American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame adds five

The American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame announced the five members of its class of 2016 that will be inducted on Oct. 23 during the High Point Market.

Joining the current 103 Hall of Fame members are John Bray, chairman and CEO of Vanguard Furniture; Robert B. Currey, founder of Storehouse Inc. and Currey & Company; Art DeFehr, chairman of Palliser Furniture Upholstery Ltd.; Richard Frinier, award-winning designer and owner of Richard Frinier Design Studio; and Robert Ching Wo, chairman of C.S. Wo & Sons.

“This list of respected individuals that we announce today clearly demonstrates how carefully the Selection Committee approaches their responsibility to diligently search across all segments of our industry for those individuals who most deserve to receive the industry’s highest honor,” said Michael Amini, president of the American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame Foundation Inc. board of directors. “The seven committee members are dedicated to investing dozens of hours to thoroughly vet our leaders and pioneers to identify the most deserving inductees.”

Inductees are chosen based on their contributions to the growth and development of the home furnishings industry in America, by a seven-member selection committee consisting of three Hall of Fame Foundation board members and four representatives from various segments of the industry. The decision-making process includes individually appraising each person through a points-based evaluation for the four foundations of induction: enduring excellence, superior accomplishments, innovation and creativity, and philanthropic generosity. The results are tabulated by CPA Ken Fulp with the Hall of Fame Foundation’s accounting firm, Sharrard McGee & Company.

This year marks only the second time that the inductees are announced prior to the induction celebration, which is moving to the Sheraton Greensboro Four Seasons to accommodate more guests.

John Bray, chairman and CEO of Vanguard Furniture, joined the company during its early formation and today oversees the manufacturer and marketer of case goods and upholstery, selling to dealers and designers globally. The Hickory, N.C.-based Vanguard employs more than 575 associates in seven manufacturing facilities in Hickory and Hillsville, Va.; and in a 40,000-sq.-ft. High Point showroom. Bray helped establish the Catawba Valley Furniture Academy, a program that teaches furniture manufacturing skills to qualified candidates and provides an ongoing source of capable and trained employees for furniture manufacturers. In 1987, impressed with computer-aided design used by the fashion industry, Bray funded the development of a new system that enabled digital draping of fabrics on upholstery frames, thereby enabling consumers to envision fabrics on custom upholstery prior to manufacturing and purchase. An influential and respected voice for employee healthcare in the industry, in 2004, Bray brought together self-insured manufacturers to create a preferred provider organization to reduce healthcare costs and improve benefits. He is a past chairman of the board of the American Home Furnishings Alliance, and a former member of the executive committee for the High Point Market Authority’s board of directors.

Robert B. Currey is the founder of Storehouse Inc., and the founder and chairman of Currey & Company, a leading lighting, home accents and accessories resource as well as a prolific designer and creator. In 1969, he founded the Atlanta-based furniture retailer Storehouse Inc., an early leader in well-designed, well-priced contemporary home furnishings. Storehouse introduced many of today’s best-known international manufacturers to the United States. When Storehouse opened its Lenox Square location in Atlanta in 1978, it was one of the first home furnishings stores in the South to offer housewares, hardware, textiles and lighting. He later founded Garden Source Furnishings, now Currey & Company, a resource for lighting, interior our outdoor home accent furnishings and accessories that take their inspiration from nature and natural materials. Currey has been recognized with the Icon Award for Individual Career Achievement, and the ARTS Academy of Achievement Award. In 2012, the Museum of Design Atlanta honored Currey with the inaugural Legend of Design Award, recognizing him for design excellence, innovation and his contributions to the field of design.

Art DeFehr, chairman of Palliser Furniture Upholstery Ltd., has built his family’s furniture manufacturing business into a leading North American manufacturer offering a wide choice of custom options for upholstered and motion furniture – and one of Canada’s most successful manufacturers. Palliser employs more than 2,000 people, in Canada, Mexico and Indonesia. In High Point, the company built and owns the 360,000-sq.-ft. showroom building, 220 Elm. Under DeFehr’s leadership, Palliser has earned a reputation for innovation, and the company’s brand of upholstery received the 2015 Pinnacle award from the American Society of Furniture Designers. DeFehr is known for his commitment to humanitarian projects around the world, including agricultural redevelopment in Bangladesh, serving as the United Nations high commissioner for refugees to Somalia, and helping to found LCC International University in Lithuania. DeFehr also spearheaded Manitoba’s Provincial Nominee Program, which has brought thousands of immigrants to the province since the late 1990s. He has previously been recognized with honors such as the Canadian Home Furnishings Alliance Lifetime Achievement Award, City of Hope Spirit of Life Award, and the International Home Furnishings Representatives Association Pillar of the Industry Award. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada, and a member of the Order of Manitoba and the Canadian Manufacturers Hall of Fame.

Richard Frinier has spent more than 35 years designing award-winning furniture, textiles, lighting and accessories for residential, contract and hospitality environments, with a vision to bring the quality of indoor living outside and the casual spirit of the outdoors inside. A former chief creative officer of Brown Jordan, his creative consultancy Richard Frinier Design Studio was founded in 2002 with his wife and partner, Catherine. He has licensed his exclusive and co-branded designs to lifestyle and legacy brands and manufacturers, including Glen Raven/Sunbrella, Brown Jordan, Century Furniture, and Dedon, creating thousands of product designs across hundreds of collections, which represent more than $1 billion in sales worldwide. He has received more than 90 awards for design excellence and his career achievements, including the 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Casual Furnishings Association, and a Stars of Design Award from the Pacific Design Center. In 2015, Interior Design magazine named his Orbit XXL for Dedon as one of the best designs of the decade in the outdoor furniture category . Frinier’s sculptural designs have been specified for the Vatican, royal palaces, luxurious resorts and spas, and private residences.

Robert Ching Wo, chairman of C.S. Wo & Sons, Ltd., transformed a family general store in Honolulu into the largest furniture retailer in the state of Hawaii, ranked among Furniture/Today’s Top 100 Furniture Retailers. During the 1949 port strike, the retailer began manufacturing its own products in Hawaii and positioned C.S. Wo as one of the first vertically integrated companies in the home furnishings industry. By introducing multiple store brands across a range of price points, C.S. Wo & Sons has achieved a statewide market share that exceeds 50 percent. As a director of the National Association of Furniture Manufacturers, Wo helped organize the first furniture manufacturing equipment show in 1972 in Louisville, Ky. A chance meeting with Larry Moh on a flight home, led to a partnership and the founding of Universal Furniture, the first company to import furniture from Asia in mass volume – and eventually one of the world’s largest manufacturing companies. Wo served on the board of directors of the National Association of Furniture Manufacturers and the National Home Furnishings Association. Wo founded the Wo International Center, a program that promotes international and global studies for students attending Honolulu’s Punahou School, and the C.S. Wo Foundation, which supports a wide variety of charitable organizations.