If Lana Turner could have been a chair, she might have been the M 154 C from Heywood-Wakefield.
Chic, curvaceous and kissed with a touch of Clairol blond, the M 154 C was the embodiment of sleek sophistication for the World War II generation.
Born near the end of the Great Depression, hotter than hair cream in the '40s and '50s, and stone-cold dead by the late 1960s, Heywood-Wakefield was as popular in its day as country furniture has been in the last decade. Its streamlined, honey-colored looks were as optimistic as the New Deal, as egalitarian as Eisenhower and as space-age as Sputnik.
Now the mid-century look is finding new life in the '90s. Collectors are scouring thrift and antiques shops for original pieces. And a Miami company recently began offering reproductions of many of the most popular Heywood-Wakefield styles.
Stanley Kroiz, a Baltimore dealer in '50s-era home furnishings, says the time may be right for a Heywood-Wakefield revival.
"Its first big moment was after the second World War," Mr. Kroiz says. Then, as now, people were hungry for change in their lives. "We'd been living with dark mahogany and cherry furniture forever and ever. Then this came out at popular prices. It was a new color, a new shape and the world was ready for it."
For several years, trend trackers have been talking about the return of modern furniture from the mid-'30s to the mid-'60s. Classic works by modern masters such as Eero Saarinen, Charles Eames, Gio Ponti and George Nelson now fetch handsome prices in upscale boutiques. But while these pedigreed pieces are out of reach for most ordinary collectors, Heywood-Wakefield has always offered a more affordable alternative.
Founded in 1826 in Gardner, Mass., the Heywood-Wakefield Co. was one of the first furniture manufacturers to make modern design available to the masses. Starting in the early 1930s, the company began forging partnerships with some of the nation's leading industrial designers -- Gilbert Rohde, who designed clocks for Herman Miller; Russel Wright, known for his American Modern dinnerware; and Count Alexis de Sakhnoffsky, an automotive designer for Chrysler.
The furniture produced during this period was notable for its simple shapes, steam-bent curves and opaque blond finishes, which ranged from wheat to champagne to platinum. Sold in better department and furniture stores across the country, it combined elements of art deco, modern and Scandinavian styles and helped define "the look" for a generation of young home-makers.
It also spawned countless imitators.
By the 1960s, the streamlined look had fallen out of favor, largely due to the influx of cheap knock-offs," says Ken Rower, a vintage furniture dealer in West Palm Beach, Fla., who is something of an expert on Heywood-Wakefield. "I think the look just got old. . . . It rose rapidly, and as the '50s died and changed -- as the country lost its innocence -- the furniture went the same way."
Seven years ago, when Leonard Riforgiato began searching for Heywood-Wakefield furniture, it was selling for peanuts in thrift shops and at garage sales. A one-time jazz musician, Mr. Riforgiato owns the South Beach Furniture Co., which specializes in modern furniture from the '40s and '50s. In the late 1980s, modern styles were just starting to catch on again with younger collectors, many of whom weren't around when the furniture first was made. The solid construction, timeless design and relatively low cost -- combined with a bit of nostalgia -- made Heywood-Wakefield particularly appealing.
"I found that people would buy this stuff whenever I could find it," Mr. Riforgiato says.
As prices rose and supplies became more scarce, Mr. Riforgiato started investigating the possibility of reproducing the furniture on a large scale. The Heywood-Wakefield Co., at one time the nation's oldest continuously operating furniture manufacturer, had never matched its earlier success. In the late '70s, plagued by lagging sales and labor difficulties, it declared bankruptcy. The company was liquidated in 1982.
In 1992, Mr. Riforgiato formed a partnership with New York investment banker Andrew Capitman, a Miami native whose mother, Barbara, had been instrumental in saving the South Beach historic district. This January the partners completed their acquisition of the Heywood-Wakefield name and logo. They now are reproducing 19 of the company's most popular designs, including the M 154 C dining chair with its dog-biscuit-shaped back; the butterfly extension table, which features triple
wishbone legs; a set of three nesting occasional tables; a seven-drawer "kneehole" desk; and upholstered pieces with boxy, welted cushions.
The new furniture, manufactured in Massachusetts and North Carolina using some of the same 50-year-old techniques, is virtually indistinguishable from the old, except for a lighter finish on the traditional blond birch wood, Mr. Riforgiato says.
But, at $799-$899 for a dining chair, $999-$1,149 for a coffee table, $2,349-$2,799 for a dining table and $3,449 for the kneehole desk, the reproductions are two to three times more expensive than the originals.
That gap may be narrowing somewhat. Recent publicity, including an article in Martha Stewart Living showing a chic Manhattan apartment done almost entirely in old and new Heywood-Wakefield, is driving vintage prices up. Mr. Rower, the Palm Beach dealer, estimates that prices have doubled in the last two or three years. At the same time, the old pieces are getting harder to find.
hTC Higher demand in other parts of the country, even in Washington, means relatively little Heywood-Wakefield ends up in Baltimore shops, says Mr. Kroiz, who sells mid-century furniture and accessories at Another Period in Time on Fleet Street. "If you put it in a store in Baltimore, it can sit there for six months. In Washington, 2 1/2 or three weeks, it's gone. And at a higher price."
Collectors can still find a good selection of vintage Heywood-Wakefield in shops that specialize in mid-century design, including Daniel Donnelly Decorative Arts in Alexandria, Va., and Homeworks in Washington. Also, most dealers are willing to search out rarer pieces for their customers if they don't have them in stock.
In the meantime, Mr. Riforgiato is selling brand-new Heywood-Wakefield to style-conscious people who don't have time to wait. Recently, Jim Henson's production company bought several dozen chairs for a conference room. The producers of "One Life to Live" bought some upholstered pieces for the soap set. And store designers from Ann Taylor have asked for a quote on 500 writing desks.
Heywood-Wakefield's appeal is cross-generational, says Bruce H. Kelly, owner of Roche-Bobois in Washington, so far the closest store to Baltimore that's carrying the new line.
"Our older customers are like, 'Hey, I've seen that before.' The real young kids think it's very camp and nice. . . . The product itself transcends nostalgia."
Comparing vintage blonds to new ones
What you need to know about the old and new Heywood-Wakefield:
Prices
Old: $200-250 for a dining chair, $395 for a lazy Susan coffee table, $450 for a club chair, $1,000-$1,500 for a dining table, $1,200 for a kneehole desk, $1,500 for a davenport. (Price estimates provided by Ken Rower of Boomerang Modern, 3625 1/2 S. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach, Fla. 33405; [407] 835-1865. Prices vary according to condition and availability.)
New: $799-$899 for a dining chair, $999 for a lazy Susan coffee table, $1,899-$2,549 for a club chair, $2,349-$2,799 for a dining table, $3,449 for a kneehole desk, $2,549-$3,299 for a davenport. (Suggested retail. Actual prices may vary.)
Markings
Old: Many pieces made after World War II have the manufacture date stamped on the bottom in red ink. Some have paper labels. Original pieces have gray Phillips head screws. Upholstery has sinuous springs.
New: No date stamp or paper labels. Black Phillips head screws. Eight-way hand-tied upholstery.
Looks
Old: Maple and birch before World War II, birch only after. Opaque lacquer finish in tones of champagne, amber, honey, wheat and platinum.
A5 New: Birch in lighter tones of amber and natural.
Availability
Old: Many pieces, such as dining room tables and chairs, are readily available in vintage furniture shops in larger cities. In the Washington area, try Daniel Donnelly Decorative Arts, 107 N. Fayette St., Alexandria, Va. 22314, (703) 549-4672, or Homeworks, 2405 18th St., Washington, D.C. 20009, (202) 483-5857. Rarer pieces such as storage units may take longer to find.
New: Available from Roche-Bobois, 5301 Wisconsin Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20015, (202) 966-4490. Or contact the Heywood-Wakefield Co., 180 N.E. 39th St., Miami, 33137, (305) 576-4240.