New Mexico group sets line
By Jeff Linville -- Furniture Today, March 2, 2008
Santa Fe, N.M. — The Museum of New Mexico Foundation is planning a new licensed line with three manufacturers to launch products at the July Las Vegas Market.
The nonprofit foundation is licensing designs from the archives of four state-owned centers to T.S. Berry, case goods and occasional maker; King Hickory, leather and upholstery; and Berry Creek, top-of-bed and room décor.
While the line is still in the development stage, Scott Berry, T.S. Berry owner, said he expects to roll out 18 to 24 pieces with a couple of bed options. He is excited about a desk in the works that is based on one owned by buffalo hunter and guide Kit Carson.
Berry said he enjoys learning about history, but wasn't very familiar with the Southwest's early years. One of the museum's facilities is the Palace of the Governors, which is 400 years old — as old as the first English settlement in Jamestown, Va. Long before Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, Spanish explorers Coronado and De Vaca crossed the Southwest in the early 1500s, bringing Spanish style to traditional Native American cultures.
The combination resulted in a style that's unique and yet accessible to many, Berry said. He said the foundation has a remarkable collection with many pieces to inspire designers, plus "a wonderful photograph archive."
Sandy Moore, King Hickory director of merchandise, said the company's upholstery is under development and is based on historical designs she found quite beautiful. The fabric will adorn wood-accented frames with some metal embellishment on a few pieces.
King Hickory, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, is known for its eight-way, hand-tied custom leather and fabric upholstery, including authentically aged leather that works well with some of the museum's rustic pieces, Moore said.
"We will have sofa groupings in addition to some accent chairs," said Moore. "Hopefully we will be coordinating finishes with the case goods at T.S. Berry."
The museum foundation said the three licensees have much in common.
"There is great synergy and camaraderie between these three companies in part because they are all friends and have worked together on several occasions, but there is also a shared ethos among the three as well," said Pamela Kelly, foundation licensing director.
Each company is U.S.-based, family-owned, and run by the second or third generation of family members. Each one makes either all or a good portion of its product domestically and also plays a vital role in the health of its local economy.
Kelly said the line will be designed for mid- to high-end price points in the second-home and resort markets concentrated in the Western U.S. and across the North and Southeast.
At this summer's market, the three companies will work together to exhibit the line. Berry and Moore said they each would share some pieces to create room settings such as a King Hickory sofa with a T.S. Berry cocktail table and a T.S. Berry bed highlighted with top-of-bed supplies from Berry Creek.
King Hickory and Berry Creek each show on the 10th floor of the World Market Center's Building B, while T.S. Berry enters the new Building C this time.
In addition to the Palace of the Governors, the license covers the New Mexico History Museum, the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, and the Museum of International Folk Art.
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