The Best Sketching Chair - An Update

This is an UPDATE about the availability of the Phillips Folding Chair which I use for plein air work.  I've written previously about it

• on Making a Mark - In praise of my sketching chairs
• on Making A Mark Reviews - in a more detailed Product Review: Phillips De Luxe Folding Chair which also provided additional tips about travelling with a folding chair

I cannot recommend this chair highly enough for people who want a very good quality chair which will be robust, reliable and longlasting.

• plus highlighted the chair on my Pastels and Pencils website in the Sketching Chair - Phillips Folding Chair part of the section on Art Materials & Other Resources for Artists.

My Phillips Folding Chair on a trip to sketch Walden Pond in Massachusetts in 2006

A Reader's Query

This morning I got an email from a reader of Making A Mark which asked as follows

I've followed and loved your blog for quite a while. Now I have the opportunity to do a 10-day workshop pastel near Avignon in Oct. 2013 and am looking for a portable, comfy travel chair with back support. On your "what I pack when I travel" post you mentioned such a chair. Please can you share the brand? I'm in the U.S. but perhaps could find it over here.

I took a look at the two links I'd previously provided to supplier in the references above and found that neither now led to a live website - partly because both suppliers have updated their websites!

Here then is an update which goes along the lines of first the bad news and then the good news.

I'm setting out the situation as per the different suppliers I know have had it in stock in the past

Green & Stone

This is how Green & Stone list the chair on their Portable chairs and stools page

Phillips Folding Chair

This product is currently unavailable Lightweight metal frame with strong canvas seat and back. Two heights

Lo Luxe Chair | Weight 1.48kg

Seat height : 40cm

62.30

De Luxe chair | Weight 1.6kg

Seat height : 45cm

63.25

That means they do NOT have a folding chair with back support in stock.  They do however have three stools by Phillips available.  I'd certainly recommend Phillips as a good quality brand if you can get on with only having a stool.

Heaton Cooper

Since I last wrote about this chair Heaton Cooper have introduced a super duper new website for art materials and supplies.  This has a Seat Easels, Chairs and Stools page.  This does not have my Phillips Folding Chair - in its original incarnation - either.

Phillips Bag Chair - available at Heaton Cooper

However what it does have is the Phillips Bag Chair - listed as costing £54.50. The product description indicates the following:

• Tubular aluminium frame, compact and easily portable with a shoulder strap.
• Spacious integral bag with zipped side pocket.
• Seat height 18 inch (46 cms), In green Cordura fabric

Which means it keeps the tubular aluminium frame and the green cordura fabric (which is very strong).  The seat height is slightly higher (presumably to accommodate the bag).

I can't find any other supplier online for this product - so if you're after a very reliable sketching chair with a back, then I suggest you give this product a review. The Heaton Cooper Website also allows you to Send To A Friend | Add to Wish List if you want to bookmark this for future reference.

If you balk at the price, I'd just comment I have taken mine on several long haul international trips involving all sorts of carriers and apart from arriving a day late (to my door) on both American trips, it has had absolutely no mishaps.

and finally......

You too can ask me a question and I'll answer it to the best of my ability - or refer you to a person who can!

Product Review: Blacks Eurohike Compact Chair

Product: Eurohike Compact Chair

Manufacturer / Distributor: Blacks

Technical Details: Product code 096193 Steel Frame, Polyester fabric in black, folds to a compact size, (they say) easy to carry to the camp site, beach or to an outdoor event. (I say) it's a bit heavy for carrying long distances. Comes with a cover.

Summary: A larger more comfortable chair suitable for use when working plein air not far from the vehicle which got you there. Rather large, heavy and awkward to carry any distance and/or on public transport.

Who should buy this?: Artists who like their creature comforts - even if it's just for sitting down and taking a long hard look at what you've done

Who should not buy this? Artists who have trouble carrying awkward shapes or heavy weights.

Highlights: VERY comfortable. Good if you're going to be spending all day working plein air ideal for the middle aged artist - and even more confortable than alternatives - whose hips are no longer slim has a 'hole' in the arm of the chair intended for drinks but does very nicely as a water pot holder for watercolourists - so long as you've got the right sized pot for your water durable looks complicated but erects relatively easily

Think Again? comfort comes with a price - this is not a lightweight option tendency to make you want to lean back and close your eyes any colour you like as long as it's black! getting it in and out of its cover has a certain nuisance value If travelling by air this will need to checked separately as "item" at airports so you need to allow extra time to do this

Suppliers: Available from Blacks £19.99

I wouldn't like you to think that I have an extensive sleection of sketching chairs and stools - but this one joined my collection as a bargain in a sale at Blacks! Plus it seems sensible to do all the chairs and stools in one fell swoop!

My second sketching chair looks like the picture on the left.

The current version - the Eurohike Compact Chair - has a slightly different seat design which you can see on the Blacks website.

The design is essentially the same ie a strong steel frame and a polyester 'aerated' fabric seat and back. It is is amazingly comfortable, especially for those of us who are finding slim hips a dim and distant memory.

It even has a neat socket for drinks - which would work well for those using watercolours.

However the disadvantage of this chair is its size and its weight. When wrapped in its carry bag, it's heavy (3 kg / 6.6lb). That's double the weight of my Phillips chair (3.3 lbs) which completely rules out this chair for overseas trips. Also its size when folded is BIG. Its carry bag is also not the easiest thing to sling over your shoulder while carrying the rest of my plein air gear. In my view, this is the one to stick in the car and take out when using the car for pelin air trips within the UK.

One big bonus for me was it was super cheap in a sale and only cost me £14.99. It now costs £19.99 but that's still a very reasonable price - but maybe watch out for sale bargains?

On my Art Equipment - Resources for Artists site, I've listed:

• other folding chairs and stools for plein air work
  
• bags, backpacks, totes and trollies

If you're thinking of doing more plein air work this summer or maybe even going on a painting trip or holiday you might want to take a peek.

Product Review: Phillips De Luxe Folding Chair

Product: Phillips De Luxe Folding Chair

Manufacturer / Distributor: Phillips / (see end of table)

Technical Details: Tubular aluminium, lightweight (3.3lbs) with Cordura canvas 11 inch (28cm) wide seat and back. Seat height 17 inches (43cm).

Summary: A high quality sketching chair which is very sturdy and very reliable. Not cheap but well worth the investment. Lightweight and easy to carry - but you need a spare hand

Who should buy this?: Artists and people who sketch. Artists with back problems and/or who prefer to sit to sketch/draw/paint

Who should not buy this? People who prefer to stand and/or prefer to travel light and/or don't have a hand free to carry it when working plein air

Highlights: a very good size for tall people like me - two heights available well made with very durable seating material - takes adults who aren't lightweights folds flat easily - once you understand how survives all that various airline services and airports can do to luggage

Think Again? any colour you like as long as it's green! it ALWAYS requires you to check it separately at airporst so you need to sllow extra time to do this

Suppliers: Available from Green and Stone in Chelsea £56.35 Heaton Cooper £54.50

My Phillips Chair on its travels Left to right:

• Me (in 1992) sat on my first Phillips Folding Chair, sketching the temples on Lake Bratan, in the Bedugul area of north central Bali
• My second Phillips Chair in Albuquerque, New Mexico (July 2006)
  
• My second Phillips Chair at Walden Pond, Massachusetts (September 2006)

This product is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

I've travelled all over the world in the last 20 years or so with my Phillips De Luxe Folding Chair as you can see from the photos above. In my experience, the chair 'travels' really well - albeit with some caveats (see notes below). I've had two and I only had to get the second as the first went AWOL after it was left behind on a luggage trolley by mistake at the end of a 26 hour flight! I immediately went straight out to buy another....which at the time was somewhat easier than it is now.

The Phillips Folding Chair has a killer combination of being both lightweight (3.3lbs) and very robust. It has a lightweight tubular aluminium frame and and comes in two heights which means that I can sit comfortably despite the fact I'm very tall. It has a very strong green Cordura canvas seat and back and I find the canvas back makes a huge difference to my overall comfort. Indeed the back is the main attraction for those of us who have back problems. The material used is the same as that used in top of the range endurance luggage which explains why it doesn't split and tear when anybody who isn't light as a feather sits on it.

This is very much my preferred seat when I'm working plein air for several hours at a time - and I've done a lot of very large pastels while sat on my Phillips chair. The folding mechanism is also very easy to work once you've got used to the hinge which you can see at the back of the chair.

This chair may be totally brilliant, but experience suggests that anybody interested in getting hold of one also needs to know the following!

• A Phillips De Luxe Folding Chair is not cheap but as with anything which is good quality it will last for years and years and is probably extremely economical in the long run.
  
• It's very difficult to get hold of one. The only places that I know of that now list them are Green and Stone in Chelsea and Heaton Cooper. (The latter is currently listing them as not in stock as their supplier is having difficulty getting hold of them). You can get two seat heights 40.5 cm and 46cm but they tend to be similarly priced. Price depends on where you source it from - it's listed at £56.35 at Green and Stones - but do bear in mind that
  
• This chair (and any chair for that matter) always has to go in the hold of the aircraft (which makes it an "item of luggage"). It also very often has to go to a separate desk to be checked in at airports. It's therefore advisable to allow a little extra time for drop-off and pick-up (or a lot of extra time at busy times of the year).
  
• I've found that a very strong bungee cord is absolutely essential to hold it together while travelling. You need to make it completely taut. Check that the ends can go hook round the tubular aluminium structure.
  
• It's also essential to label the chair very clearly with its own luggage label and destination address when travelling. My latest chair has now done many more miles than I have. I've never had any problems in Asia and Australasia - but in the USA I've found it tends to take a diversion to other destinations and only arrives at my intended destination about 24 hours after I do. I think the tubular metal frame (which is extremely robust) is what causes the problem and raises suspicions amongst airport security staff. It went AWOL on 3 out of 4 flights to and from the USA in 2006!!! However it was always delivered the next day to an address of my choosing.

I cannot recommend this chair highly enough for people who want a very good quality chair which will be robust, reliable and longlasting.

Links:

• Art Equipment - Resources for Artists - Folding Chairs and Stools - for plein air work
• Art shops in London - Green & Stone

Product Review: Blacks Compact Stool (for sketching)

Product: Blacks Compact Stool (£9.99)

Manufacturer / Distributor: Blacks - retail stores and online

Technical Details: Very sturdy steel frame and polyester fabric seat. Tripod base which enables it to fold into a long column. Velcro strap at top to keep folded stool secure. Comes with its own carry bag with handle. Weight 750g. (Product code 096194)

Summary: A robust but light folding stool which is very easy to carry by hand or in a backpack.

Who should buy this?: Artists working plein air - even larger ladies like me!

Who should not buy this? Artists who only work in their studios and/or only want to work standing up

Highlights: very robust (I'm not a lightweight!) very well designed from a practical perspective easy to fold light and easy to carry extremely good value for money

Think Again? You can have it any colour so long as you like black! ;)

Suppliers: Available only from Blacks

I've always resisted using the sorts of stools I see most artists sitting on.

First because they're not easy to carry and second because I'm never too convinced about how strong they really are. As somebody who has put on quite a bit of weight since my instep snapped and I started to develop mobility problems the latter is of some importance. Plus I need to try and be hands free if I can to make sure I stay safe and avoid affecting my balance.

Which is why I'm so very pleased with my new Blacks compact stool which I'm using for sketchercise. I've now given it three outings and I've been very pleased on each occasion.

Normally I take a folding chair with me when I'm sketching but I don't tend to walk any great distance with this as it can be a bit of a hassle if I'm walking any distance although it is possible to sling it over my shoulder to carry.

The big advantage of the Blacks stool is that it is very light and is based on a tripod so that it can be folded up, popped back into its bag (which comes with a carry handle) and can then be put into in my back pack where it sits quite happily.

Also being a tripod it doesn't throw "a wobbly" if put down on uneven earth and seems to be very good at being very stable.

All in all I feel very safe sitting on it and can highly recommend it to all those who experience 'posterior challenge' and are looking to lose some weight!

My one tip is to remember to put the carry case somewhere safe as it's very light when empty. Some very nice Japanese tourists at Wisley brought mine back to me last Sunday after it had blown away!

[Update: see also Roz Stendhal's review here Minnesota State Fair Prep—Part 1: The Heavy Equipment where she identifies an identical stool - except for different colour fabric for seat and cover. Hers is called the The REI folding tri-pod stool]