We grew up with three-legged chairs.
Antiques-man around town, Godfrey Hayes, recommended these unique Schulim Krimper chairs to our parents and they snapped up all eight of them at auction in the 1960s. Although I can’t remember, in a family of nine, who got to sit on the non Krimper.
Austrian-Hungarian born Krimper was a master craftsman with a workshop in St Kilda. He came to Australian in 1939.
A great article in The Argus from 1952 notes: To his clients, Krimper is always right – eventually.
Some further telling quotes about the nature of the man: How can I allow my pieces to die with rubbish – take away the rubbish or give me back my pieces.
Krimper ruled.
A Melbourne lady placed an elephant on one of his sideboards. Krimper, not happy, carved a wooden bowl especially for her and even arranged the fruit.
He had a reputation, that’s for sure.
| Schulim Krimper, Writing desk, 1955, New Guinea walnut and plate glass |
Death will come. We should show the next people we are not parasites only eating and drinking – leave beauty for them to see.
Meanwhile our lives were spent balancing precariously on three beautiful legs.
Julia Ritson
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