Last week I came to the conclusion that I really really needed a new drafting stool if I was going to be spending even more time banging on the keyboard what with the blog and Facebook, etc. I needed something comfortable. I love the idea of my 100 year-old wooden drafting stool but, Lordy! The seat on it was so hard and it seemed that I spent all of my time trying to find/adjust/replace/reposition cushions on the thing.
So I went Googling for a New Drafting Stool - found thousands of websites with hundreds of stools - padded seats, casters, arms, no arms - adjustable everythings. Decided I wanted a simple black stool with a padded seat. Wasn't sure about needing casters.....
Found a whole whack of stools at many websites all offering FREE SHIPPING! Prices were in the neighborhood of $119.99 and UP to almost $1000. Well, OK, but I would really like to shop locally and I would really like to actually sit in the chair before I bought it.
So I browsed through the big office supply places and wouldn't you know, none of them actually had any drafting stools in stock - all were special order items. So, dinosaur that I am, I let my fingers do the walking through the 5 pound Yellow Pages and I found Sutherland's Office Supply on Elm Street.
Phoned them and spoke with Scott who told me he had one black drafting stool left from a special purchase lot and that he had recently lowered the price to $89.00!
I drove there the very next morning (easy to get to, BTW) and when I walked in the door the first thing I spied was a magnificent black and white tuxedo cat curled up on top of a copier. Well I knew I was in the right place! The cat, Figaro, was very pleased to have a new fan and paraded around for me.
The end of the story is this - I also bought a used task chair for my office at the shop (although no one would ever be able to tell that it is used!) and together they cost less than the online drafting stool I had originally desired.
I am also really happy that I did not pay extra for casters because with my slippery painted wooden floor I would have had to tie the stool to the bench. I had to go to Drew's yesterday to find some nice rubber feet to keep the stool from walking away. Did you know that the opposite of "Glider" is "Gripper?"
Yeah! Shopping locally!!!
