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!

Great Bones

Twice per year furniture companies introduce new pieces for their collections. In a way it is like spring with the new growth emerging from the winter. This fall Hickory Chair and Alexa Hampton emerged with dynamic new pieces for the very popular Alexa Hampton Collection.

Alexa (shown left) traveled to High Point to share with the press and visitors to the Hickory Chair Showroom the thought process behind each piece as well as historical pedigree of each piece. Unlike many furniture companies, we begin with a classic form that is now timeless. Reproducing the fine lines and proportion allows the new piece to have 'great bones'. This is true for all things such as the little black dress or a navy blazer. They are those pieces in your closet that can be dressed up for a formal affair or be dressed down for a casual affair.

The new upholstery pieces by Alexa Hampton have the pedigree of classic, timeless forms but are made fresh by the manner in which they were dressed - rich brown finishes and neutral linen fabrics allowing for a quiet luxury. These pieces like the Curtis Sofa, Chair, Ottoman and Chaise have the great bones of Danish 1940's modern furniture but have had their lines made crisp and modern. Their hand made wooden frames outine the piece while comfortable upholstery is executed without welts except for where the fabric meets the frame.

These new Curtis pieces are only a portion of the new pieces available from the Alexa Hampton Collection. They will be in stores beginning in mid to late November! Why settle for ordinary when you can have great bones?

Eton Is Now Available Without Nails!

We love making wishes come true at Hickory Chair. We have had many designers wish that the Eton series was available without nail head trim. We shared this request with the craftsmen at Hickory Chair and they worked together to design a new upholstery technique that would allow the series to be upholstered so that the nail head trim was not necessary.

This wish has come true at this October Market! Now the entire Eton series is available with or without nail head trim. The Eton is available in one inch increments from 33 to 120 inches in length! In addition, we now make the Eton as a standard chair and with a swivel base! These Eton pieces are available now and can ship in just a few weeks from order!

Innovation Allows New Levels of Personalization Introduced at Market

Gustav is an exciting new series of dining tables by Alexa Hampton. These Gustav dining tables were inspired by an antique Scandanavian table. The craftsmen at Hickory Chair and Alexa brainstormed ideas of how these Gustav dining tables could be designed to allow designers to create one of a kind tables for their clients. Their ideas lead to innovation never attempted before not only at Hickory Chair but by furniture manufactuers. The innovative ideas engineered into the product are more typical of a woodright making a custom piece in his workroom.

The Gustav is made both as a Round Dining Table and as a Rectangular Dining Table. In addition to finish flexibility with over 60 optional finishes, Gustav also has three optional apron friezes. You may select from a figure-eight, a reeded and a cathedral cut apron. These distinctive apron friezes will allow you to personalize the table for your room.

The rectangular version of the Gustav dining table is urban scaled. It extends for 60 inches to 104 inches with the addition of two 24 inch leaves. A square tapered leg with Antique Nickel ferrules and decorative corner caps is available in place of the round fluted tapered leg. This simple tapered square leg allows the Gustav to have a less formal feel.

The round Gustav dining table has a 60 inch diameter and extends to 84 inches with its single 24 inch leaf. It has a beautiful hand carved mahogany base standard. The Kimball pedestal base is also available with this top for a different look. There are several optional dining table tops that are available for use with the Gustav pedestal base.

The craftsman and artisans at Hickory Chair can further personalize these pieces for you with the palette of over 68 finishes, finish techniques, combination finishes and striping. Why settle for an off the shelf piece when we can make a one-of-a-kind table for you!

Alexa Hampton New Collection Launched!

Today is the unofficial opening day of the International Home Furnishings Market held in High Point, North Carolina. We have enjoyed a great day of buyers, designers, press and film crews visiting Hickory Chair. We are thankful that so many individuals have chosen to begin their market experience at Hickory Chair!

Alexa Hampton has a new collection this season! Celebrating her 3rd collection for Hickory Chair, she brought to us forms that have very different originis - Scandanavian, English Regency and American Modern. They work beautifully together because of their timeless proportion, scale and style. She worked alongside the craftsmen in Hickory, North Carolina to select the wood species, hardware and hone the fine details of each piece to create new pieces that blend beautifully with the existing pieces not only in her collection but in the diverse offering from Hickory Chair.

The Kingsley Bed is one of the new pieces for the collection. Adapted from an Anglo-Indian Settee, Alexa felt the form lent itself to become a bed relevant for today's homes. Alexa felt that a cane headboard and footboard was needed in the marketplace because they are really hard to find for clients.

Together we brainstormed why not also make it available with upholstered and also with wood options. Available in a twin, queen, king and california king size and in any of Hickory Chair's extensive palette of over 60 finishes. Not stopping there, the bed is available as a twin size daybed. Lastly, it is available with a low profile footrail instead of the taller foot rail. Truly, it is a hand made piece just for you.

The upholstered version shown left is upholstered in a printed linen fabric designed by Alexa Hampton for Kravet fabrics for a launch in the fall of 2010. A series of these fresh linen prints are available exclusively through Hickory Chair!

These exciting new introductions by Alexa Hampton and Hickory Chair will be in stores beginning in late November!

It Was Custom Made...

One of the pieces we at Hickory Chair have made since the 1940's from our James River Collection, the 2131-30 Sideboard, was recently ordered by a customer with a special construction request. They loved the piece but wished that it was shorter. (I can imagine it sitting underneath a large flat screen TV with the equipment either hidden behind the doors or sitting on top!) The customer asked if we could shorten the legs and use a specific ferrule from another piece in our line. The request went out to our craftsmen in their morning meeting and a quick yes came back to the customer service representative along with the custom up-charge. A few days later we received the customer's order!

When reviewing the expansive selection of pieces we make, it is amazing to realize that the original form of the piece is merely a starting place. If it does not suit the room or the aesthetic you are striving for, allow us the opportunity to change the finish, the hardware or even the physical form. While we perhaps can not say yes to every request, we will do our best to try to make a piece just the way you would like it to be!

Why Wait When You Can Have It Now?

As we prepare for our big trade show, the International Home Furnishings Market in High Point, North Carolina, it always lights a fire of enthusiasm for what our collaboration can achieve. The show is the largest home furnishings show in the world and attracts designers, furniture stores, department stores, boutique stores and to the trade showroom professionals to see the latest fabrics, finishes, leather and furniture pieces. These buyers must be overwhelmed with the thousands of new things being introduced during the show.

While the show is open only to the industry and not to the public, it is the result of a successful market experience that will be seen in the coming weeks and months after market. These professional buyers select carefully the pieces from their favorite manufacturers that are appropriate for their area. Most manufactuers require 4-5 months to produce the pieces and ship them out to the stores. Our employees knew this was frustrating for buyers who wished they could immediately enjoy these fresh fabrics, leather and furniture pieces. They wanted to update their displays now.

Our employees examined the process and have created a process where we can ship new upholstered pieces in just 2 weeks from market. We can ship new wood introductions in just 4 weeks from market. By Thanksgiving, most of the new pieces from market have been received by these buyers allowing them to update their displays for the holiday season and not have to wait until Spring!

Plan to visit your local Hickory Chair dealer later this fall and see the amazing new pieces by Alexa Hampton hand made by the craftsmen in Hickory, North Carolina. Let us make a one-of-a-kind piece for you!