. The base is spray painted. These tables are still in production and in abundance. It's not unusual to see these at giveaway prices. They're the Toyota Corolla of coffee tables. Edit: don't get me wrong, op scored a deal, but even without the chip there is no real money to be made on something like this. The the enjoyment of having/using it is of greater value than ever getting any resale for it.
I don’t know when, I don’t know how, but I’m going to steal and use the sentence: “The Toyota Corolla of coffee tables.”
Can't be true! My 25 yr old Corolla has withstood being dropped and no chips
Definitely money in these if they are in good condition and aren’t copies
Oof. You will probably be able to epoxy repair that chip. Yes it will be noticable but at least it won't cut anyone. Getting replacement glass is an option but it'll be crazy expensive. Nice find!!
That would 100% look like ass.
Yeah, choose the redneck approach. Epoxy it.
OH NO!!!!!!!! Oh my god. I have no words. I am so sorry…. Thats like winning a lottery ticket and having it swept away by the wind 😭
You might like My Name is Earl, basic premise!
Was gonna say that hahaha. What a classic.
The base is worth the $$$$ just get a new top. Google search and I bet you find a piece for not a lot of $$
Is this some kind of a designer piece or something?
Noguchi Coffee Table
It's probably one of the top 5 most iconic mid century pieces.
I have no idea why I'm being down voted. I genuinely did not know and asked about the same.
The people in this sub are notorious down-voters.
To people from North America, perhaps. But not everyone is from North America. I'm in Europe, and whilst I'm aware of the table, I probably wouldn't put it, or anything American in the top 20 'most iconic' mid-century designs. Not because I think it's inferior design, but because it just didn't really impact European tastes at that time.
When I inquired about replacing the base DWR quoted me ‘only’ $800 so I feel like the glass is the most expensive part
I have the replica glass top in denver, you can have it for free!
Hi. IIRC, the edge of the glass should be signed / etched as well with Noguchi signature. If yours is the original glass top it should have that signature. If it does have the signature, I would recommend trying to get it fixed. Will keep alot of the value if you do. Replacement glass will be expensive and detract from value significantly.
my condolences on your loss
Where are you located? I have 2 extra pieces of glass for this table. If you’re in the Houston area metro area, let me know!
Oh man that chip is terrible....you don't want it anymore right...? Great find btw lol, a little damage tells a story :]
Yeah maybe OP can do a kintsugi esque repair (not necessarily that style but something similar that makes "art" of the chip) lol Or just replace it as others suggested or see a glass shop
A glass shop may be able to fix that for you, or make a new one. Nice grab!
You can get a replacement Noguchi top from Herman Miller.
Maybe bring it to the people that seal up the fractures for windshields? But read the reviews first to find the best one.
[fuckyournoguchicoffeetable](https://www.tumblr.com/fuckyournoguchicoffeetable/?offset=10)
OMFG lol
Nice find! That retails for $2,600 dollars.
Thank you for explaining, it was hard to perceive the loss without knowing what the original product was/worth!
FREE??
I'd be tempted to contact Herman Miller and find out what a replacement top will be.
This can be fixed by casting epoxy into the break (HXTL epoxy is non-yellowing and has the same refractive index as leaded glass, i.e. the interface t the repair won't be visible). You can use scotch tape to dam the edge and then add the epoxy drop-wise to the area until it is up-to-level. Leave to cure for a week. Clean up with acetone is possible within the week. Use a food scale to mix the the epoxy and only glass or wooden implements (no metal) for mixing.
Lucky. I have been wanting that same table for 2 years. I am at to point that I am about to build it myself.
Bro, we moved our kidney glass top across multiple state lines, only for the base to completely collapse and shatter the glass. Replacement piece was about $500 from a glass shop. You're still the luckiest bastard.
My sympathies OP that was a real fuck up
The value of that piece is in the base. You can take the broken piece to a glass shop.
You can get the edge reground to get rid of the chip. Just have a shop rework that curve and you won't even be able to tell
We chipped ours but nowhere near as bad as that. Good thing is if you can prove its authenticity (we still had the certificate), Noguchi will sell you a replacement glass top (not cheap sadly). Thats what we did and we still plan to do something with our slightly chipped one as it has the signature on the glass :) Perhaps build it into a concrete countertop and have it cantilever, which we think will look really cool.
I don’t see how getting new glass cut from the old should change the value of the piece? Am I being dumb? It literally undetectable that the glass was replaced (if you do so). Is that unethical?
I audibly groaned when I got to pic 3. I have a Pearsall side jacks table with v similar glass and looking at yours hurt me deep in my soul. OP I hope the HM dealer can hook you up, I’m so sorry that happened. Try not to despair, after all technically it is only a table. I hope your spouse gave you a big cuddle though, that does suck.
I feel your pain! But. I agree with the epoxy idea. It’s still beautiful, and the chipped part, once repaired will just be a battle scar!
Gold epoxy, that Japanese salvaging art
That's a great idea!
Ouch! I am familiar with this table and know just how heavy the glass is. Maybe, have a glass guy soften the chip, removing the sharp edge. Replacing the glass....well you need about 3/4 thick....and someone to etch Naguchi's name on the edge. Or, buy another table. I have moved my by myself. I lay 3 towels, stacked 2 inches, on the dining room table. Wear Playtex gloves (it makes it harder to slip from your hands) and carry the glass to set on the towels.
As an old dude who has downsized my residence, Don't expect the person who is giving away stuff to pack it up and haul it for you too. If you want an item, be prepared to get the item. I know I can't pick up heavy things, that's why I give it away.
I have the same table and my property manager lost the table base. I still have the top. Interested in selling the base?
Sent you a chat. I have the base in walnut
Ouch. I’d cry too. However I once drilled a hole through the perfect top of a Saarinen table reassembling it after scoring it at the thrift, if it makes you feel any better.
Oof. I have no words but I would be ugly crying too
Oh no...
Barely noticeable
Holy s$$t! I just noticed FREE Now I'm sick.
lol why does this garage set up scream South OC to me? But side note super bummer on the table 😫
I have one... I treat it kid gloves. The glass legitimately weighs 70 pounds. Yiu can get a replacement.
Oh. I feel this on a primal level. My parents had a [coffee table made entirely of inch thick glass](https://imgur.com/a/FENEHIf). It was 4 feet long by 20 inches tall, in three pieces. Thought I'd get it out of storage and enjoy it. People helping me move this very heavy table sat tool pouch on it. It chipped. It's back in storage.
Put that side against the wall and stick a lamp on it
Oof
You’re still sooooooo lucky!!!
Ouch, in your defense it's very heavy. I have one with a walnut base so I've moved it a number of times.
hahahaha i saw both of these posts on Marketplace. I see your sales all the time that's horrible 😞
Ugh, I'm sorry. I'm a dealer and that happened to me with a high-end vintage end table when I first started -- my dad was helping us load it in a uhaul and didn't strap the glass in correctly, and it shattered all over the sidewalk. Lesson learned. Chips are even more frustrating because you can still use the table, but damn!
If you can't get it repaired/filled in, I would use very fine grit sandpaper and buff the rough edges.
F
I feel you! The other day, a lovable tweaker friend (I know, few and far between) gifted me an enormous Venetian blown glass decanter from the 60s but it was so damaged it’s like in garbage condition. 😭 It was so thoughtful tho!
We are so sorry about your table Karen