HIGH POINT — When High Point Market opens in April, a new furniture collection will debut that underscores the growing opportunity classic design offers retailers looking for a new or expanded customer base.
The Bunny Williams Collection for Wesley Hall Furniture marries the “classic made current” Wesley Hall brand with a celebrated veteran designer known for “new classic” take on interiors.
A member of the Interior Design Hall of Fame, Williams is a well-known entity in home and design industries with a more than 30-year career at the helm of Bunny Williams Inc. and Bunny Williams Home and as author of nearly a dozen books focused on home and garden, including her most recent “Bunny Williams: Life in the Garden,” scheduled for publication in March.
“This collection will include almost 40 SKUs in fabric and leather, and we couldn’t be more excited,” said Zack Taylor, president of Wesley Hall. “We have certainly recognized that there is a return to classic design in the marketplace, and classic is capturing a new, younger audience of consumers that doesn’t remember it from previous years.”
Introductions in the debut collection include a “comprehensive offering” of sofas, large chairs, task chairs, upholstered beds, bar stools and dining chairs, according to Taylor. He added that the design aesthetic convergence complements similar lifestyle philosophies between Williams and Wesley Hall.
“We only make furniture one way, and we only partner with people of like mind,” Taylor said. “Bunny’s penchant for comfort is at the forefront of this collection, and it offers an aesthetic of curves, finesse and delicacy alongside that comfort. Bunny’s gold standard is at a whole other level, and she is pushing us into new territories and to be the best at what we do. The opportunity to spend time with anyone of her design expertise is exciting, and her pedigree of integrity in product design and construction will resonate with many consumers.”
For Williams, the debut collection with Wesley Hall tells numerous stories. She points out specific items like the Elgin dining chair as an example of the “characterful shapes” represented in the group, as well as the “streamlined, contemporary forms” of the sofas.
“What’s exciting to me is the level of quality that Wesley Hall produces, their attention to detail for every piece of furniture they make as well as an extensive library of fabrics to select from at reasonable cost,” Williams said. “Our new collection is functional, comfortable, and equally important — also timeless. These are truly pieces you can live with for a lifetime — that’s what quality upholstery is all about.”
Coming soon: An exclusive behind-the-scenes look at production of the new collection