July 26, 2012

All Things Furniture


Where does it come from? 
That’s a question I find myself asking more and more these days.   From the food on my table to the clothes on my back, I’ve become increasingly interested in knowing the details of the myriad of consumer goods that we find ourselves involved with in our fast-moving culture.  There often seems to be an intentional veil of mystery regarding many of the objects in our lives, because if we truly knew where it came from, how it was produced we most likely wouldn’t buy it.  Things can be awfully enticing in their final form – beautifully packaged, deliciously presented, but how are we to know that there’s ethical and humane treatment of workers involved?  Or that there’s true quality and craftsmanship in what we see?   Case in point – furniture.   We spend our entire lives surrounded by, working on, sitting on and looking at furniture.   The company I want to tell you about here does it the right way in every way in response to “where does it come from?”  That company is Hickory Chair.



On Monday of last week I joined my colleagues Lynn Dayton and Jim Swan for a trek to North Carolina, to the heart of American furniture manufacturing, the small town of Hickory.  Our purpose – to attend Hickory Chair University.   Our three day interactive with the amazing, highly customizable furniture produced by this 100 year old company was only bettered by an unprecedented look at one of our industry’s most successful businesses. Thinking back on our time at Hickory Chair University (HCU) I’m hard pressed to decide which was more impressive; their incredible furniture collection or their business structure and systems. Thankfully I don’t have to choose.





When it comes to quality and custom options no one I know, manufacturing furniture today, offers the range which Hickory Chair offers. From 19 wood finishes, 24 paint finishes (plus they’ll apply any Benjamin Moore color to any piece) in weathered, vintage or rustic techniques; 12 special painted finishes (gold and gold leaf...etc.); one-of-a-kind, hand painted work by an in-house artist; antique or solid striping; hardware in antique brass, antique bronze, antique silver or Customer’s Own Hardware (a program pioneered by Hickory Chair and one which they’ve copy written); 8 different skirt options; monogramming of initials, motifs or crests and literally dozens of trim, nail head, gimp and ribbon options. Oh and there’s over 800 fabrics to choose from or you can send in your customer’s own fabrics. This doesn’t begin to touch on the fully customizable Silhouettes program where you can select from arm styles, legs, custom depth and height, skirt or no skirt, casters or no casters..etc.  The options are limited only by your imagination. Really!


 


None of this would be possible had a decision not been made 10 years ago to switch their manufacturing philosophy to “lean manufacturing” which “calls for a series of adjacent workstations, balanced and synchronized to leave no inventory between stations.”  Even more important to the company’s success is their empowering of each employee to be a messenger of improvement and change. The culture of continuous improvement is known to Hickory employee’s as EDGE – Employees Dedicated to Growth and Excellence. And after touring the factories and meeting the people constructing each piece of furniture; allow me to tell you their system works.




Rather than ramble on and on allow me to invite you to meet Hickory Chair furniture in person. Starting 01 October 2012, when Carter Dayton HOME (our new retail store located in Wellesley Massachusetts) opens its doors, I invite you to come in and witness for yourself the quality, beauty and wide range of options available. I’m proud to say that Hickory Chair is a core part of our new business venture. 







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