The Simple Writing Desk and Essens Chairs by OeO Studio. “The minimalist design of the writing desk hearkens back to a simple time when writing letters was the norm. Yet it’s still perfectly relevant to today’s home and workplace,” says Jay Rubino, HBF’s vice president of product and process development.
HBF raised the bar at last year’s NeoCon. The Hickory, North Carolina–based manufacturer released ten contemporary collections of furniture, created by a host of established and emerging designers. All were developed within a year, demonstrating a fresh perspective on how America lives and works today. The mastermind behind this turnaround is the company’s new president.
Avinash Rajagopal: What was your mindset when you came to HBF in 2016?
Dan Chong: I’ve always held HBF in the highest regard. My perception of the brand was that it was largely [built] around a transitional design language. A more modern, contemporary aesthetic is where the industry is going, largely influenced by technology and the way people work now. We needed to immediately move the design language forward.
The other thing is that for a long time I have felt that this distinction between the office and the home no longer exists—again, influenced largely by technology. The tools we use today are ubiquitous, and they are not exclusive to the office, as they once were. It gives us the opportunity to just create exquisitely beautiful furniture that resonates emotively.
When I came to the company, [we decided] we were going to create products that people fall in love with just because they are exquisitely beautiful. And seek out designers that create that body of work.
AR: How did HBF’s heritage of craftsmanship fit in with your vision?
DC: Seamlessly. I would have to give tremendous credit to our parent company, HNI, because they kept the manufacturing intact. They valued that HBF had skilled workers and was able to execute incredibly amazing product.
Very candidly, when I was talking about the vision of the company with all the employees, I was showing them all the pictures of what I considered the most beautiful products in the world. Also, some of the most difficult products in the world to make. I was on a slide, and one of my members in the plant interrupted me and said, “Dan, do you want us to make that product?” I said, “Yeah, I’d love it if you’d make this product.” It was a Hans Wegner piece. He said, “Well, you know, we can make that.” I said, “That’s wonderful because there’s only a handful of companies in the world that can craft that level of design and quality.”
The fact that we could make that furniture in Hickory, North Carolina, was just amazing. We can work with who we consider some of the best designers in the world, but then we make their products here in North America.