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.
