The Tale of the Stolen (and Returned) Eames Chair

September 20, 2011

We experienced two of the most polar opposite emotions within 24 hours during our inaugural Fabrication Fest last weekend. You know those times when you’re so elated by good news that you can’t stop yourself from sprinting to tell others? Well, we had one of those…but not before we had one of those “I’ve-lost-faith-in-humanity” moments of pure despair.

By and large, Fabrication Fest was an amazing experience. With three days of exhibition, workshops, community open houses, presentations, a delicious supperclub, and more, we celebrated our vibrant network of creatives. We also met some incredible makers and enthusiastic Portlanders for the first time — adding a fleet of new members, filling a number of our upcoming classes, and welcoming fresh faces into the fold.

We did, however, have a bit of a situation close out our Friday evening opening reception. Bjorn Nelson is one of the talented exhibitors who displayed his craftsmanship. He enhanced the display of his beautiful bleached ash dining table and bleached maple coffee table by including a beautiful Eames chair he restored at home. Sure, it wasn’t made here, or entirely by hand…but Bjorn’s restorative work was stellar and inventive. The piece was not only valuable in price but also in terms of the time and care Bjorn spent refurbishing it to its current display-ready condition.

As the clock neared 11 o’clock and the crowd thinned, Bjorn headed home. As ADX Director Eric rounded the corner of the building on a dumpster run, he was stopped by our neighbor Ned, who often sleeps outside of our building. Ned was concerned: he’d just seen a group of partygoers race from the building with Bjorn’s Eames chair in hand. Looking suspicious, they were picked up by a friend and quickly placed their pilfered piece into the car and sped away.

With a heavy heart, Eric came back into ADX to find the chair missing. He called Bjorn, confirmed that he hadn’t brought it home early, and we all got together to figure out what to do next. It was all hands on deck! There was a fully of activity on our social media networks as we pleaded for its return (big thanks to all who shared, retweeted, and reposted our frantic messages – we’re actually pretty certain that this contributed to the happy ending). After a description was given and police report was filed, we closed down for the night and went to bed feeling terrible.

After a busy day of activities on Saturday (peppered with glances on Cragistlist to see if perhaps the thief had posted the Eames for sale), we prepared for Fabrication Feast, the private supperclub event hosted within our warehouse that night. We offered Bjorn a seat at the ADX table as a bit of consolation.

The night was a huge success. As we enjoyed our thoughtfully-crafted meal, I (Meredith), excused myself from the table to check out the pre-dessert action in the prep area. It was as if I’d seen a mirage: there, adjacent to our kitchenette, was the missing chair…just sitting there! I ran into the dining area, breathless, and shouted that Bjorn’s chair was back. Our entire staff and Bjorn leapt from their seats and charged into the loading area to confirm. The supperclub team confirmed that a stranger had dropped it off just minutes before. We were elated – Bjorn especially – and really excited that the situation was made right.

We want to extend a thank you to the person who took (and returned) Bjorn’s valuable piece. We’ve all had some dumb ideas in our time, and we’re relieved that you understood our concern and embarrassment that it went missing on our watch. ADX is all about being a community, and specifically, one that’s safe, welcoming, and supportive. We also want to thank Bjorn for being patient and gracious as we worked to track his piece down.

Gratitude is also in order for the members of our community who shared our messages, checked with their networks, and tried to help us track down the chair. They were also right there on hand to celebrate when it was returned.

For all the stress, embarrassment, and frustration we experinced, we are also incredibly proud that this story has a positive ending. Here’s to our community and its continued respect for the value of handmade and the craftspeople who make it happen!