Our story

For almost two centuries, Heywood-Wakefield has made furniture that lasts generations.

Origins

In 1897, two prominent furniture companies, Heywood Brothers (est. 1826) and Wakefield Company (est. 1855) merged to create Heywood Brothers & Wakefield Company; the name would be shortened to Heywood-Wakefield in 1921. The new company rose to particular popularity in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s with its Art Deco-inspired Mid-Century Modern furniture.  Though once one of the largest furniture manufacturers in America, the company succumbed to the pressures of changing tastes, rising costs and competition from overseas manufacturing and ceased operations in 1981.

The rebirth of Heywood-Wakefield

In 1992, a partnership between Miami Beach historic preservationists Andrew Capitman and Margaret Doyle, and furniture executive Leonard Riforgiato (left), acquired the rights to the Heywood-Wakefield name. Andrew and Margaret first encountered Heywood-Wakefield when they were restoring and running Art Deco hotels in South Beach, Florida, many of which were still furnished in original Heywood-Wakefield from the 30's through 50's. Leonard was running a refinishing business that specialized in Mid-Century Heywood-Wakefield. Together, they reintroduced pieces from the 40's and 50's streamlined Modern collection that remained true to the style, quality, and values of the original company. 

Looking forward

In 2022, Leonard sold his share of the business to Tom Belletete, a 3rd generation Massachusetts furniture maker who has been building for us since 2012. A former electrical engineer, Tom continues to introduce new techniques and materials (CNC routing, an ultra-durable finish and improved assembly systems) to the company. He has also designed new pieces in the streamlined Modern aesthetic. Tom is joined by his wife, Debra, who runs customer service and upholsters our chairs, and their son, Joe, who manages the mill room and programs our CNC routers.

In 2024, Andrew and Margaret's son, William, joined the company to lead marketing and help introduce Heywood-Wakefield to a broader audience of people who appreciate great design and construction.

Today’s Heywood-Wakefield is dedicated to preserving the legacy of our brand while incorporating new technology and designs. Our goal is to inspire new generations to fall in love with a classic look from a classic American company.

From the Heywood-Wakefield archives:

Courtesy of the Levi Heywood Memorial Library, Gardner, MA

While the Heywood brothers started as makers of wooden chairs in 1826, Cyrus Wakefield (1811 - 1873) made rattan furniture. He devised methods to turn rattan, a grass found in Southeast Asia which was used to pad cargo in sailing ships, into wicker that could be woven into furniture.


Here, the Wakefield Rattan Company's clipper ship, "Hoogly," discharges a cargo of rattan at Constitution Wharf in Boston.

You can read more about Cyrus Wakefield here in "A Completed Century, 1826 - 1926, The Story of the Heywood-Wakefield Company."

Heywood-Wakefield president, Henry Heywood (center), with office workers, circa 1900.

A Heywood Brothers & Wakefield Company (see the "HB & W Co" on the side) chair-rack wagon, 1909. The driver is Bill Lane. Fred Casavant rides in the back.

Scenes from the Gardner factory (1926), which was one of six factories in the United States (with a seventh in Canada). At the time, the Gardner factory employed 1,226 workers and kept a year's supply of lumber in its three lumber yards. The Gardner factory had 30 brick-lined drying kilns to process raw lumber into finished boards. Each kiln could hold 12,000 feet of lumber, about the volume of a freight train car.

The Gardner factory built rattan and wooden chairs, baby carriages, school furniture and toy vehicles. Other factories built theater seats, railway car seats and woven mats.

The total workforce of the Heywood-Wakefield Company in the mid 1920's was 5,347. Of those, 3,706 worked in the seven factories while the remainder worked in the company's 13 warehouses and showrooms.

Applying finish to Streamlined Modern pieces mounted on the conveyor at the Gardner, MA factory, circa 1949.

The conveyor, over 3/4 of a mile long, moved at 14 feet per minute. It transported components and in-progress pieces through the different departments and stations, from assembly through multiple rounds of sanding and finishing.

Assembling the case for a dresser in a pneumatic frame press. From the Gardner, MA plant, 1949.

An M 154 C chair with an C 3978 W Kneehole Desk from an early 1950's catalogue.

Joe Carr, Frank Parrish, Ernest Herrman of the Experimental and Design Dept, circa 1964. Joe Carr was responsible for many of Heywood-Wakefield's designs from the 1940's to 1960's.

Staff Designer W. Joseph Carr (right) at Heywood-Wakefield's 1964 World's Fair in New York.

Heywood-Wakefield created an extensive exhibition for the fair, showcasing their furniture through the eras. From the second half of the 19th century through the early 20th, wicker furniture (left) made from rattan (the bundle of fiber on the right) was a huge part of their business. Creating a workable material from rattan (a grass used to pad cargo in sail-powered freight ships) was an important technological breakthrough in the American furniture industry, significantly pioneered by Cyrus Wakefield in the 1840's and 50's. The Wakefield Rattan Company merged with the Heywood Brothers & Company in 1897 to form the Heywood Brothers & Wakefield Company, which reincorporated in 1921 to become the Heywood-Wakefield Company.

A worker at the Gardner, MA factory bending wood in a horseshoe bender press, circa 1955.

In the 19th century, Levi Heywood was an innovator in steam bending technology. By placing boards into steam chambers (called "retorts") for several hours, the wood became flexible enough to be bent by presses. After drying for a day, it would retain its new shape indefinitely.

Richard N. Greenwood, great grandson of company founder Levi Heywood, at Heywood-Wakefield's showroom in the Chicago Merchandise Mart, 1964.

Richard Greenwood was the president of Heywood-Wakefield from 1929 through 1966, and presided over the creation of the company's most iconic Modern designs.

A living room setting from the Contemporary American line, 1963-1966 (successor to the Danish Modern line).

An A 710 D High Back Swivel Rocker in front of a selection of Heywood-Wakefield's Danish Modern collection, circa 1963. The A 710 D was the company's response to the iconic Eames Lounge Chair.