I was in New York last week and was drawn by the siren song of other bloggers to check out the New Traditionalists.
This up-and-coming furniture line was started by a couple of guys who liked good, traditional design, but were ready to turn it on its ear.
Architect and designer Brady Wilcox, formerly of John Varvatos and Donna Karen, is responsible for the furniture design. The company does not exhibit at Market, so they can roll out pieces as they are ready instead introducing an entire collection. Wilcox plans about twenty more new pieces this year.
But the pieces themselves are not the whole story.
The finishes are really remarkable.
Remarkable and many. Flat, lacquer, layered, lined, it's all your choice and by "you," I mean any darned body. The New Traditionalists sell to both the trade and individuals.
And, an added bonus, if you care about this kind of thing and I do, the furniture is made in New England. Not China. New England.
Just what made Wilcox want to collaborate on a high-end furniture company with a downtown soul in the midst of a (please almost over) recession? Philip Erdoes, fellow native Oklahoman, hit brick wall after brick wall (and not the desirable urban loft kind) while hunting for furniture for his nearly-newborn a few years ago.
Erdoes and Wilcox had been friends since junior high and together these guys created duc duc, a jazzy line of furniture for the nursery and kids rooms. Erdoes knows more about Big 12 standings than design (and I wonder if he trips when he says "12" instead of "8") but perhaps because of that he can look at the business in a new way.
No High Point, manufacture in New England, market through social media. You know, new.
