One of the current themes at Heals is Tribal Living.
With some fantastic rugs, ornaments, lampshades and contemporary furniture designs available you could re design your entire room with one click on their website.
Monday, 28 March 2011
Wednesday, 1 December 2010
Heals gears up for Christmas
Tuesday, 31 August 2010
Dedicated followers of fashion
Great! If you like grey then this autumn is going to be a fantastic time for you. All the high street fashion retailers have decided that grey is the colour for this autumn and have launched grey tops, grey dresses and grey accessories. Not to be outdone, Heal's has announced its interior design look for this autumn is going to be, wait for it, GREY!
"A cool and contemporary collection of furnitureand accessories in every shade of grey from pale pastel grey to dark charcoals bought to life with metallic silver and pewter touches." I guess the only risk is that a fashionable lady dressed in grey might just disappear from view if they sit on a fashionable sofa.
Did you know?
Heal's reputation was founded on being part of a cutting edge movement in design and style? It led the way for others to follow.
Monday, 24 May 2010
The misuse of Designer
Let me say from the outset that Heal's is not the only company guilty of this offence, but is one of many. So to what great misdemeanour am I referring? That of prefixing almost any item with the word 'designer' in an attempt to make it sound better than it actually is.
Surely every single man-made product has to be designed by someone? Even the dimensions, angles, joints and shapes involved in the creation of, for example, a traditional Windsor chair will have to have been put together by someone before it can be built in a workshop. Does this make a Windsor chair a Designer Windsor chair?
Some may try to counter this by claiming that the identity of the designer is unknown and therefore the phrase designer is not used. Surely if that is true then the phrase should only be used when the identity of the designer is known and further, the designer is someone widely known?
I have no problem if someone wants to describe something created by, for example Charles and Ray Eames or Charles Rennie Mackintosh as a designer item but how many sales staff can provide the name and biographical details of the creator responsible for the 'designer' sofa they are selling? Tell me that it's a meaningless term that's just used to make something sound more appealing and I'll show you a retailer that regards their customers as ignorant and stupid. do you want to give your money to someone who thinks you're ignorant and stupid? (apart from the government).
Surely every single man-made product has to be designed by someone? Even the dimensions, angles, joints and shapes involved in the creation of, for example, a traditional Windsor chair will have to have been put together by someone before it can be built in a workshop. Does this make a Windsor chair a Designer Windsor chair?
Some may try to counter this by claiming that the identity of the designer is unknown and therefore the phrase designer is not used. Surely if that is true then the phrase should only be used when the identity of the designer is known and further, the designer is someone widely known?
I have no problem if someone wants to describe something created by, for example Charles and Ray Eames or Charles Rennie Mackintosh as a designer item but how many sales staff can provide the name and biographical details of the creator responsible for the 'designer' sofa they are selling? Tell me that it's a meaningless term that's just used to make something sound more appealing and I'll show you a retailer that regards their customers as ignorant and stupid. do you want to give your money to someone who thinks you're ignorant and stupid? (apart from the government).
Thursday, 6 May 2010
Happy birthday Heal's!
Heal's is celebrating its 200th birthday this year, so I offer the staff my felicitations. Amongst the activities and events being held to mark the occasion is the publication of a company history (I'd like a copy please) and, in two days time, a warehouse clearance sale at prices of 'up to 70% off.'
Sadly I shall be unable to make it to Heal's London warehouse to take advantage of this event but, given my remarks about the company's prices, I can only applaud such generous discounting as a positive step. Perhaps Heal's might find some other way to celebrate its longevity with those of us in the provinces?
Sadly I shall be unable to make it to Heal's London warehouse to take advantage of this event but, given my remarks about the company's prices, I can only applaud such generous discounting as a positive step. Perhaps Heal's might find some other way to celebrate its longevity with those of us in the provinces?
Friday, 5 March 2010
What's in a name?
I'm sorry to say this because I really like Heals - I used to love going into their shop in Guildford on a Saturday morning - but I worry that they might be trading too heavily on the appeal of their highly respected name, rather than the quality of their products?
I've been looking at the bedroom furniture on their website and I feel bound to say that it is staggeringly expensive compared to similar items elsewhere. Now, I have absolutely no problem in paying more for better quality and will happily pay for an English-made saddle for example, rather than a cheaper import. This is because you can see the difference in things like the quality of the stitching and the metal fittings.
But I'm afraid I really don't see how, for example, a wood veneered bedside table can cost £395 from Heals when solid oak or solid mahogany ones are available elsewhere for less than £125? OK I know Chippendale used veneers, but this furniture is definitely not Chippendale.
Heals has a justifiably proud name for the quality and design of its products. It cannot (and should not) compete with the cheap furniture end of the market but if it is to position itself as a retailer of quality then surely it has to raise its game.
I've been looking at the bedroom furniture on their website and I feel bound to say that it is staggeringly expensive compared to similar items elsewhere. Now, I have absolutely no problem in paying more for better quality and will happily pay for an English-made saddle for example, rather than a cheaper import. This is because you can see the difference in things like the quality of the stitching and the metal fittings.
But I'm afraid I really don't see how, for example, a wood veneered bedside table can cost £395 from Heals when solid oak or solid mahogany ones are available elsewhere for less than £125? OK I know Chippendale used veneers, but this furniture is definitely not Chippendale.
Heals has a justifiably proud name for the quality and design of its products. It cannot (and should not) compete with the cheap furniture end of the market but if it is to position itself as a retailer of quality then surely it has to raise its game.
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
Furniture Brands
Introduction
This website is sponsored by Right Price Furniture, one of the UK’s top independent online furniture retailers and is a tribute to the achievements of the famous British furniture makers, Heal and Son Ltd.
Heals Furniture
Heals was established in 1810 by John Heal primarily as a company making beds. It is important to remember that during this period there were no national furniture chains or department stores and those who could afford it commissioned their furniture either from the local carpenter or from a firm of cabinet makers. The better firms of cabinet makers, such as Gillows, moved to London from where their reputation grew amongst the wealthy and fashionable – and the growing Middle Classes of Victorian Britain.
Heals traded successfully as bed makers and cabinet makers and, as was common at the time, also designed and installed complete interiors. But the company’s greatest contribution to furniture-making – and the period which firmly established its place in history – came about during the early years of the 20th Century.
Heals great contribution to furniture production
Ambrose – later Sir Ambrose – Heal joined the company in 1893 and is credited with combining the fashionable styling of the Arts and Crafts Movement with the techniques of industrialised furniture manufacture. This may not sound like much of an achievement today, but his efforts helped pave the way for future companies such as G Plan, Ercol and modern companies such as Devonshire Pine Ltd.
The first difficulty to overcome was that the artists and designers associated with the Arts and Crafts Movement were reacting against what they saw as the dehumanisation of mankind caused by the machines of the Industrial Revolution. They believed they should respond by only producing unique hand-finished pieces of art. Of course a consequence of this would be to limit availability of their designs to the very wealthy.
The other challenge was that mass manufacturing techniques for furniture were still in their infancy, and many production approaches were yet to be invented and developed. However, Ambrose Heal realised the growing ranks of the Middle Classes aspired to attractive design and the only way to fulfil such demand was through the use of large-scale manufacture, producing affordable furniture in sufficient quantities.
Ambrose Heal overcame these challenges and also helped establish the Design and Industries Association in 1915. Throughout the inter-war period of the 1920s and 1930s and right up to his retirement as chairman in 1953, Heals furniture gained a reputation for being smart, stylish and of good quality.
Heals, Liberty and Harrods
To put the achievements of Ambrose Heal in context, it is interesting to consider his contemporary, Arthur Liberty – founder of Liberty & Co – who was already working with designers from the Arts and Crafts Movement by the time Ambrose Heal began work at Heals in 1893.
Liberty & Co had been founded 19 years earlier, selling furnishings and furniture with a pronounced emphasis on Japanese and Chinese furniture (the Chinoiserie that was so popular in Victorian Britain). Arthur Liberty also worked with many famous designers, is credited with being a leading influence in the development of Art Nouveau, and is best remembered for the fabric designs that have become synonymous with his name.
Both Heals and Liberty became department stores and the other famous contemporary was Harrods, originally established as a grocery store by Charles Henry Harrod in 1834. By the time Ambrose Heal started work, Harrods had moved to its Knightsbridge location and shares in Harrods Stores Limited were being traded on the London Stock Exchange.
All three businesses were involved in the birth of the department store in Britain. They began as bed makers, home ware retailers and grocers but as they grew they all took on more enterprises – catering to the ‘invention’ of shopping as a leisure activity.
This website is sponsored by Right Price Furniture, one of the UK’s top independent online furniture retailers and is a tribute to the achievements of the famous British furniture makers, Heal and Son Ltd.
Heals Furniture
Heals was established in 1810 by John Heal primarily as a company making beds. It is important to remember that during this period there were no national furniture chains or department stores and those who could afford it commissioned their furniture either from the local carpenter or from a firm of cabinet makers. The better firms of cabinet makers, such as Gillows, moved to London from where their reputation grew amongst the wealthy and fashionable – and the growing Middle Classes of Victorian Britain.
Heals traded successfully as bed makers and cabinet makers and, as was common at the time, also designed and installed complete interiors. But the company’s greatest contribution to furniture-making – and the period which firmly established its place in history – came about during the early years of the 20th Century.
Heals great contribution to furniture production
Ambrose – later Sir Ambrose – Heal joined the company in 1893 and is credited with combining the fashionable styling of the Arts and Crafts Movement with the techniques of industrialised furniture manufacture. This may not sound like much of an achievement today, but his efforts helped pave the way for future companies such as G Plan, Ercol and modern companies such as Devonshire Pine Ltd.
The first difficulty to overcome was that the artists and designers associated with the Arts and Crafts Movement were reacting against what they saw as the dehumanisation of mankind caused by the machines of the Industrial Revolution. They believed they should respond by only producing unique hand-finished pieces of art. Of course a consequence of this would be to limit availability of their designs to the very wealthy.
The other challenge was that mass manufacturing techniques for furniture were still in their infancy, and many production approaches were yet to be invented and developed. However, Ambrose Heal realised the growing ranks of the Middle Classes aspired to attractive design and the only way to fulfil such demand was through the use of large-scale manufacture, producing affordable furniture in sufficient quantities.
Ambrose Heal overcame these challenges and also helped establish the Design and Industries Association in 1915. Throughout the inter-war period of the 1920s and 1930s and right up to his retirement as chairman in 1953, Heals furniture gained a reputation for being smart, stylish and of good quality.
Heals, Liberty and Harrods
To put the achievements of Ambrose Heal in context, it is interesting to consider his contemporary, Arthur Liberty – founder of Liberty & Co – who was already working with designers from the Arts and Crafts Movement by the time Ambrose Heal began work at Heals in 1893.
Liberty & Co had been founded 19 years earlier, selling furnishings and furniture with a pronounced emphasis on Japanese and Chinese furniture (the Chinoiserie that was so popular in Victorian Britain). Arthur Liberty also worked with many famous designers, is credited with being a leading influence in the development of Art Nouveau, and is best remembered for the fabric designs that have become synonymous with his name.
Both Heals and Liberty became department stores and the other famous contemporary was Harrods, originally established as a grocery store by Charles Henry Harrod in 1834. By the time Ambrose Heal started work, Harrods had moved to its Knightsbridge location and shares in Harrods Stores Limited were being traded on the London Stock Exchange.
All three businesses were involved in the birth of the department store in Britain. They began as bed makers, home ware retailers and grocers but as they grew they all took on more enterprises – catering to the ‘invention’ of shopping as a leisure activity.
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