Heywood Wakefield : Moving with the Times

Design Stories

January 5, 2024

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Image: Stylemutt Home

Just as popular in the 21st century as it was at the end of the 19th century, Heywood Wakefield pieces are coveted in the US and rare to find here in New Zealand.

Heywood Brothers & Wakefield Company was established in 1897 as a merger of two makers who both produced furniture objects from wicker and rattan. The company continued to change and evolve with a name change to Heywood-Wakefield and the acquisition of three other companies in the early part of the 20th century.

By the 1920s, the company had swelled to a large operation – one image shows it to have been operating with four factories and ten warehouses across the US including one in London. Despite the size, they maintained a connection to market tastes and hired talented designers. Moving to the mid-century period they moved away from the Deco era and other decorative styles to a more modernist style.

Image: Stylemutt Home

Just as popular in the 21st century as it was at the end of the 19th century, Heywood Wakefield pieces are coveted in the US and rare to find here in New Zealand.

Image: Atomic Ranch / Photo by Bret Gum

Heywood-Wakefield furniture from the mid-century period remains collectable for its recognisable timber and finish, matched with memorable lines and surprising details produced from Northern Yellow Birch. Our favourites are the storage pieces with unique square outline handles or the wonderful outward shaped legs are classic designs which have mid-century character but remain timeless.

At the beginning of a new era of mid-century collectors, in 1994 South Beach Furniture Company picked up on the demand for the wooden Heywood Wakefield designs and continues to produce these with new technology and interpretive designs in keeping with contemporary taste.

We are pleased to represent designs from this maker in our current and archive collection, below.