1429 Mfg—known for treating solid wood customizable furnishings and cabinetry like an artist’s canvas for original graphic designs—is launching a new lighting line in collaboration with Nashville, TN-based June 9 Design. The products are now available for purchase via the 1429 Mfg website at www.1429mfg.com.
One of the few domestic manufacturing firms led by a woman of color, 1429 Mfg was founded by Bridgette George, nee Hamilton, five years ago and has quickly captured the imaginations of designers across the country with designs infused with head-turning graphics. The company calls its proprietary process “livable art.”
1429’s new lighting line expands the firm’s existing furniture and wall paneling offerings with sconces designed for use in both hospitality and residential settings. (All 1429 Mfg products are rated for commercial use). The series of six sconces incorporate metal and wood panels infused with 1429 graphics paired with elongated and over-sized spiral Edison bulbs licensed by June 9 Design. The series also features four sconces created by 1429’s in-house designer Rayner C. Wharton, Sr. While the initial designs span Art Decor and modern styles, the company’s expansive gallery of available graphics mean these new lighting products can be customized to suit nearly any setting, whether coastal, transitional, classic or traditional.
“David Carroll, the creative force behind June 9 Design, specializes in upcycling materials in lighting designs and when we met as exhibitors at the High Point Market, we were both intrigued by each other’s work,” George recounts. “We immediately saw there was great potential in collaboration, and an opportunity to produce lighting designs that would be entirely new and unique, ideal for today’s marketplace.”
Originally scheduled to debut at HD Expo 2020, the postponement of the show means that the line will be shown for the first time at BDNY this fall.
"The good news is that buyers in the hospitality and commercial arenas don’t have to wait,” George says, “because we’ve revamped our website to include an e-commerce platform, making it easy for designers to customize and purchase the new line to suit their projects this summer.”
Along with the lighting line, the company is unveiling a number of new art-infused design options for hospitality projects, including headboards, cabinetry doors and vanities, room dividers, wall panels, lobby desks, seating and tabletops. In addition to being commercially rated for durability and customizable with the firm’s gallery of graphic designs, all of the visually engaging surfaces are easy to clean and all 1429 Mfg’s high-quality products are made in America featuring locally sourced solid wood.
“The durability and cleanability of everything we produce are key points for buyers and designers at all times, but particularly during the heightened awareness of these issues now during the COVID-19 crisis,” the executive describes, noting that 1429 has continued operations to meet customer demand since the start of the pandemic. “Baltimore was hard hit, and while we took all necessary precautions to protect our team and our customers, as a domestic maker able to supply product when the global supply chain was being so severely impacted, our business never paused,” she says.
As one of the only black women in America leading a successful furniture manufacturing concern, George, a member of the Black Artists + Designers Guild (BADG), notes, “I’m encouraged to see more people in our industry seeking to support black-owned businesses, because in so doing, they are supporting the communities that injustice occurs in. It’s very important to me to be able to make a difference during these unprecedented and trying times, to be a reliable source of support for our clients as they rise to meet the challenges of this new normal, and to ensure my voice, and theirs, is heard in the world and in our industry. Particularly in the increasingly competitive hospitality sector, the need for differentiation and diversity has never been more critical.”