Howard Miller Clock Company

Last updated
Howard Miller Company
Company typePrivate
Industry Clocks, furniture
Founded1926
Headquarters Zeeland, Michigan; manufacturing facilities also in Germany
Key people
Howard "Buzz" Miller, President
Jim O'Keefe Vice President [1]
Products Longcase clocks
Curio Cabinets, Wall Clocks Mantle Clocks Wine and Spirits Furnishings
Website www.howardmiller.com


The Howard Miller Company is a Zeeland, Michigan, based manufacturer of longcase clocks and other home furnishings.

Contents

History

Howard Miller Clock Company was founded in 1926, as the Herman Miller Clock Company division of office furniture manufacturer Herman Miller, specializing in chiming wall and mantle clocks. [2] It was spun off in 1937 and renamed, under the leadership of Herman Miller's son Howard C. Miller (1905–1995). [3] Today, there is no connection between the two companies although their headquarters are across the street from one another.

Starting in 1947, the Howard Miller Clock Company produced scores of modern wall clocks and table clocks designed by George Nelson Associates. (At that time, Nelson was Director of Design at Herman Miller Furniture Company.) They also produced Nelson's "Bubble Lighting" through the late 1970s, selling the business in the early 1980s. (Using the original manufacturing equipment developed by Nelson Associates with Howard Miller, the California furniture company Modernica reintroduced the Bubble Lamps in the 1990s and has been the exclusive manufacturer and worldwide distributor of the lamps since that time). Howard Miller Clock Company also produced other Nelson Associates products; spice cabinets, pull-down wall mounted vanities and desks, a vertical hanging vinyl strip system called "Ribbon Wall" (which was available in many different variations from 12 inches to 84" wide and 12" to 144" high), a complete line of fireplace tools, and other hanging lighting (Metalites, Net Lights, Bubbles, and Lanterns)

A number of Nelson's clocks became icons of the era; the Ball, Spike, Block, Spindle, and others were good sellers and have been reissued by Vitra, as well as most of the Zoo Timers clocks, and a select group of table models.[ citation needed ]

In the 1960s, a line of ceramic wall clocks called "Meridian" was produced using ceramic wall plates designed in Italy and using the Nelson clock hands. This line, as well as the other Nelson clocks and other pieces, was distributed by Richards Morganthau, Inc. (also known as Raymor).

One of the last series of modern clocks were the "Swing Timers", a group of at least 18 inexpensive all plastic clocks produced in the late 1960s, and designed by Arthur Umanoff Associates. Umanoff also designed Plexiglas floor and wall clocks, a series of wood clocks called "Natural Classics", and "Day Timers" (plastic wall clocks with day and dates). Nathan George Horwitt designed the "Museum Clock" in the 1970' (both wall and table model). The final George Nelson Associates series of clocks were the 1984 post-modern "Tempo '21 Series".

The modern Nelson and Umanoff clocks were discontinued and these days, the company has little to no interest in that period of modern design.[ citation needed ]

Expansion

Originally the company only made mantel clocks. Grandfather clocks did not become a part of the product line until the 1960s.

The company began making curio cabinets in 1989. [ citation needed ]

The company acquired the Ridgeway. [4]

In 1983, the company acquired Hekman Furniture and Alexis Manufacturing. [5]

In 1993, the company acquired Woodmark Upholstery. [5]

The company began marketing and selling wine and spirits furniture in 2004. [ citation needed ]

The company launched a line of Home Storage Solutions [ buzzword ] partnering with celebrity Ty Pennington in 2008. The company launched a line of furniture partnering with Pennington in 2009.

Trivia

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aeron chair</span> Office chair designed by Don Chadwick and Bill Stumpf

The Aeron chair is an office chair manufactured and sold by American furniture company Herman Miller. Introduced in 1994, it was designed by Don Chadwick and Bill Stumpf and has received numerous accolades for its industrial design. It is featured in the Museum of Modern Art's permanent collection. It has been cited as the best-selling individual office chair in the United States with over 8 million sold.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cubicle</span> Office furniture meant to allow for concentration

A cubicle is a partially enclosed office workspace that is separated from neighboring workspaces by partitions that are usually 5–6 feet (1.5–1.8 m) tall. Its purpose is to isolate office workers and managers from the sights and noises of an open workspace so that they may concentrate with fewer distractions. Cubicles are composed of modular elements such as walls, work surfaces, overhead bins, drawers, and shelving, which can be configured depending on the user's needs. Installation is generally performed by trained personnel, although some cubicles allow configuration changes to be performed by users without specific training.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Braun (company)</span> German consumer products company

Braun GmbH is a German consumer products company founded in 1921 and based in Kronberg im Taunus. The company is known for its design aesthetic from the 1960s through the 1980s, which included products such as electric shavers, radiograms and record players, movie cameras, slide projectors, clocks, and small kitchen appliances for which "Braun became shorthand for reliable, no-nonsense modernist goods."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Nelson (designer)</span> American industrial designer (1908–1986)

George Nelson was an American industrial designer. While lead designer for the Herman Miller furniture company, Nelson and his design studio, George Nelson Associates, designed 20th-century modernist furniture. He is considered a founder of American modernist design.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herman Miller</span> Manufacturer of high-end office furniture

MillerKnoll, Inc., doing business as Herman Miller, is an American company that produces office furniture, equipment, and home furnishings. Its best known designs include the Aeron chair, Noguchi table, Marshmallow sofa, Mirra chair, and the Eames Lounge Chair. Herman Miller is also credited with the 1968 invention of the office cubicle under then-director of research Robert Propst.

Nathan George Horwitt was an American industrial designer. He is most renowned for his Museum watch, which featured a black dial with a single silver circle situated at 12 o'clock. The Museum watch is part of the permanent collection of New York's Museum of Modern Art. The watch was intended to suggest a sundial, the most ancient form of keeping time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Junghans</span> German watch manufacturer

Junghans Uhren GmbH is a German watch and clock manufacturer. The company is located in the district of Rottweil, in the town of Schramberg, Baden-Württemberg, southwest Germany.

The Action Office is a series of furniture designed by Robert Propst, and manufactured and marketed by Herman Miller. First introduced in 1964 as the Action Office I product line, then superseded by the Action Office II series, it is an influential design in the history of "contract furniture". The Action Office II series introduced the concept of the flexible, semi-enclosed workspaces, now better known as the cubicle. All cubicle office designs can be traced back to Herman Miller's Action Office product lines.

Ridgeway Clocks is a division of Howard Miller Company, and is a producer of longcase clocks, mantle clocks, and wall clocks. The company's facilities are located in Zeeland Michigan. According to Furniture Today magazine, Howard Miller is one of only three major manufacturers of floor clocks in the U.S.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vitra (furniture)</span> Swiss furniture company

Vitra is a Swiss family-owned furniture company with headquarters in Birsfelden, Switzerland. It is the manufacturer of the works of many furniture designers. Vitra is also known for the works of notable architects that make up its premises in Weil am Rhein, Germany, in particular the Vitra Design Museum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Girard</span> American architect and designer

Alexander Girard, affectionately known as Sandro, was an architect, interior designer, furniture designer, industrial designer, and a textile designer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knoll, Inc.</span> American furniture company

Knoll is an American company that manufactures office systems, seating, storage systems, tables, desks, textiles, and accessories for the home, office, and higher education. The company is the licensed manufacturer of furniture designed by architects and designers such as Harry Bertoia, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Florence Knoll, Frank Gehry, Charles Gwathmey, Maya Lin, Marcel Breuer, Eero Saarinen, and Lella and Massimo Vignelli, under the company's KnollStudio division. Over 40 Knoll designs can be found in the permanent design collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lux Products</span>

Lux Products is a thermostat brand of Johnson Controls Inc.

Gilbert Rohde (1894–1944), whose career as a furniture and industrial designer helped to define American modernism during its first phase from the late 1920s to World War II, is best known today for inaugurating modern design at Herman Miller Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noguchi table</span> Modernist table design

The Noguchi table is a piece of modernist furniture first produced in the mid-20th century. Introduced by Herman Miller in 1947, it was designed in the United States by Japanese American artist and industrial designer Isamu Noguchi. The Noguchi table comprises a wooden base composed of two identical curved wood pieces, and a heavy plate glass top.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marshmallow sofa</span> Sofa designed by Irving Harper

Marshmallow Love Seat #5670, commonly known as the Marshmallow sofa, is a modernist sofa produced by the American furniture company Herman Miller, that was originally manufactured between 1956 and 1961. It is considered the most iconic of all modernist sofas. The sofa was designed by Irving Harper of George Nelson Associates. It was produced in two lengths from 1956 to 1961. It consists of a metal frame with round discs of covered foam, or "marshmallows", spread across the seat and back in a lattice arrangement.

Irving Harper was an American industrial designer. While working for George Nelson Associates, Inc. on designs for Herman Miller furniture, Harper became one of the most prolific designers of the modernist style. Among his important designs is the Herman Miller company logo, and the company's Marshmallow sofa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Good Design</span> Artistic movement

The Good Design movement was an artistic movement or design concept that originated in the 1930s, but took form principally in the United States immediately after the Second World War. Designs made under the influence of Good Design include buildings and furniture, but also everyday objects such as kitchen implements, household objects and garden tools. Names associated with the movement include Charles and Ray Eames, László Moholy-Nagy and Hans Wegner,

Hume Modern is an American furniture restoration specialist. It is known for preserving items by Charles and Ray Eames, Florence Knoll, Eero Saarinen and other manufacturers of the American and European mid-century modern period. The company received plaudits in the wake of Hurricane Sandy for restoring items damaged by the New York/New Jersey seaboard. Hume Modern also restores pieces by Harry Bertoia, Warren Platner, George Nelson, Richard Schultz, Marcel Breuer, Frank Gehry, Mies van der Rohe and Herman Miller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eames Fiberglass Armchair</span>

The Eames Molded Plastic & Fiberglass Armchair is a fiberglass chair, designed by Charles and Ray Eames, that appeared on the market in 1950. The chair was intentionally designed for the International Competition for Low-Cost Furniture Design. This competition, sponsored by the Museum of Modern Art, was motivated by the urgent need in the post-war period for low-cost housing and furnishing designs adaptable to small housing units.

References

  1. "New executive team at DirectBuy". February 2018.
  2. "Howard Miller CEO retires". Furniture Today. June 2, 2002. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
  3. Lewis, Norma (2008), Grand Rapids: Furniture City, Charleston SC: Arcadia Publishing, p. 64, ISBN   978-0-7385-5200-2
  4. "HOWARD MILLER ACQUIRES RIDGEWAY. - Free Online Library".
  5. 1 2 VanderVeen, Steve. "Steve VanderVeen: Howard Miller makes millions of clocks". The Holland Sentinel . Retrieved 2023-10-18.