Made By Hickory Chair

The People of Hickory Chair

If you are a Hickory Chair fan you know we have been around a very long time... 102 years in fact!  We are part of an elite group of American companies that have passed the centennial mark. The 'centennial club' includes IBM, Coca-Cola, General Electric, Hershey, Ford, Wells-Fargo, Exxon, Tiffany amongst a long list. While the 'club' has a very diversified group of goods and services they provide, they all share some very positive attributes.

Probably the most important attribute can be summed up in one word.  Employees.  It is the individuals that choose to practice their vocation at a particular company that is the core.  What makes the 'centennial club' companies special is the environment or culture.  Articles have been written about these companies and how they have succeeded through depressions, wars, recessions, takeovers, downsizing and all other challenging periods in their history. 

At Hickory Chair we believe our greatest asset are our people. We are blest to have nearly 700 artisans and craftsmen that choose to practice their vocation at our single workroom in Hickory, North Carolina. Our EDGE culture inspires creativity, collaboration and innovation. Their skills and can-do attitude allow us to make nearly 90% of our entire product assortment in this workroom.  Why not 100%?  We have to purchase stone, glass, metal, hardware, some species of wood, ornately carved items along with fabrics, leather and trim that we source from all over the world. 

Our loyal dealers have challenged us to innovate.  Every day we are challenged with requests to make one-of-a-kind custom pieces to order.  Every day we collaborate and do all we can to say yes we can do it to as many requests as possible.  The result of making custom requests is heightened skill and confidence.  What we might have said no to a year ago likely is a yes today! 

Want to learn more about Hickory Chair? Visit our website.  Visit us and share your pictures with us on Pinterest. Friend us on Facebook.  Follow us on Twitter.  Share your Ideabook on Houzz.  Share your ideas and wishes [email protected] . We would love to collaborate with you!  Is there anything more luxurious or special than getting it made just the way you want it?

Enjoy these pictures of some custom creations that we have made to order in our workoom!

 

Designer:  Philip Labossiere - Saddle River, NJ 

This Marielle Bookcase was made custom as a 3-piece TV cabinet wall unit.  It is normally a tall bookcase in your choice of a group of fabrics and nail head trims that comes with or without doors on the base.

Designer: Patrick Sutton - Baltimore, MD

The Kent Sofa was made into these banquettes for a restaurant.  Because of Patrick's request we now make the Kent as a sectional for everyone!

Israel's Furniture - Grand Rapids, MI

This designer selected the American Empire Tall Dresser as their 'canvas' for their client! Not only was it a group of match panel Benjamin Moore paint colors, but was hand-decorated as well!

Designers: Kevin & Susan Walsh - Little Rock, AR

The Elinor M2M Sofa was made just the right length for the room and without the back as a special construction.

For more customizations visit our 'Made Custom To Order' board on Pinterest!  If you have pictures to share us with just email them to [email protected]!

 

 

Wishes Coming True By Raising The Bar

Several years ago designers and sales associates visiting Hickory Chair wished that we made bar and counter stools.  We trusted the feedback and created the Madigan series of dining chairs with matching bar and counter stools.  None of us here at Hickory Chair could have imagined their popularity!  Since then we have added a wide variety of styles from modern to casual, from French to Regency, from in-house ideas to designs from our licensees.  Later new wishes were made for swivel bar stools that we have created as well!  Enjoy the pictures of how some designers have used a variety of the bar and counter stools that we now make. 

From the Today Show 2011 Kitchen Of The Year set are the Madigan Bar Stools

 

From the Today Show 2012 Kitchen Of The Year set are the Madigan Backless Counter Stools

Bickerstaff Interiors of Midland, Georgia selected the Amsterdam Counter Stools for this home

At the 2012 Las Vegas Homebuilders Show this designer chose the Ilsa Bar Stools with the open waist from the Alexa Hampton Collection

 

Gracious Home Design in Jenks, OK selected these Ilsa Bar Stools with FIgure-8 waist from the Alexa Hampton Collection

 

William Caligari Interiors of Great Barrington, MA selected the Dara Bar Stools in paint with hand striping from the Thomas O'Brien Collection

A pair of Newbury Swivel Bar stools are the perfect companion to this custom made Hutton M2M Bar Table

 These are just a few of the various bar and counter stools made to order at Hickory Chair.  All of them are available in your choice of stain or paint finish along with your fabric or leather choice. Personalize them further with optional nail head trims and stretcher finishes.  Want to see them all? Click here!

Making Custom Furniture To Order in Hickory, North Carolina

The last 18 months has proven to be a truly amazing time for all of us at Hickory Chair! We have been honored with the opportunity to make record numbers of custom furniture items. We have been challenged to make one-of-a-kind special construction pieces.  We have been entrusted to make both wood and upholstered furniture at a pace that has allowed us to add over 175 ADDITIONAL artisans and craftsmen to our Hickory, North Carolina workroom since July 2012... and we still have some openings! 100 of this group have joined our family just this year.  We have nearly 700 talented artisans and craftsmen making furniture to order in our 600,000 square foot workroom!

Pieces like this special construction 6272-11 Marlboro Chair reproducted from an antique from the historic Winterthur Country Estate Collection.  The client loved the chair but it was only available as a side chair.  They wanted arm chairs for host chairs.  They asked if we could use the arms from the Sebastian Arm Chair from the Thomas O'Brien Collection to create an arm chair verison of the Marlboro Side Chair.  We were able to make it!

How can Hickory Chair be hiring so many craftsmen with all the opposite news on the TV, radio and internet?  We believe that our success has been earned by our talented craftsmen making pieces just the way the customer wants it.  Making wood and upholstered pieces just the size needed for the room.  Finishing the piece in one of our 70 Hickory Chair stain or paint finishes or creating a custom finish to match a stain or paint sample.  Adding decorative touches like COH^TM (Customer's Own Hardware^TM), monogramming, tape trims around the skirt, hand-tufting with the customer's crystal buttons instead of fabric-covered buttons, and a host of other things we can do to order here in our Hickory, North Carolina workroom.

We are working very hard to share the knowledge of our long-term artisans and craftsmen with this large group we have added to our family in the past 13 months.  We are working hard to teach them our standards as well as the techniques to make custom-make wood and upholstered furniture.  They have brought us an appreciation for a place to practice their vocation.  All around us are examples of lay-offs and furniture plant closings.  These talented individuals choose the craft of making furniture as their vocation.  They enjoy the challenge of making solid wood framed upholstery, by the inch wood and upholstered pieces, of working with elegant fabrics and leather and making truly heirloom quality furniture.  They have brought to us fresh eyes and ideas of things we can do to keep our company growing.  We are a very young-thinking 102 year old company!

Why not ask us to make a pair of Artisan Chest with Single Drawer with linen upholstered drawer fronts?  You know we can do it!  These particular chest are designed in your choice of Ash or Mahogany wood, are available in over 70 Hickory Chair finishes and have Customer's Own Hardware^TM available as an option. In addition, this exact chest is available as a 4-drawer chest as well!  Even 'standard' does not mean one finish with one hardware!  Click on Personalize This Item when you are on our web page that features this chest and you can visualize it in our wide range of painted and stained finishes.  You can see how constrasting finishes would look.  You can see where our artists can hand stripe them.  You can see how different pieces of hardware in Antique Silver, Antique Bronze or Antique Brass would look.  We can make it once you can visualize it!

Designers challenge us to make special pieces.  For example, this spring a designer needed a chaise lounge for a bedroom.  While we had many to choose from, he did not find what he liked.  As he reviewed our website he found the Continental Club Chair from the Thomas O'Brien Collection.  He envisioned it as a chaise. Our craftsmen were able to make it just the length he needed it! 

Each piece with options on our web site has a visualization tool named 'Personalize This Item' as a part of our Online Design Center.  We can virtually upholster a sofa, add contrasting throw pillows,  add contrasting welt and change finishes on upholstered items.  Your interior designer or the sales associate at your local authorized Hickory Chair dealer can help you create just the right piece for your room.  Why not give us the opportunity to make something special for you?  Share your Hickory Chair with us and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Houzz and Pinterest!

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