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The Best Seat in The House – Q&A with Gabi Wolper

Gabi Wolper is Vice President of Fortress Seating, the World’s leading premium home cinema seating manufacturer.

Fortress has been providing seating for executives and board rooms for over 75 years. In the late 1990’s Fortress first manufactured seating for personal home theaters.

“With theater seating, design is important. But equally important is the comfort. Even with over 30 standard models from which to choose, the need for custom seating is more demanding than ever.”

Please tell us your background and how you got involved with Fortress

I worked as a financial advisor for a large financial institution here in the US for 7 years after graduating from my university. However, my father began working at Fortress in 1986 and purchased it from the original owners in 1991. So, I grew up in the furniture industry.

What’s in a seat? Why do people choose Fortress for their rooms?

I think the main reasons people choose Fortress is our attention to detail and custom capabilities. Also, we build the furniture to last a long time, so they can seek comfort that they won’t have to worry about replacing the furniture in a few years.

What are the most popular designs and added features? Which is your personal favourite and why?

We have a number of them, Matinee, Madison, Solo, in the UK the Kensington is quite popular. We have a new model called the Nova and it offers great lumbar support and an articulating headrest that people find very comfortable and it’s also quite stylish.

How ‘bespoke’ can you go? Can you share the most memorable or unusual specifications to date?

We can go as bespoke as you like. We’ve been given pictures from museum magazines from the French Victorian period and the clients want to make those designs into theatre seats. It’s a bit of a time-consuming process because we make several prototypes as we fine tune the design, but it is fun and challenging at the same time.

What are your top 3 movie or TV Boxset recommendations to be enjoyed from the comfort of your Fortress chair?

I’ve always loved the movie Crimson Tide with Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman, I can watch this movie and it never gets old. I of course was hooked on Game of Thrones. I’m also a big fan of the Marvel movies, so any of those is always fun.