Alexa Hampton for Hickory Chair

It's really funny that I had to go all the way to High Point, North Carolina to see a designer who works a few blocks away from me but I'm definitely glad that I made the trip! Alexa Hampton is the kind of person you meet once and immediately feel like you've known forever. She's a very talented designer and her passion and enthusiasm for her new pieces at Hickory Chair makes her the very best spokesperson. I'm so glad that she personally led us through her collection! It was such a treat!

For those of you who may not know, Alexa is the daughter of the late legendary interior designer Mark Hampton. After his death in 1998, she took over as President of Mark Hampton LLC. At the dinner Monday night, she was telling me lovely stories about her father who grew up in farm country in Indiana but at age 12, much like the rest of us, was decorating his own room. One of his first projects involved painting a pair of shutters and installing them in his room. He went on to study art history and during a semester at the London School of Economics he went to David Hicks in search of a job. As luck would have it, David's assistant was leaving so he was told to come back in a month to start work. Another time, he went into the Parish Hadley office to look for a job and when Mrs. Parish heard him speaking, he sounded just like her brother so she told them to hire him immediately! Alexa had many of these good luck stories about her father including the story of how he met her mother in Venice, a place that holds special meaning in her life.

Later, Mark Hampton was the New York representative for David Hicks and Alexa recalled how she grew up in a bedroom with a black and white patterned Hicks carpet that lasted through many different colors and incarnations of the room. We both agreed that the best part of David Hicks and his style was his mix of the bold colors and patterns with the antiques. Antiques are something that I associate with Mark Hampton who used to take Alexa with him to galleries and antique shops and traveling. She really learned at his knee and she, like her father, is a very talented artist. She was surprised that I remembered her apartment that appeared many years ago in House Beautiful but it was the artwork in it that she had created that impressed me enough to keep the tear sheets which I need to find!

Mark Hampton created one of the first designer furniture collections for Hickory Chair and many of the pieces were inspired by his own antiques. After his death, Alexa took over the reigns of her father's design firm and fittingly, also started designing her own pieces for Hickory Chair. Alexa and her family were and still are friends with many of the top interior and fashion designers and it was a chair that Bill Blass owned that was the inspiration for the Grant Chair above. It was very interesting to hear her explain the often long and arduous process of furniture design that sometimes takes multiple tries to achieve the perfect end result and that was case with this chair that made its debut at High Point. From the reaction it has received thus far, it already looks like it's going to be a huge success!

I loved how Alexa described how you can come to Hickory Chair for the basics but also the couture pieces which she compared to a Gap tee shirt and a Lanvin necklace. A girl after my own heart! I personally love how you can use the same piece in multiple projects but never have it look the same since you can customize the finish and hardware options to your heart's content!

Alexa also joked that if she could, she'd produce hundreds of occasional tables since they are so useful. She also designed these nesting tables above since there are only so many blue and white porcelain vases that you can display in the empty space under a side table!

The best part of Alexa's collection is that it has a mix of modern clean lined pieces and interesting items like her Greek revival chairs. She said she gets "bored of the same shapes" and that mix really does create a more interesting room. One of my favorite quotes was when she said, "Danish Modern bums me out." I know what she means. So she cleaned it up a bit and created her version of a Danish Modern sofa and chairs.

Another one of my favorite aspects of Hickory Chair in general and Alexa's line is that there is a lot of thought put into the back of all the chairs and sofas. You usually walk into the back of them if they are floating and they should be interesting and well designed.

This desk is another new and clean lined piece in the collection.

Here Alexa is extolling the virtues of the roll away file cabinets for the desk. You can also order it with out them and use it as a console table.

The entire Hickory Chair showroom was beyond gorgeous but Alexa's spaces were especially beautiful. Ron Fiore, the Creative Director, who styles all the spaces decided to go more neutral this season so they all looked calm and serene.

Alexa has designed a new line of fabrics for Kravet that will be out soon but until the are, Kravet has graciously allowed Hickory Chair to exclusively carry five of the designs including this beautiful paisley on the bed.

Alexa designs pieces for her own clients and many of those made their way into her collection for Hickory Chair.

One thing that I completely agree with that Alexa said was that she likes her spaces to appeal to both men and women. There is nothing worse that a frilly bed full of pillows that a man has throw on the floor every night!

The Perlini Mirror seen above the fireplace was inspired by one that she saw at Mallett Antiques in New York. She said that David Easton and Oscar de la Renta must have seen the same mirror because they both designed similar versions of the mirror for their collections!

Alexa pointed out that most upholstered beds have upholstered head boards and foot boards but not upholstered side rails and she made sure that her bed did have upholstered side rails.

The Hubert slipper chair on the right was inspired by one in the Hubert de Givenchy sale in the 1990's. He had two flanking his fireplace and they had a huge affect on her. She later said she wondered how the Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge sales would affect designers going forward. It will be interesting to see.

In addition to her furniture line with Hickory Chair and her fabric line at Kravet, Alexa also designs rugs for Stark Carpet and lamps for Visual Comfort. She was excited to mention that she designed flat porcelain lamps that are perfect for console tables!

Alexa was very careful to make sure that all of her pieces were appropriately scaled. One hard piece to create was a canopy bed that could work with different ceiling heights. The result is the Belle Canopy Bed that is lower but still looks great!

The Hickory Chair showroom was a place that you wanted to hang out in all day and I actually did! I came back after the tour to take my time taking photos and that's when I saw Donna Warner, editor in chief of Metropolitan Home and her team taking their tour and also where I ran into author Cathy Whitlock. She was there taking a break before her book signing for her great new book reDesign. Hickory Chair actually gave us all a signed copy and I very much enjoyed reading it on the plane ride home!

Alexa named this chair after her best friend Gabby with the intent that it be very comfortable and cozy yet still look tidy and beautiful after you get up. It's this attention to detail that really impressed me about Alexa. She's also very intelligent and knowledgeable about styles, periods and designers. I joked with friends later that Alexa used a few words that I was going to have to look up later but she's one of those wonderfully charming and personable people that don't have a snobby bone in their body! I don't think it would be possible to be in a bad mood around her!

It takes a really long time to see a furniture line realized and Alexa said that it's like giving birth and watching it grow. "I'm excited because it's the collection it wants to be." The Breck Chair seen here is one of the most popular styles and the Mark Desk was named after her late father. Alexa is profiled in Cathy Whitlock's book and at the end of her chapter Cathy writes, "With or without her famous moniker, Alexa has established herself as a well-rounded and accomplished designer. And her father would be proud." I don't think I could have said it any better myself!

Photos by Heather Clawson

High Point Highlights

I'm back from my first trip to the High Point Furniture Market and I had an amazing time! I am exhausted but exhilarated and inspired! I owe a big thank you to Furniture Brands for allowing me this wonderful opportunity! It was fun to meet the other bloggers on the trip, Cassandra from Coco + Kelly, Paloma from La Dolce Vita, and the life of the party, Franki from Life in a Venti Cup, and her better half, Jim. Of course, the best part was meeting the amazing designers in town including Bill Sofield and Thomas O'Brien, as well as seeing the lovely Suzanne Kasler again. One of the main highlights for me was meeting Alexa Hampton who was debuting her new pieces at Hickory Chair! We were seated next to each other at dinner Monday night and I had a great time talking design and life with her! Alexa has the best personality and is so passionate about her collection that it was hard to get a photo of her in focus when she was walking us through the showroom this morning! She really knows her stuff and it clearly shows! I loved everything! I can't wait to go though all my photos and share all the highlights with you but right now I'm off to bed so I can recover from all the fun! Bon nuit!

Not Your Grandmother's Hickory Chair

The original motto of Hickory Chair was "chairs made better than seems necessary" and the motto today could be "furniture made better than seems necessary." I wasn't that familiar with Hickory Chair before my visit to their factories and showroom and now I can't imagine how I designed without them! But what I thought was a simple tour turned out to be so much more than just about furniture. Everyone who was a part of this trip which is called Hickory Chair University was deeply impressed by the company's attention to detail and quality but also their lean manufacturing process and employee pride and ingenuity. There is so much that I learned while there that I wasn't quite sure where to start. But since someone already pointed out yesterday that the furniture didn't look like the Hickory Chair that they knew, I thought we should start with a look at the showroom and the really gorgeous furniture that they produce!

There really is something for everyone at Hickory Chair and if you don't see what you need, you can have it custom made. The tag line under Marketing Director Laura Holland's email reads, "If you can describe it, we will try to MAKE it" as well as "MADE not manufactured." I'll get more into how the furniture is made in my next post and how this is a company that isn't manufacturing a hundred of the same piece on an assembly line but making your furniture as you order it.

You can customize almost any piece and choose from 19 wood finishes; 24 paint finishes in weathered, vintage or rustic technique; 12 special paint finishes including gold and silver leaf; special handpainting by an artist; Antique Rub or Solid striping; hardware in antique brass, antique bronze, antique silver or Customer's Own Hardware (COH); 8 different skirt options; and monogramming of initials, words or motifs (your family crest is not a problem). I also forgot small, medium and large and deluxe nail trims in a myriad of finishes which can be places over 36 different colors of gimp or ribbon. Oh, and there are over 800 fabrics to choose from or you can send in your customer's own fabric. I haven't even mentioned the Silhouettes program where you can choose different arm styles, legs, custom depth and height, skirt or no skirt, casters or no caster, etc. The options are dizzying and exciting!

The styles range from American, French, Asian and European and have been designed by some of the best in the design world including noted American antique dealer and scholar Albert Sack, and interior designers Alexa Hampton, Mariette Himes Gomez, Thomas O'Brien and Suzanne Kasler.

I don't want to come off as someone who drank the Kool-Aid or who is only writing about Hickory Chair because they sent me to visit their company. I think you all know by now that as a New Yorker, I'm not easily impressed and that I only write about companies, designers and products that I can honestly endorse. I don't think any other furniture company could ever invite me to view their operation after Hickory Chair because I don't think anyone could come close to their quality and construction.

I have shopped at Aero in New York, Thomas O'Brien's Soho store but I never knew his furniture was made by Hickory Chair. I also have it on good authority that Chelsea Bed seen here was purchased by a certain interior designer for a certain house in Washington, DC. If Hickory Chair is good enough for the President, then I think it's good enough for you! It probably isn't a coincidence that they chose furniture that is made in America.

I saw a gentleman in the factory making this Beaufort Chair with caning and will share the photos soon.

I also heard that the Candler Bed by Suzanne Kasler was ordered for a certain white house. Hint hint. Oh, and someone likes ikat. Other designers have ordered this bed with shorter headboards, headboards only and also with a headboard and footboard the same height to make a daybed. I told you the sky is the limit.

Suzanne Kasler's line is all based on antiques that she found on her travels through Europe, mainly Paris. These pieces here look like they are finished in antique ivory but I really love her designs in Weathered French Grey. They are to die for!

Hickory Chair Creative Director, Ron Fiore, was challenged with styling the 5,000 square foot showroom and he accessorized this wall as a chic ladies bathroom. The mirrored dresser here could also be ordered without the mirrors or just a mirrored top or front. If you can dream it, they can make it.

In addition to regular mirror, you can special request antique mirror as well.

I'm not sure if this was the chair but one of them on the showroom floor swiveled but Hickory Chair offers eight different styles that swivel including low profile swivel chairs that don't require an added skirt now.

This breakfront has thirteen panes in each door that supposedly represent the thirteen original colonies. Ron Fiore had the artist hand paint Roman numerals and striping on the doors. You could also replace the mirror with glass as another option.

I didn't see this screen in the catalog but it looks gold leafed which is also a special painted finish option.

These Linwood Arm Chair by Suzanne Kasler are one of my favorite styles, especially in the Weathered French Grey finish. The Collier Dining Table features a quatrefoil stretcher that has become Suzanne's trademark.

Someone heard a rumor that Hickory Chair will soon start offering upholstered headboards and they pointed out that since they can upholster a screen, they should be able to upholster a headboard.

The Knole Sofa looks a little more modern upholstered in this fabric and can be custom made to measure from 28 to 120 inches as can all the sofa styles!

You can see another example of the special hand painting available from the artist at Hickory Chair. I also loved this striped fabric on these chairs #3235-34. We were asked for our "wishes" at the end of the last day and I forgot to ask for fabric names. As a visual person and interior designer, I can't remember numbers but I can remember a name!

This "sofa" was made by combining a left arm facing and a right arm facing sectional sofa end. The pieces lock together and are perfect for those New York apartments with small doors and freight elevators...or no elevators!

Many, if not all, the other participants in this Hickory Chair University owned a store or a showroom and this showroom was designed to look like a store in the mid-west when it was set up.

I can't believe that Hickory Chair can produce so many different styles of furniture and options and I'll get into how they do it in the next post.

The posts on this bed can be unscrewed so you can take them off and screw the finial into the footboard or switch them to make them shorter or taller in the front or back.

The Hallings Secretary by Thomas O'Brien has to be one the most iconic and popular items by Hickory Chair.

You can get a sense of the space of the showroom in this shot. It was fun to see the fabric and finish choices Ron Fiore made and how he put them all together.

This New Hampshire Bowfront Chest is part of the Albert Sack collection and is a reproduction of the original circa 1790-1810 chest.

These were another favorite chair especially with the striped fabric on the back. You also never have to worry about crooked fabric or unmatched seams. Hickory Chair will always center a pattern and match all sides.

I think you can see again in this photo the range of styles of furniture options and finishes and upholstery styles. As I mentioned before, I'm not easily impressed but I was blown away by Hickory Chair. I owe a big thank you to President Jay Reardon and Laura Holland for inviting me down to North Carolina to show me what they can do. I had a great time and can't wait to show you the real behind the scenes look at where the magic happens in the factory! But y'all gotta come back later for that ya hear!