Your Workroom in Hickory, North Carolina

For those of you who have had the opportunity to visit Hickory Chair's workroom in Hickory, North Carolina, you know that it has the feel of a series of custom workrooms instead of an assembly line factory.  Their sentiment also shared that we have master craftsmen and artisans and not factory workers.  This is our secret ingredient... we have talented craftsmen and artisans who are eager to make pieces just the way that you want them.  We have not been able to say yes to every special request but we are working hard to be able to accomodate your wishes. 

We thought you would enjoy seeing some examples of the things that we have been able to personalize in our workroom.  In this first example is our Eton M2M.  Eton is a graceful 72 inch love seat that can be transformed from a 32 inch wide chair to a 120 inch wide sofa.  It is standard with nail head trim.  The chair is available as a swivel. There were many wishes that we could make it without nail head trim.  Our team worked together to determine a manner in which we could upholster the piece without the nail head trim without a problem. Now you can request no nails any time!  Recently someone wished that we could make it into a chaise.  Our craftsmen reviewed the wooden frame and what it would take to modify the frame, fabric and cushion patterns. We were able to say yes!

A different customer wished that we could take a classic 5662-10 tall chest standard in our American Antique finish and paint it in paint colors.  They sent color chips to us along with a rendering of where they wanted each paint color applied.  We were able to say yes and complete this one of a kind piece for them.  Their client wanted to use this cabinet in their den for a media cabinet.  They applied custom hardware once they received the one of a kind chest.

Another customer searched for a special bed for their home.  They selected the Venetian Bed which was originally designed to have a wood panel headboard (8806-20).  Several years ago someone asked that we upholster the head and foot board (8806-71).  We said yes.  This summer a different customer asked if we could apply Silver Leaf to the exposed wood and tuft the head and footboard.  We studied what it would require and then we said yes!

Another wish we have been able to make come true is with our Personal Preferences Dining Table program.  You can design your own dining table by selecting from one of 17 bases and 31 tops in your choice of finishes.  In the example below, we were asked to make a custom 60-inch Campagne Dining Table Top instead of the standard 48-inch size and then use the metal New Yorker table base (7887-11) instead of the faux limestone base (9844-10) that is normally standard with the Campagne top (9843-40).  The result looks great! In fact, we like the 60-inch Campagne top so much we are adding it to our collection at the fall market!

Our workroom is YOUR workroom.  Our group of nearly 500 employees hand make 87% of our entire assortment in this vintage 1911 facility.  The remaining 13% that we purchase are things like the metal New Yorker Dining Table Base, hand carved mahogany chairs, stone, mirror, glass and hardware.  We work hard every day to increase our quality and eliminate waste from our processes so that we are freed to make one of a kind pieces of you.  Is there something you have been wishing for that you have not been able to find?  You know we will help you if we can!
 
 

  

Comments

[Faith Sheridan]

Laura, this is a fabulous post about the custom capabilities of Hickory Chair. I enjoy the flexibility and creativity options I have for the clients of my interior design firm in Seattle. That chest is awesome!
Faith http://www.faithsheridan.com

[Laura Holland]

Thank you Faith for commenting! Since your visit to HCC University you would be amazed how far we have journeyed down the path of personalization! All the best!

[amanda burdge]

Absolutely great post! I love Hickory Chair. It is the most gorgeous line, and WELL made. I am happy to see that places like restoration hardware, and JEEP are pushing true craftsmanship, and that quality surpasses mass produced crap. Not sure where society switched gears but somewhere a long the way companies started pushing cheaper prices, mass production, and instant gratification as the gold standard. All while loosing the value in a great, well made, Hand-down-to-your-grand-kids, mentality. I think with campaigns like RH, and JEEP, showcasing how important it is to stay in America, and buy quality, we can get consumers back to investing in heirloom quality furniture like Hickory Chair. Sorry for the rant! I know you probably read this and were wondering when I was going to get to the point, and how RH, and JEEP tied into HC! haha BUT, I stopped selling HC about four years ago because I found that clients were not looking for quality, but had a more disposable frame of mind with their furniture. They have no problem blowing several thousand at Ashley furniture, only to throw it away in 5 years. How does that make sense? Ok so again, back to the point. I will be saving this post, and referring back to it to show my clients why quality IS better!!

[Laura Holland]

Thank you for taking the time, Amanda, to share your passion for quality things and the companies who are defying the odds to make as much product as possible domestically. We make 87% here in our Hickory workroom and strive to make even more here. However, we do not have stone, metal, glass, hardware or intricately hand carving capabilities here. Thanks for caring!