We Have Moved...

We have moved to a new site! Visit us at Made by Hickory Chair for new stories. You may also find us on Hickory Chair's web site by clicking on BLOG. Just click on the link and add us to your favorites!

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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.

Made By Hickory Chair Has Moved!

Made By Hickory Chair officially has a new home at WWW.MADEBYHICKORYCHAIR.COM.

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It looks exactly the same, but works better.

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My Very Own Hickory Chair Story - Part 2

After sharing Lauren's story yesterday, I started thinking more about that 1857-55 Chippendale Wing Chair. I investigated to see how long Hickory Chair had been making this wing chair. Since November 2, 1982 this wing chair has been made to order for clients. Twenty-seven years seems like a very long time until you consider that we have been making furniture since 1911! We actually have a chair that is pictured in our 1930 catalog! As this is the oldest catalog in existence, we really do not know when we began making that chair!

I thought more about how many other ways that I have seen the 1857-55 Chippendale Wing Chair upholstered over the years. I found a few pictures that helped me realize how a timeless form may be personalized for the home it is being made for. For example, the picture of the pair of chairs at the upper left were in a nice white sateen with a red and white braided welt cord. I can see this pair of chairs in a beautiful, traditional living room.

In the next picture, shown right, is an example where the designer sent COL hair-on-hide to Hickory Chair to upholster on the chair. They chose a contrasting solid leather for the seat cushion. I can almost see the snow falling outside the big picture windows at the mountain home where this chair might be located or perhaps this chair found a home on a ranch where the family spends their weekends and holidays!

In this example, the designer asked that we make the chair with a tight seat and eliminate the loose seat cushion entirely. They chose a reproduction French flour sack type fabric and used nail head trim to punctuate the fine lines of the shapes of the chair. These chairs could have shipped anywhere!

At the end of the day, it is up to you to decide what your style is and ask for it. It is not necessary to settle for off the shelf items when you have a workroom in Hickory, North Carolina eager to make your vision a reality!

My Very Own Hickory Chair Story

Lauren McKay, one of the talented designers at Design Lines Ltd. in Raleigh, NC, recently shared her Hickory Chair story with us. She found at an antique store a vintage Hickory Chair wing chair made in 1996. She saw past the dated blue damask fabric to see the fine proportion and scale of the chair. She knew it's quality of construction and quickly purchased it for her home. Turning over her prize possession to her local upholsterer along with her carefully chosen COM, the end result is a modern form for her home today.

The craftsman was able to strip and recover the chair because of the solid wood frame with mahogany legs and stretcher. Each solid wood frame part was made from maple, cherry or poplar kiln dried lumber and was meticulously shaped to have the same curves and form as the final upholstery as shown in the pictures. Like the vintage wing chair reproduced by Hickory Chair that Lauren found, the construction integrity that is still made in the creation of the frame, the wood gives the shape not the padding!

In the 18th Century, a craftsman would have only had horsehair, hay, grass, rags or spanish moss to use for padding - the wooden frame had to have the final shape and the padding was only for comfort. This time proven method is still in use today at Hickory Chair. Most companies today use CAD cutting machine to cut out plywood frames that are not intended for re-upholstery some day. We take the time to make a heirloom quality solid wood frame that will allow you to re-upholster the piece for your home and pass it down to future generations. The custom engineered 8-way hand tied springs with underlying steel bands were intact and did not need repair or replacement. The spring-down seat cushion was still resilient due to the quality of the coil springs, high density foam and down-proof ticking with channels of down, small duck feathers and ultracell fiber mix. The triple doweled frame with its corner glue blocks held with glue and 4 screws each held each joint strong as the day it was made. This hand made solid wood frame deserves to be re-covered again and again in the future!

Why fill up the landfills with furniture when you can re-purpose these classic pieces for modern homes? By the way, if Lauren wishes she had a pair of these beautiful wing chairs she is lucky because this classic wing chair, the 1857-55 Chippendale Wing Chair, is still hand made to order at Hickory Chair!

Share your Hickory Chair story with us at press@hickorychair.com!