Virginia furniture

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Virginia furniture is furniture that originates from the U.S. state of Virginia. Furniture was first produced in Virginia during the Colonial period and continued through the Industrial Revolution. Furniture production has decreased in recent times due to imported furniture, but Virginia is still home to a few large furniture companies.

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Colonial period

A recreated workshop in Colonial Williamsburg. Williamsburg Workshop.jpg
A recreated workshop in Colonial Williamsburg.

In colonial Virginia, there were at least six furniture makers. [1] Anthony Hay made furniture in Colonial Williamsburg. As the colony grew, other furniture makers developed in Norfolk, Fredericksburg, Alexandria and Petersburg. [2] In Fredericksburg alone, more than a dozen manufacturers made European-style furniture in facilities owned by cabinetmakers such as Robert and Alexander Walker, James Allen and Thomas Miller. Many of these early cabinetmakers also worked at house joinery. [3]

Nineteenth century

Scholars and Virginia historians have come to understand that in early colonial and Federal years, Virginia had a more vibrant furniture industry than first realized. [4] Styles included Chippendale, Queen Anne and vernacular styles. As Virginia citizens emigrated west, Virginia stylists and furniture makers took their patterns and styles with them. [5] Not all the styles mimicked the British; emigrants like the German Johannes Spitler brought their native painting and folk decorative styles to the Shenandoah Valley. [6]

Some companies from the early 19th century survived. In 1830, E. A. Clore was founded; it is now one of the oldest companies in the United States and still makes furniture at its Madison County location.

In the 19th century, a typical small town like Waterford, Virginia, had a number of manufacturers; in Waterford's case, makers like John Mount, William T. Mount, and Lewis N. Hough. [7]

Twentieth century

Early employees of Bassett Furniture Company, Bassett, Virginia, circa 1900 Bassett Furniture employees 1900.jpg
Early employees of Bassett Furniture Company, Bassett, Virginia, circa 1900

By the 20th century, the activities of groups like the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, led to a renewed interest in colonial styles. Companies like Biggs Furniture grew from a small antiques shop in Richmond into a major reproductions manufacturer that came close to rivaling Ethan Allen.[ citation needed ] With the establishment of Colonial Williamsburg in the 1930s, the interest in colonial reproductions grew, though reproductions of the Williamsburg collection were made by the Kittinger Company of New York.

Through the 20th century, mass-marketed furniture prevailed, and companies like Stanley Furniture, Pulaski Furniture, Rowe Furniture and Bassett Furniture grew into national brands. They grew around the area of Martinsville, where they sometimes formed company towns. The height of this movement came when Thomas Bahnson Stanley, founder of Stanley Furniture, became Governor of Virginia in 1954. Many of these companies now show their wares in High Point, North Carolina, the American city most synonymous with furniture, located just south of Martinsville.

Contemporary

Imports gained strength through the 1990s and early 21st century, and once-dominant Virginia companies have struggled to compete with imports. [8] While not a descriptive adjective like Williamsburg, a Virginia style of decorating has permeated the world of interior design.[ citation needed ] Virginia natives like Nancy Lancaster, William Haines, Charlotte Moss and Bunny Williams have had influential roles in interior design using neo-traditional and modern approaches. In addition, high-end start ups like McKinnon and Harris have created new markets in lawn and garden furniture.

In recent years as imports have gained strength, companies like Kingsley Bate and Flexa have located manufacturing and/or distribution facilities in Virginia because of the state's easy access ports in Hampton Roads. In 2008, Swedwood Danville, a subsidiary of IKEA, opened a North American manufacturing plant in Cane Creek Center near Danville, Virginia, which employs 335 workers. [9]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martinsville, Virginia</span> Independent city in Virginia, United States

Martinsville is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,485. A community of both Southside and Southwest Virginia, it is the county seat of Henry County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Martinsville with Henry County for statistical purposes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danville, Virginia</span> Independent city in Virginia, United States

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colonial Williamsburg</span> Historic district of Williamsburg, Virginia, US

Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in the city of Williamsburg, Virginia. Its 301-acre (122 ha) historic area includes several hundred restored or recreated buildings from the 18th century, when the city was the capital of the Colony of Virginia; 17th-century, 19th-century, and Colonial Revival structures; and more recent reconstructions. The historic area includes three main thoroughfares and their connecting side streets that attempt to suggest the atmosphere and the circumstances of 18th-century Americans. Costumed employees work and dress as people did in the era, sometimes using colonial grammar and diction.

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Thomas Bahnson Stanley was an American politician, furniture manufacturer and Holstein cattle breeder. A Democrat and member of the Byrd Organization, Stanley served in a number of different political offices in Virginia, including as the 47th speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates and as the Commonwealth's 57th governor. He became known for his support of the Massive Resistance strategy to prevent school desegregation mandated by the United States Supreme Court's decisions in Brown v. Board of Education, and Virginia's attempt to circumvent those decisions was known as the Stanley Plan.

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Ferry Farm, also known as the George Washington Boyhood Home Site or the Ferry Farm Site, is the farm and home where George Washington spent much of his childhood. The site is located in Stafford County, Virginia, along the northern bank of the Rappahannock River, across from the city of Fredericksburg. In July 2008, archaeologists announced that they had found remains of the boyhood home, which had suffered a fire during 1740, including artifacts such as pieces of a cream-colored tea set probably belonging to George's mother, Mary Ball Washington. In 2015, the George Washington Foundation began constructing a replica of Washington's boyhood home on the site of the original building. The replica house was completed in 2018 and is open to the public.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Williamsburg Pottery Factory</span>

Williamsburg Pottery Factory is a large, multi-structure retail outlet store located in Lightfoot, Virginia, about 6 miles (9.7 km) west of Williamsburg. It was founded in 1938 by James E. Maloney as a small pottery workshop. The Williamsburg Pottery Factory now markets itself as one of Virginia's largest tourist attractions. Referred to by the locals as "the Pottery", the 200-acre (0.81 km2) attraction offers a selection of locally handmade articles, as well as imports from 20 countries. Williamsburg Pottery was once famous for its "bare bones" appearance; however, it underwent a multimillion-dollar redevelopment that reshaped its look in the spring of 2012.

Biggs Furniture, based in Richmond, Virginia, United States, was once a leading U.S. manufacturer of colonial reproduction furniture. The company flourished in the 20th century, alongside reproductions by Colonial Williamsburg by the Kittinger Company, and other mass market reproduction brands like Ethan Allen and Pennsylvania House. In 1975, the company was purchased by the Kittinger Company.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">John D. Bassett</span> American business magnate (July 14, 1866 – February 26, 1965)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johannes Spitler</span> American painter of furniture

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References

  1. "Cabinetmaker". Colonial Williamsburg. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  2. "Cabinetmakers Preserve Colonial Craftsmanship". Colonial Williamsburg. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  3. "Furniture". The George Washington Foundation. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  4. "Furniture of the American South 1680 - 1830: The Colonial Williamsburg Collection". Traditional Fine Arts Organization. Retrieved 2017-07-30.
  5. "Southern Furniture 1680-1830". Chipstone. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  6. Shelton, Chris (1992). "Johannes Spitler, a Virginia Furniture Decorator at the Turn of the 19th Century" (PDF). Conservation OnLine (CoOL).
  7. "Furniture Makers in Waterford, Virginia". waterfordhistory.org. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  8. "Virginia Business Online: Furniture under fire". virginiabusiness.com. Archived from the original on 20 November 2002. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  9. Popper, Nathaniel (April 10, 2011). "Ikea's U.S. factory churns out unhappy workers". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2011-08-23.