David Francis Furniture :: Blog

I came across a cool blog the other day that showed a whole host of modern cuckoo clocks. They came in wild colors and designs, innovative materials, with off-the-wall sounds. I was wowed that something as dated as the cuckoo clock was now suddenly ultra-cool.

It led to me wonder what old-fashioned furniture item might soon be the next big thing. Could it be the rocking chair? The fainting couch? Hmmmmm.

I just read the December 2009 issue of Fast Company, a magazine I love for its emphasis on design, marketing and the latest technology. There was an article on DWR, the home furnishings retailer who carries iconic products from some of the most well-known furniture, textile and product designers.

DWR enjoyed amazing success in the past, but apparently, they veered away from the business practices that first made them reputable and successful. The most shocking, to me, is that they’ve allegedly knocked-off furniture from designers and other manufacturers and sold those items as their own. I don’t know if this accusation is true, but just the notion of knock-offs make my blood boil!

Yes, David Francis Furniture has been knocked off. They say imitation is the highest form of flattery, but I beg to differ. Designing a piece of furniture, or any product for that matter, takes creative vision and lots of revisions. A designer’s heart is worn on his sleeve as he puts himself “out there” by revealing his design.

All that hard work and time put into a product can be easily replicated in other countries…using factories with no regard for original design. The only motivation is money. And most times, the knock-off is poorly done – think faux designer handbags being sold on the streets of any big city.

I don’t “get” the conscience of anyone who is willing to manufacturer a knock. And as a consumer, I like products not only with good design, but also with a soul and a story. A cheap reproduction just isn’t going to do it for me.

With the ever-increasing cost of materials, especially wood, we have turned our attention to the past. Instead of staying the course and simply allowing rising costs to affect pricing for our customers, we are again focusing on rattan and getting really creative! I am currently in the process of developing new design concepts that will propel this once-casual furniture to the level of fine furniture. So far, I’ve got about 30 new designs on the boards.

In order to glamorize rattan, I had to throw out any pervious notions I had about the material. I started to view rattan poles as a substitute for wood. Then, I began seeing woven cane used as fabric. I envisioned the uneven surfaces created by the natural poles and weaves revealing texture and dimension.

A concept for these new designs is based on using color to achieve depth through hand-rubbing the finishes. I want designs that are constructed with materials and weaves that we can “hang” color in. This creates the depth that I am looking for.

Every new design concept is something I’ve never done before. It’s totally fresh and new. I feel I have succeeded in achieving the goal of bringing rattan and woven cane to the luxury market. I hope you will agree when you see the new collections.

In 2007, I introduced my wildly popular Manhattan Lounge Chair. In 2008, I added a Manhattan barstool and in 2009, the collection will expand to include dining chairs and a bench.

It would be easy to add and add until I could offer an entire houseful of Manhattan pieces, but my philosophy has always been to design individual, distinct pieces that can work with multiple design styles. The matchy-matchy pre-fabricated styling found in today’s big-box furniture stores lacks a sense of individuality and the element of true design.

Design concepts, like the Manhattan Chair, are rare. This particular chair lends itself to many different interpretations, so it was difficult to resist turning it into a 20-piece collection. However, this would not be attractive to my customer base of design professionals. I choose to remain true to my roots of designing accent pieces, not entire rooms of furniture. These accent pieces can take center stage in a room and work with a variety of styles.

I will leave pulling an entire home together to the creativity of my customers. I will facilitate this by offering them beautiful and unique furniture to work into their own masterpieces.

Most furniture designers spend their entire career in search of that single design that will transcend time and make them a style icon. Ninety-nine percent of us will never achieve this goal. However, with some ingenuity we will produce a few designs that will cause a ripple in the great furniture continuum – even if for a short period of time.

If you are old enough, I am sure you have seen the replay of Bobby Thompson’s homerun that won the World Series for the Giants over the Dodgers in the 1950’s. If it had not been for his famous home run, most of us would never have heard of Mr. Thompson. As a furniture designer, I have gained lots of attention from my Manhattan Lounge Chair, which I am hoping will become my “homerun” and propel me into “Bobby Thompson status”. 

I believe that the Manhattan Lounge Chair is special because it portrays multiple dimensions. The overlapping loops give the chair depth that most designs do not achieve.  This depth is further enhanced when the finish is hand-shaded to show off these multiple levels, giving the design a third dimension.

It’s been said that imitation is the highest form of flattery. And the Manhattan Chair has attracted its fair share of imitators. But, if you create something so unique, no knock-off can compete – the furniture is more a piece of original art than simply a chair.

Because of this relation of furniture to art, I have searched galleries around the world trying to find a design or shape that I could develop into the next Manhattan Lounge Chair.  After two years, I am excited to say, I just might have succeeded!  However, you and I will have to wait until 2010 to see if I have achieved this goal.

It’s that time of the year again. The American Society of Furniture Designers has just announced the finalists for their prestigious 2008 Pinnacle Design Award. For the fourth time, David Francis Furniture has been selected as a finalist, this year in the Leather Upholstery category for my Bordeaux Leather Lounge Chair. Our stiff competition includes Century Furniture and Elite Leather, two massive manufacturers.

2008 marked the first year that we introduced a line of leather designs. Staying true to who we are, we combined leather with wood, twill and rattan. It took much effort to refine each piece so that they all flowed together into a well-edited offering that I can be proud of.

The result of blending the upholstered, double-stitched twill exterior, polished wood and leather interior created a unique design combination we’d never seen done before. As you can tell, I am very proud of this design from an artistic approach. And the Bordeaux Lounge Chair is the star of this collection.

As any great, self-absorbed designer, I am positive that my Bordeaux Leather Lounge Chair is, by far, the best design in the Leather Upholstery category. But, if history repeats itself, I will be putting the champagne back in the fridge for the forth time. Susan Lucci was nominated over 20 times before she won her first Daytime Emmy. If necessary, I’m prepared to wait a few more years for my Pinnacle Award!

As an avid follower of David Francis, you have probably noticed that in recent years we have diversified our line by introducing a lot of wood designs to complement our rattan pieces.  Our wood furniture has run the gauntlet from very traditional to transitional to contemporary.  However, with the current cost of fine hardwoods skyrocketing, it has become necessary to seek out alternative materials for designs. Ironically this has brought our attention back to rattan.

Since the early 1950’s when rattan was brought indoors and made fashionable, the basic forms, materials and patterns have remained the same or similar.  Most people would classify rattan furniture as being casual in nature. It has been designed this way on purpose - it fulfills a specific lifestyle. However, we are set to do something new – we are taking rattan designs from casual to luxurious.  

Besides being “eco-friendly,” rattan is extremely strong and durable.  It also holds finishes better than wood. Because it is so pliable, it has a lot of the properties you look for in construction. However, at this time, the most important thing rattan has going for it is its cost. Certain wood designs have become so expensive to produce that it has reduced the number of prospective buyers to a point they are no longer economically feasible. Therefore, we must make necessary adjustments in our product offering.

David Francis Furniture has already begun the transition from casual rattan to sophisticated and luxurious rattan designs. You will see the first of these in the 2009 catalog due out in early January. There will be more to come in 2010 and 2011. We are committed to offering you only the highest quality products for the luxury market regardless of the materials use. I am extremely excited to have this opportunity to “re-invent” rattan and to bring our new luxury rattan designs to market.  I hope you will be too.

I have been saying for the past several years that the furniture industry has many parallels to the fashion industry.  Each new catalog has all of the pomp and circumstance of a fashion show.  It is our equivalent to a debut on the Paris runway. All my work that has been done over the past 12 to 18 months culminates with the unveiling of our new fashions for the upcoming year.  Within the first 90 days of its introduction, the designs will be deemed either “in” or “out.”  Plans are already being made to add and to change several of the existing fashions with new designs that are in the catalog that was just published.  

Since our company is based exclusively on high quality, high-end luxury products, we have one objective when we introduce a new furniture fashion - it must be different.  The fashion industry is always moving forward.  You cannot exist in the past and expect to succeed.  Unless we can create a new “form” with a new twist using an old design, it has already been done.   There are so many “like” designs I see no reason to bring out just “another” chair or chest of drawers. It has to have a reason to exist!

I have already completed the fashion lineup for both 2009 and 2010.   As with any designer, fashion or furniture, I am impatient.  The designs for 2009 have not even been introduced and I cannot wait for the 2010 collections to become reality.  My finest designs are yet to come…I just wish they would get here a little faster!

There is a lot of artistry that goes into designing furniture. I liken it to working with clay. You first mold it into a rough form…take a step back and edit. Then, work the form over and over until you are satisfied enough to make a prototype, or sample. Once you see the sample, you pick it apart…deconstruct…reconstruct…make final changes and refinement until you are happy to put your name on it. 

Designing is extremely gratifying. You are able to watch your idea grow from lines on a page to an actual form, a reality you can touch and feel. To me, the success or failure of the public to respond to a particular design is not nearly as important as the creation and the process it took to complete. I like to feel proud that I pushed my own limits, that I was able to be objective and self-criticize until I felt my design was perfect.

The successful introduction of a new furniture design is one that gets the designer the attention and acceptance we all crave. A less than successful introduction…that’s something we refer to as a “limited edition”!

I just got back from our first showing at HD Expo in Las Vegas, a huge expo and conference with thousands of hospitality buyers. Since I had no idea what to expect, we decided to go small with a 10’ X 10’ booth in the “new exhibitor” section of the first floor.

We were among every product imaginable in regards to the hospitality design trade – linens, bath products, lighting, accessories, technology, artwork and furniture!

After seeing our competitors’ products, quality and design, I felt more than ever that we have a tremendous opportunity to fill a specific need. Whereas our prices may not be as low as some, our quality, finishing and upholstery is unmatched. I also believe that our quantity pricing is extremely competitive and will stand up to a side-by-side comparison with any other high-end manufacturer.

The recognition and positive feedback we received during our maiden voyage at HD Expo has energized us more than ever to be the very best at what we do.

So, I return from HD Expo feeling good about our commitment to bringing the hospitality design community the finest products, the highest quality designs and the best service.

We look forward to exhibiting again at the 2009 HD Expo, with a bigger and better booth and more visibility.