SPOTLIGHT ON
MCM Furniture Designers & Makers
(A work in progress...)
Drexel, US
Drexel Furniture is admired by many an interior design enthusiasts for its charming all American quality as a purveyor of tradition, innovation, quality and value.
What is Drexel Furniture?
Drexel Heritage Furniture was the name of the company that produced what is commonly known as Drexel Furniture. For many years the company was making fabulous wooden and veneered furnishings in traditional styles, inspired by French, Italian, Asian and British designs, that were very popular in the USA for over a century. Although in modern times Drexel's direction was mostly focused on producing furniture in more contemporary style, Drexel Heritage furniture is still very popular on second hand market and for a good reason. The timeless design of their Heritage lines and the exceptional quality of the execution of their furniture pieces still holds up to the high expectations of today's buyer, all that for a moderate price.
A Brief History of Drexel Furniture
The Drexel Furniture Company was founded in 1903 in North Carolina by Samuel Huffman and five other men with a mere investment of $14,000, and 50 workers. They produced products made from native oak, taking inspiration from traditional French and British furniture design in order to create a wholly new unique style.
https://www.valuemystuff.com/eu/blog/how-to-value-drexel-furniture
https://www.ncpedia.org/drexel-furniture-company
https://www.maxsold.com/blog/antique-and-vintage/drexel-furniture/
1960 catalogue
https://retrorenovation.com/2009/01/13/history-of-the-drexel-profile-line-new-page-added/
https://retrorenovation.com/drexel-profile/
The Drexel Profile furniture collection was designed by John Van Koert, and it was in production from 1955 to 1961. Van Koert started out as a jewelry designer for Harry Winston after WWII and later branched into industrial design. He also is well known for designing silver for Towle, particularly the Contour design; his particular attention to the drawer pulls and other hardware on Profile pieces is noted in the catalog. Femme1 owns the walnut dining table and chairs #K40, and the round extension table, with #K62, the side chairs.
https://retrorenovation.com/2009/01/13/history-of-the-drexel-profile-line-new-page-added/
John Van Koert for Drexel
Jon Van Koert was a designer of silverware and furniture. A soldier of World War 2, Jon Van Koert studied painting and sculptuing at the University of Wisconsin.
His furniture and flatware were chosen to represent mordernism in multiple travelling exhibitions, and he was the exhibition director of notable exhibitions. During the course of his life Jon Van Koert was a driving force in bringing Danish modern and Scandinavian modern designs to America.
Jon Van Koert designed furniture for Drexel, where his designs were presented in the show rooms of department stores such as Macy's and Bloomingdale's. Jon Van Koert had a much different philosophy on furniture than most designers of his day, picturing furniture in houses one day being treated like kitchen cabinetry where it would be built-in to the house itself.
John began designing traditional furniture for a company named Serried ltd from 1974-1994
