LifeGear chairs? what color for upholstery?

[HumanRemodeling]

Anyone has any experiences with LifeGear chairs? There is a used one for sale here.

Black upholstery - hm.... what is that like? Does it make it look like physical therapy office? Does it make it look too dark? Too urban, too.... ??

I noticed that all spas use beige/white/cream tables and chairs, trying to make it look calming and luxurious. It does look nice to me too.

I am wondering which upholstery color is "popular".
Blue is neutral but makes it look rather informal, like denim.
Purple can make it look very new agey.
Grayish-silver can be ok, my Astralite table is that color and looks elegant, but Earthlite silver is too "plain plastic gray" imo.
Rose-quarz color looks very appealing to me, but laying on pink plastic might not be appealing to a wide audience.

I need the table THIS WAS TYPO - I NEED CHAIR - to work outdoors farmer's market in hot tropical summer.

So it should be sturdy, look nice and cool and relaxing refreshing, stay cool in the heat (so it has to be light color, to reflect the heat better), and also be noticeable from distance amongst all other vendors.

Thanks,
Milica

[Seattlesunshine]

My first chair was a used Life Gear. They seem to popular in the chiro offices around here. They must get a deal or something. It was fine, but heavy and did not come with a case. I would do jobs at the zoo and put it on a hand truck to get it where I needed it. So just make sure you have a case with wheels. The chair has some phoney kind of wheels on it I think but they where not very good. Pretty simple as far as adjustments which I liked.
As for color I don't think your clients care. If its a table anyway they are covered up. Even outside you will most likely want to put down a towel or something to keep people from sticking in the heat.
Good luck I bet you will have a lot of fun working the farmers market.

[Rose of Sharon]

I figured the color was more for my enjoyment, especially with the table. Most clients never see the table beneath the sheet, anyway. People will often comment on how pretty a chair is, but that doesn't determine whether or not they get on the chair, in my experience. What you want them to envision is the massage, so your verbal presentation will matter more than the chair color. So....get whatever color you love. One of my tables is sea green, and the other is rose quartz. My chair is black because at the time black and blue were the only two choices. People get on and say how comfortable it is, which induces others to want a turn.

Is it required that you use the table rather than the chair at the farmers market? I prefer the chair whenever the massage will be in the view of public. That's not a rule....just my preference. It feels less "exposing" for the shyer types.

[pueppi]

As a rule, I think dark green, dark blue and maroon are good colors.

My personal preference is maroon for a massage chair as a neutral that works for most anyone and anyplace.

I think lighter colored massage chairs tend to show dirt, wear and tear sooner than darker ones... my experience with a pink-mauve chair.

[HumanRemodeling]

Thanks for the ideas for colors and tables and the towel over. Yes in the heat the towel will be handy.

Hm - how do you deal with having to wash so many towels, if people get on there just for 10 mins and use a towel just for that short time and pay only 10$? Washing the towel just for that will not make it financially feasible?

PS - Mentioning table on farmers market was a Freudian slip - I need a *chair* to work the farmer's market. They specifically do not want tables.

[Seattlesunshine]

I have a laundry service. But the table out doors is not something i do a lot of. Mainly sporting type events a couple times a year. I also have a ton of cheap paper thin towels that I got at a surplus type store. I bought a roll of butcher block paper from a art supply store, but I did not like it. To noisy. I agree when possible use the chair at events.

[riversinger]

Your chair color aside - if you want to be noticeable from a distance - look into purchasing one of those super lightweight flag poles (they look kind of like a fishing rod)
on which you can hang a flag - they are sold with a long pocket down one side that slides down over the entire length of the rod/pole & really catch the breeze - and they come in all sorts of colors!

[HumanRemodeling]

Thanks for all replies!

Where does one buy that pole to hang a flag on?

==========

Our local massage store had Earthlite Vortex on sale for $450, regularly $490. Ouch. The owner showed me the chair - it is nice! lightweight, easy to adjust, comfortable, nice color...
Online, the same chair can be bought for $270 and shipped to Hawaii for $350 total. But it takes 2 weeks.
So, I spent 100$ in the store on other stuff, so that I wouldn't feel guilty for not spending the rest of 450$, and decided to order it online and rent the chair from the store for one day if it doesn't arrive on time.

ALso, I called ALL massage schools and asked them if anyone is selling a chair. One teacher came back with a number, I called - that woman was unwilling to spend the time to tell me what brand the chair was... it was like she was waiting for me to do all the work, come to her house when she wanted me to and just buy it.

Meanwhile, another add showed up on Craig's list, which I was carefully watching. I had a "wanted" add there that people answered in silly ways - trying to sell me body cushions or recliner massage chairs... So when this new add showed up, I immediately called - it was already Tuesday evening and I needed chair for Sunday 8am...

Luckily this woman was very professional and I made an appointment to see the chair the next day, I went there and bought it. She asked for $150. The chair was in good condition, barely used, and the lady had a good vibe so I felt ok buying the chair from her.

I have done chair massages before quite a bit but only in "controlled office environment" of people coming to me, and never for 4 hrs at a stretch; second, this farmer's market just opened this weekend and I wasn't sure how it would go - where exactly my booth would be, i.e. how much hauling I would have to do, what would heavy traffic of "people off the street" in hot sweaty weather with mascaras melting and hands sticking after eating lunch do to my chair, etc; so - I decided it was best to wait and experiment with this cheap chair and see how I like it.

It is LifeGear chair. It is rather big and heavy, hard to carry. However, I need it to go to farmer's market once, drive my car to my booth, unload right there, once a week. And work on people outdoors, in heat. I need a sturdy chair that cleans well, the weight is less important. For 150$, I can carry it once a week. IF I WERE TO DO THIS MORE OFTEN, I would definitely buy a lighter chair, it is worth it. Carrying this chair is rather difficult. I am almost 6ft and very strong, if I were smaller and/or more delicate, I would not carry this thing around at all. It could throw your back out. So, maybe down the road, I will invest into another chair. I will look on the craig's list first.

It looks very nice. The black upholstery is matted and looks like velvet; not like black plastic, whew, I was concerned about that The silver aluminum and the black upholstery looks suave. The chair is definitely sturdy, the aluminum bars are really huge.

The adjustments are not too many but - hey, I don't want too many. I want to quickly get people on and off. Usually they take 10-15 mins on the chair so adjusting it perfectly is not worth it. It has to be simple adjustment that can be done in 1 minute or less.

I have done chair massages before quite a bit but only in "controlled office environment" of people coming to me, and never for 4 hrs at a stretch; second, this farmer's market just opened this weekend and I wasn't sure how it would go - where exactly my booth would be, i.e. how much hauling I would have to do, what would heavy traffic of "people off the street" in hot sweaty weather with mascaras melting and hands sticking after eating lunch do to my chair, etc; so - I decided it was best to wait and experiment with this cheap chair and see how I like it.

It has to be comfortable enough - and it is.

The spas around here use this chair.... So it is definitely good enough.

[riversinger]

Glad to hear you found a chair that will work for you!

Here's the info on the sort of poles I was talking about:

http://www.windpowersports.com/windsock ... poles.html
See the Tapered fiberglass windsock

or

http://www.colors-wind.com/accessories/sockpoles.htm

Look at the bottom of the page for Telescoping fiberglass poles. They currantly show them as out of stock, but you get the idea. You can often find these in kite stores too, along with the banners & or other options such as windsocks & the like.

Check out this site for the advertising banners you can have made up - which have the pocket down the length of the banner so you can slide it onto the poles.

http://vistaflags.com/product_info.php?products_id=2366
This page shows their Feather Banner Flag Kit (Flag, Pole, and Ground Mount) that they use with the advertising banner. Not cheap, so you'd have to consider it an advertising investment @ $69.99 plus the large (11.5 x 2.5 foot) feather banners @ 19.99 to 34.99. You'd have to check it all out though, as I believe they have special pricing when you purchase the set.

Good luck with the farmer's market gig. Hope it brings in lots of new clients for you.



http://vistaflags.com/index.php?cPath=20

[maestra]

You might consider a lightweight luggage cart and a couple bungee cords to transport your chair and other supplies to and from the car.

[HumanRemodeling]

Thanks for the ideas, I will look it up.

I didn't mention: I live on 3rd floor, no elevators. No luggage cart helps with that Long time ago, I used to haul my Costco table up and down those stairs and then up and down stairs at my clients homes, and then - my lower back and knees asked me to splurge $600 on Astralite table. After that I am living happily ever after

[ehsmom2004]

Do you like your LifeGear chair? I know you mentioned it was heavy, but now that you have used it a few times, I would like to know what you think. Thanks!