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!
I believe that same chair also sits in the lobby at the Carolina Inn! Not long after I acquired mine, my husband and I went to see a blue grass band. Rain forced us inside where I saw "my" chair - their chairs are actually upholstered in the same fabric mine was originally in - only in a cream colorway! It is a very classic form!
ReplyDeletethe hide chair is great!
ReplyDeleteLauren,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this new experience where a cream damask version sits at the Carolina Inn. I love finding Hickory Chair in my travels too!
Neue,
We receive amazing hides from customers to apply to pieces - embossed leather to look like ostrich, gator, lizard and even printed hair on hides to look like zebra or cheetah skin! We love making personalized pieces!
An occasional chair is a beautiful piece of furniture that is an essential item in every house and one such chair in beautiful hand carving, hand polishing and quality upholstery certainly goes on to enhance the decor of a living space, especially a library or a guest room and also adds to the functionality aspect.
ReplyDelete