Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

We have a small showroom at our main office in Bellingham WA, but otherwise, we don't have any factory showrooms now due to the COVID-19 pandemic. If you are contemplating a large order for a lobby installation, please contact us regarding ordering a sample peice for inspection.

This is perhaps our most popular question. We make some of our products here in Bellingham, Washington and the rest is made in our overseas factory, located near Hong Kong. Working directly with this factory under an exclusive agreement, we send them leather, fabric and other components so they make our products to our specifications. We employ our own on-site manager to oversea production. As much as possible, we control all aspects of production; from the creation of the frames, to sewing, to shipping to the USA, final inspection in Bellingham and then shipping to you, the customer. This business model allows us to customize the upholstery on any item, customize the wood finish, the metal finish and to have shorter lead times.

Another popular question. Unfoturnately, purchasing furniture in the Modern Classics genre is difficult due to the many copycat producers of this product niche. You can be assured that if you find a product at a lower price, it is not made to the same quality standards as ours, nor it not made to the designers dimensions. Some of the quality differences:

• real #304 stainless steel tubing and bar stock (ours) vs. chrome plated tubing and lower quality stainless flat stock (theirs);
• top-grain italian leather (ours) vs. lower grade Chinese leather (theirs);
• German made high-resilient foam (ours) vs. lower grade Chinese foam (theirs);
• USA made fabric with 250,000 double rubs (ours) vs. lower grade wool blends from China (theirs);

If you see a product that appears similar to ours, even with the same product name, we can guarantee that those products are not ours. Our products are sold exclusively by us and are only available through our website. For more information about comparing our products to others, see this page modern classics comparison guide summary we have put together. If you wish to purchase a fine piece of furniture that will last through the years, at a price that is within your reach, our products are the best choice.Then ask those other sellers, "why are their products priced so cheap?", if you can even reach them on the phone or find out where they are located.

The main difference between our two leather choices is Premium leather is softer and smoother, while the Standard leather has a texture. Otherwise, they are both real top grain leather, equally durable, drum dyed so the dye goes all the way through, and its made with a non-toxic vegetable dye which has a UV protection and moisture guard built into it. Some other key points:

1. We use only the top grain leathers. This is the top part of the hide. The best part. Most furniture manufacturers use the bottom part (called a split hide) and then spray it and emboss it to make it look like top grain. But is easily scratched and looks awful after a few years of light use. Go to Room and Board for examples of this.
2. Our Standard Leather has some correction of the hide to remove grain imperfections that can come from insect bites, fences, disease, etc., so after correction, the leather is given a slight pebble effect.
3. Our Premium Leather is Semi-Aniline Dyed leather. There is no correction of the leather hide so more of the natural elements of the hide remain (like grain lines), and this makes the hide softer too.
4. Because our leathers have a moisture guard built into the dye, there will not be the natural patina (i.e., discoloration) of the leather over time, but that is good because moisture and other liquid spills will not permanently stain the leather if they are quickly cleaned up.
5. Leather Grades. Grade A leathers are the best, and that is what we source and use.
6. We use Genuine Leather, not bonded leather. Bonded leather is sort of a recycled leather approach where they glues scraps of leather together like partical board. Not the same as genuine leather, at all.

For items in stock, we can ship within 4 to 8 days or so, and that puts an order about 10 to 14 days to the East Coast, half that time for the West Coast. If you are purchasing a large items such as a glass table or live upstairs in an apartment, we would suggest a "white-glove" delivery for an extra charge - and that will include setup and garbage take away too. The shipping carrier we use are the same people used by DWR, Herman Miller and Restoration Hardware, so they are pretty good. Once we ship, we will send you tracking information via email. Once the carrier has your items at their local terminal, they will call to make a deliver appointment with you. If you need it held and shipped later, we can do that no problem. If you have a specific delivery requirement, we can most likely handle that too. You can check the delivery status of you order using this link: Check order Status

Quickship means the components are in stock at our warehouse here in Bellingham and our order processing time is about 4 business days before we ship. Once our carrier has it, they route to their terminal nearest the delivery address, which usually takes 4 to 8 days. Once at the carriers terminal, they will call to schedule the delivery with you. We will send you tracking when it ships. We can delay the shipment or expedite the shipment should you need that.

When you sign up for wholesale or trade pricing, it can take at least a day for us to review your information and make the change to your account at our website. So it is not automatic. We will send you an email when you are approved, and if you need faster service, give us a call or send an email.

Yes, we occasionally have discount codes active for use my direct consumers. Go to this link. Modern Classics Discount Codes for the latest one. We also don't charge sales tax, so that is another savings of up to 9% depending on your locale.

Over the years, a few of our customers have had trouble snapping the snaps on our exhibition chairs and sofas. The lower quality chairs on the market don't have this problem because they use inferior snaps so in their case, they probably get the feedback: "your snaps don't stay snapped and come undone when they sit in the chair". Ha-ha. This is why we use marine grade, stainless steel snaps which have a higher shear factor. Thus, they are not like the kind of snaps used on a jackets or shirts. They require the snapper to 1) snap one at a time; 2) align up the two parts of the snap directly over each other; and 3) squeeze together using the palms of you hand and/or the two thumbs at once. Leaning over the chair back using both palms is one technique. The other is grabbing the back cushion with both hands with your thumbs positioned over the leather side of the cushion and squeezing.

For leather, we recommend lexol cleaning products. For more information, we have put together a page of tips, so go to this link: Leather Care Instructions.

For our boucle fabrics, we recommend light vacuuming for general care. For spot cleaning, we have created these instructions at this link: Spot Cleaning Instructions for our Boucle Fabrics