Made By Hickory Chair

99 Years And Counting - Part Three

  In the second edition of "99 Years And Counting - Part Two" we ended with the European styled collections such as The French Collection, San Marion Collection and Suzanne Kasler Collection.  The next milestone for Hickory Chair was to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the James River Collection!  This great achievement solidified Hickory Chair's reputation for classic furniture as the James River Collection became the longest continuously made furniture collection in the industry.  It is even harder to imagine that this collection will celebrate 70 years in 2011!  It is the great proportion and scale of the pieces with their timeless form that have allowed the collection to remain viable in an ever-changing world.  We have numerous pieces that have been continuously made since the 1930's!  The best part is that the pieces that have been made all these years were made as tomorrow's heirlooms - they are still in people's homes, on eBay, Craig's List, antique shops and can mix with the new pieces we make to order today!

Hickory Chair turned to the Winterthur Museum in April 1999 to introduce its Winterthur Country Estate Collection.  This museum houses the world's largest collection of American furniture and decorative arts.  In H.F. DuPont's lifetime he transformed his country home to a 275 room museum with rooms from every major city that contributed to American design.  There are rooms devoted to Rhode Island cabinetmakers such as the Townsend's and Goddard's from the 18th Century, to Boston cabinetmaker's such as the Seymour's, to Philadelphia cabinetmakers such as Aitken as well as Shaker, Pennsylvania Dutch, and more.  Each room is furnished as if it were new with every detail considered from the candles to furniture.  We have the license to almost all of the pieces at Winterthur. 

Watch for our next post as we launch the Thomas O'Brien Collection at the fall 1999 market.  Can you believe that the Thomas O'Brien is celebrating its 10th Anniversary!

Michelle Obama's Chair of Choice

An Associated News Syndicate story printed in the Palm Beach Post on March 1, 2010, featured Michelle Obama's determination to fight childhood obesity.  The photograph by Marvin Joseph was first featured in the Washington Post. A gentleman from Florida recognized the hand carved mahogany chair as Hickory Chair's own Spool Chair from the Mark Hampton Collection.  We appreciate him forwarding the newspaper article to us this morning. 

 

 

As we looked closely at the chair, we realized that it was one of a pair purchased for the private areas of the White House.  The First Lady and her designer selected these Spool Chairs in a graphic dark brown and white fabric to complement the rich finish.  The chairs were hand made in the workroom in Hickory, North Carolina.    We are proud to have talented craftsmen with the ability to carve mahogany and other sustainable types of wood into heirloom quality pieces in our workroom.

Does it not seem right that pieces made by Americans adorn rooms in the White House today? 

A Hickory Chair With Personality

From our early beginnings as a dining chair company we at Hickory Chair have continued our affinity for chairs of all types.  Recently I discovered a blog that I had not visited before by Tracery Interiors.  The story that I discovered titled Subtle Elegance, featured a beautiful home in Mountain Brook, Alabama.  To my pleasure the designer had chosen Hickory Chair dining chairs for the beautiful dining room!

The Birmingham based designer, Doug Davis, worked with Hickory Chair to transform a set of simple Chippendale Side Chairs with graceful mahogany legs with stretchers to a soft and elegant form with the addition of to the floor kick pleat skirts. The graceful curve of the back posts that begin at the top of the back to the floor creates elegant lines with the kick pleat skirt.  The side skirts were custom made to follow the swoop of the back legs. What is typical is to only make skirts for legs that are straight.  Most would not have attempted a kick pleat skirt for a chair with this type of legs.  The resulting chairs create a soft elegance in the room.

Another designer asked that we make a mini-skirt for their set of Chippendale Side Chairs.  They wanted a box pleated skirt that was 6-inches long.  In addition they asked that we add a contrasting welt down the center of the outback and apply a pair of buttons at the base of the back just above the skirt.  The result was stunning!  We ordered a set for the Hickory Chair showroom and added a graceful motif monogram to the inback.  This mix of options created a unique personality for this classic.

Special construction comes easy for the talented craftsmen in the Hickory Chair workroom.  Every day we are challenged with one of a kind requests. Every day we learn new skill levels as we say yes to the vast majority of requests.  Every day our craftsmen leave the workroom knowing that they have more talent than when they arrived.  They return each morning ready to embrace the new opportunities to learn and please the many designers who entrust their client's pieces to us.  We know that as long as we can say yes, complete pieces in just a few weeks from order at a quality level that exceeds their expectations, then this humble 99-year old furniture company will be able to reach its 100th anniversary in 2011 and beyond making one of a kind pieces in Hickory, North Carolina. 

99 Years And Counting - Part Two

Today we are continuing our story "99 Years And Counting" that we began on February 11th.  In the first story, we shared our early beginnings in 1911 as a dining chair company.  As the story progressed, we recounted our legacy of licensed reproductions that began in 1931 with the Dorothy Robinson Collection.  This lead to the launch of the James River Collection in 1941 that is today the industry's oldest and continuously made furniture collection.  We left off with a request to watch for the next installment that would begin with the Mark Hampton Collection. 

It was 1988 when Hickory Chair introduced the Mark Hampton Collection.  This was Hickory Chair's first collection that collaborated with an interior designer.  Licensed designer collections for the furniture industry were in its infancy and the Mark Hampton Collection not only successful for Hickory Chair but it paved a path for designer and non-designer collections around the industry.  The collection is adorned with pieces from the English countryside, Regency, European and West Indies inspiration.  Even though the world lost Mark Hampton in 1998, his timeless designs continue to be made in our workroom. His widow, Duane Hampton, has published a new book to be released on April 20, 2010 named "Mark Hampton: An American Decorator".  A book signing will be held in the Hickory Chair Showroom on Saturday, April 17th. An excerpt from the publisher, Rizzoli, states that the book is "Rich with original materials including Hampton’s watercolors, sketches, and notebooks, as well as hundreds of images of Hampton’s important commissions, and impeccably researched and intimately written by his widow, Duane Hampton, this will be a visual feast for everyone interested in interiors as well as an important addition to the history of interior design."

In 1989, Hickory Chair built on the success of the new Mark Hampton Collection with the French Collection.  This new collection was inspired by the French countryside and was an immediate success.  Over these 21 years, new pieces, finishes and fabrics have been added as well as other European inspired collections such as San Marino (introduced in 1997), Atelier (introduced in 2004), and most recently, the Suzanne Kasler Collection (introduced in 2008). While each collection is unique in its own way, the true proportion and scale of the pieces make them timeless and mixable allowing the collector to purchase pieces they love instead of matched suits.   These European inspired collections provide a less formal approach to luxurious living.

Stay tuned for Part Three in the series as we pick up with the Winterthur Country Estate Collection...

My Hickory Chair Home - Rich Bodin, Hudson Home, Hudson, NY

Our friends at Hudson Home sent their newsletter to us recently.  In the newsletter it shared that Hudson Home is pictured on the covers of Berkshire Homestyle and Capital District Homestyle Magazines in February. In March, both magazines will include an article on interior design featuring an interview of Hudson Home co-owner Richard Bodin.  We felt that this was a great story to share in our weekly post "My Hickory Chair Home".

In the image on the cover, a dining room in Garrison, NY by Interior Designer Gregory Feller, ASID for Hudson Home, Hudson, NY is featured. Gregory and Richard are the owners of Hudson Home.  The photographer is Mick Hales. The room features the graceful Kimball Dining Table by Thomas O'Brien that was adapted from an 1810 original.  A set of 1817-11 Chippendale Side Chairs upholstered in two fabrics that have been seamed down the middle of the seat and back, fiished in Sable finish and have been trimmed in hand nailed trim.  A pair of Delaware Host Chairs flank the breakfront.  Both the Delaware Host Chairs and the Chippendale Side Chairs are part of the historic James River Collection that has been continuously made since 1941. An antique ivory breakfront serves as a counterpoint to the deep rich wood finish of the table. The foundation of the room is a silver-hued natural sisal rug.  The room has a timeless quality about it because of the balance created by classic 18th Century forms mixed with modern finishes and fabrics. 

Great rooms are a result of talented designers like Gregory Feller.  Do you have a great room to share?  We would love to share your home in "My Hickory Chair Home" in a coming Friday edition!  Just email us at press@hickorychair.com.

My Hickory Chair Home - Gabberts, Minneapolis, MN

In this third edition of My Hickory Chair Home, we are pleased to feature a room shared by Randy Nelson, ASID.  We enjoyed getting to know Randy during HCC University this week. He shared this beautiful room that he and his design partner for this project, Lori Berg created.  Randy and Lori are part of the talented design team at Gabberts in Minneapolis, MN.  The room was selected for the front cover of the August/September issue of Midwest Living Magazine .  The issue was devoted to luxury homes. 

Randy and his associate Lori Berg took the challenge presented from the new Medina, Minnesota home.  The article, Serene Design, features the new home, its builder and the contributing businesses.  Randy and Lori worked together on the design aesthetic. They selected several Hickory Chair pieces in their quest to furnish this home.   Image courtesy of Midwest Home - August/September 2009

In the living room, Randy and Lori selected a pair of M2M Knole sofas.   Because Hickory Chair can make custom length upholstery, they determined that 90 inches would be a better scale than the standard longer length.  They chose a Hickory Chair fabric for the body of the sofas and then provided a COM fabric for the pillows and seat cushion along with COM tassel ties.  They requested that we replace the standard smooth finials for a more ornately carved style that was standard on another sofa and finish them in American Antique finish.  Image courtesy of Randy Nelson and Midwest Home - August/September 2009

 In the dining room, a pair of Emma Arm Chairs by Thomas O'Brien for Hickory Chair were selected as the host chairs.  The intricately carved chairs finished in a rustic painted finish provide the balance to the upholstered balloon-back side chairs and dining table finished in a dark wood stain.  Notice how the top rail of the Emma Chair is repeated in the shape of the mirror behind it.  These talented designers think about these elements.  By repeating motifs, colors, textures, fabrics, finishes the room is tied together.  By mixing styles such as the dining chairs, it adds interest to the room and enhances the head of the table.  Image courtesy of Midwest Home - August/September 2009

I am sure that many of you have great Hickory Chair product stories to share.  Please send your story and pictures to lholland@hickorychair.com.  We would love to share with everyone!

A New Feature for 2010 - "My Hickory Chair Home"

This new series, My Hickory Chair Home, is dedicated to sharing with you amazing rooms that were created with Hickory Chair pieces.  The stories may be about the designer's own home or homes that they created for their clients.  These inspirational rooms inspire our talented craftsmen to build their skills so that they can offer even greater personalization. 

Our first story is dedicated to a HCC University graduate, Kirk Holt.  He is the owner of Cisar-Holt, a design firm that he and his late partner, Robert Cisar, began 23 years ago.  Published in the January 2010 issue of TulsaPeople.com online magazine, is the home that Kirk and Robert began building in 2006.  Kirk completed the home in 2009.  As a result of his visit to Hickory Chair, Kirk was inspired to select many pieces for his home.  He loved the fact that he could request not only the pieces, but select from over 60 finishes, dozens of nail head trims and hardware selections, over 1,500 stocked fabrics, leather and trims to create one of a kind pieces for his home. 

 
Photography courtesy of Tulsapeople.com.

In Kirk's living room, he selected the Made to Measure Gallery Sofa at 84-inches wide and the Vendome Cocktail Table (now retired) from the Thomas O'Brien Collection along with the San Marino Bench by Hickory Chair.  The room is fresh and modern feeling with the use of color, accessories and arrangement of pieces.  Do you not love how the room is anchored by a really ornately carved traditional mantle and then is surrounded by classic modern pieces?

 
Photography courtesy of Tulsapeople.com.

In Kirk's sitting room, a Regency Oval Writing Table by Mark Hampton was custom finished in a black finish and facing it is a Reading Chair by Mariette Himes Gomez finished in Modern French Grey finish, a Hickory Chair fabric and then was trimmed in two sizes of Black Pearl nail head trim.  These classic forms perfectly complement the black mantle with quatrefoil motifs.

To read the complete 4-page article published in TulsaPeople.com, click here.  Want to learn more about HCC University? click here or contact press@hickorychair.com.

We invite you to share your home or client's home with us.  We want to publish a new edition of "My Hickory Chair Home" every week!

Ringing In The New Year!

All of us at Hickory Chair have returned ready for an exciting year after our annual holiday closing between Christmas and New Year.  This year, 2010, is exciting for us at Hickory Chair because we are celebrating our 99th year in business!  In the beginning, we only made dining chairs with slip seats but within a few short years we were also making sofas, rocking chairs, and every type of chair imagineable!  By 1930 we had expanded into bedroom, dining room and living room pieces as well.  This great foundation of experience and craftsmanship have given us the ability to have one of the most extensive product assortments available today!

Classic Dining Room

Do you love classic forms?  Our extensive assortment of 18th Century reproductions and adaptations may be ordered in their standard finish for a classic traditional look.  The joy we have is when you take one of these classic forms and then personalize them through finish, hardware, striping, de-construction or other ways to make it fit your room.  Shown above is the Graham Dining Table, Evan Cabinet, Brandywine Sofa, Cabriole Side Chair, Avon Chair and Charles Hassock.

Continental Living Room

Do you love continental pieces?  Do you love pieces that look as if you have traveled Europe and found special antiques for your home?  We share this passion for the collected, traveled look.  Our Suzanne Kasler collection along with pieces from other collections such as Atelier, French, Winterthur and San Marino allow you to easily find the continental forms.  Shown above is the Frederica Bench, Alexandra Side Chair, Antoinette Side Table and Anastasic Bench by Suzanne Kasler.

Modern Bed Room

Do you appreciate a modern aesthetic? Ten years ago we introduced the Thomas O'Brien Collection that allowed Hickory Chair to embrace a modern aesthetic we were not known for.  Today every collection and every piece we make may be used in a modern interior.  Shown in this scene is the Chelsea Bed, Keith Desk, Madison Chair, Modern Club Chair and Studio Accessory Table all by Thomas O'Brien.  This modern room is filled with pieces that are undeniablely classic, timeless forms. 

What is your style?  You can make it with Hickory Chair!

Catching Up With The Artists

Have you ever wondered who the artist is with the camera?   We have the great fortune to work with Kenton Robertson at Hickory Chair.  He and our Creative Director/Vice President, Ron Fiore, take the time to capture the beauty of our new introductions each season.  These two amazing artists create inspirational room scenes that help us communicate the luxury of the pieces our craftsmen hand make to order.  We give thanks to Kenton for the meticulous detail and keen awareness to bring out the beauty of the pieces and reflect their heirloom quality.

 

This season we had the honor of working with Alexa Hampton to bring great pieces with new levels of personalization to the design world.  Kenton is seated in a Blix Arm Chair at the beautiful (and practical) Harrison Writing Table Table that is adorned with leather pulls.  A Harrison two-drawer file cabinet is tucked neatly under the four drawer writing table.  It is a great solution for a home where one needs practical function in an aesthetically pleasing form!  Who would expect the two-drawer file cabinet to have recessed casters so that it can be pulled out to create another work space or that it has oak drawers with a removable pencil tray with Accuride^TM glides?!  Alexa's collection is available in stores and may be viewed on www.hickorychair.com!

 

What Is The 1930's Chair?

I must say that mentioning a chair that we had made continuously since before 1930 sparked some interest! This is the cover of the oldest Hickory Chair catalog. It is ledger size made with loose pages and brass brads. It is all black and white with a duotone cover, but even so, you can see the meticulous carving and beautiful crotch mahogany veneers on the wood pieces. You can see the clarity of the finishes and crisp tailoring of the pieces. This foundation has proven to be very solid in the almost 80 years since this catalog was published!

The 2418-00 Occasional Chair is the piece with the greatest longevity in our line. Made continuously since before 1930 it has endured the test of time. A part of the James River Collection today, it actually predated the collection and was made a part of it in the 1940's. Small scaled, it has been perfect for a bedroom chair, vanity or living room. It has beautifully carved legs and arm stumps. Meticulous hand nailed nail trim accentuates the curves of the back, arms and seat. There is not a single straight line anywhere on this chair!

Today the 2418-00 Occasional Chair is still made here in Hickory, North Carolina by talented craftsmen who carve, sand, assemble, cut the cover, sew, upholster and hand nail each chair to order. As we look forward to our 100th anniversary in 2011, it is very special to realize that we have the talent and timeless forms such as this little occasional chair that we can make to order for you.