WHF Blog

Western Heritage - Monday, May 21, 2012

 

A few weeks ago, a terrible tragedy struck our neighbors on the other side of the mountain.   A fire raged through historic Whiskey Row in Prescott, AZ, destroying a couple of businesses and damaging several more, including one of our fantastic dealers, Jenny Longhorn.   Richard Schulte, owner of Jenny Longhorn (jennylonghorn.com), said that while he did not receive any fire damage, the smoke damage to the store was extensive, ruining much of their inventory and forcing them to close for at least a month.   

A portion of Whiskey Row as seen before the fire that damaged businesses such as the Bird Cage Saloon, Larry and Hy's BBQ, Prescott Food Store, and Jenny Longhorn. 

 Photo taken May 8, 2012

Our hearts go out to all of those affected by the fire.  We hope that the rebuilding process is fast and that business can resume as normal.

KM

 

 

Western Heritage - Wednesday, March 21, 2012

 

I am always amused, while thumbing through a fashion magazine, when I read headlines that declare that "Red Lips/Polka Dots/Black Pants are BACK!"  Well, thank goodness!   Am I the only person that didn't know they were gone?

Even if you do not follow fashion, there are some things that are simply classic.  The color black definitely falls into that category.   As I was laughing at the revelation that black pants were FINALLY back in style, it dawned on me that there were a lot of orders leaving our doors lately with black leather panels.  Maybe there was something to this black thing...

So this blog is dedicated to all the gorgeous black leather accented furniture that we have created, and all the super trendy designers and retailers who know style when they see it!

 

Our classic Whatchamacallit combines rustic with sleek black leather. The Bartlett legs can be modern or rustic, making this a very versatile piece. 

 

If the rustic Ghostwood is not your style, Western Heritage will also make furniture out of Alder, such as this buffet.  The wood is stained our standard Coffee finish, and Pewter tacks pop off of the black leather panels.

 

 

The Signature Cocktail Table looks dapper in black.  I could see this with a contemporary red leather sofa, cow hide or Navajo Rug, and neutral walls and floor.  Statement piece for sure!

 

 

Custom "Cowboy" corners were added to this piece for a Western Bedroom. 

 

Last but not least, one of my favorite pieces to come out of the factory lately were two of these custom-sized buffets with black leather panels and Hammered Zinc tacks.  The end result was simply stunning. 

When it comes fashion and furniture, trends can be fun, but CLASSIC is always in style! 

As always, call us at 925-639-1424 or email sales@whf-inc.com for more information. 

 KM

 

 

 

Western Heritage - Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Western Heritage Furniture can be found in many wonderful home furnishing stores and homes throughout the United States and Canada.  While we have dipped our toes into the international market, we received a wonderful surprise the day that Elena de Vizri, owner of El Corcel in Panama gave us a call. 

Ms. De Vizri has three storefronts where she sells fine Western apparel, tack, and home furnishings.  And to help her fill her multiple locations, we put together an entire container of furniture to ship down to Panama.  She made her selections without having ever laid eyes upon the furniture, having only a recommendation and our web images.

It was a wonderful experience to work with Elena and to see everyone at WHF pull together and make this happen.  

 

 

Our warehouse space inside the factory was full to capacity!

 

On shipping day, an empty container arrived on the back of a truck, and a carefully orchestrated game of furniture Tetris began. 

 

 

 Neith, Richard, Tel, and Jim were hard at work making sure that everything was properly wrapped and padded for the trip across the ocean.

 

 

Every piece had to be lifted up almost 5 feet to find its place in the container.

 

 After several hours of carefully loading, everything fit in perfectly!  Our loaders did a great job of making sure that the pieces were secure and protected. 

Then we waited.  After several months of organizing, preparing and building we had to wait a bit longer to get El Corcel's reaction to the furniture. 

 Finally, after weeks of freight time and customs, Elena emailed to say how delighted she was with all of the furniture, and surprised me with this.....

  Thanks to Elena of El Corcel from all of us at Western Heritage Furniture! 

 

Western Heritage - Friday, December 16, 2011

 

It sure is getting chilly up here on Cleopatra Hill!  The icy winds and snowfall have been delivering quite the punch these last couple of weeks.  

 

While I have to admit that it looks beautiful, keeping warm in this old building is a bit of a challenge.  One thing that we have done to try and battle the chill, is the addition of all new exterior doors on our factory.   Besides providing better insulation, they look much better than the old gymnasium doors.  

 Western Heritage Furniture makes a wide variety of doors using alder and Ghostwood.

 

 

 

Any of our parquetry patterns can be converted into our doors.  Above is the Diamondback and Archer patterns.

Simple rustic elegance.  Roxy can't resist sneaking a peak.

Open the doors up to see the copper and leather designs on the interior.  While not the best for dealing with the elements, adding embellishment on the interior of a door would certainly dress up a foyer.

There is no reason to have to use plain old doors!  Contact us at sales@whf-inc.com to find out about our custom doors, cabinet facings, and built-ins.  Or just come on up to Jerome and take a stroll around town, where you will see our doors in action!

 

 

Western Heritage - Wednesday, November 16, 2011

 

Last week, we had the privilege of creating a Presidential Desk for our friends at Valerie's Furniture and Accents in Cave Creek, AZ.   This is a pretty spectacular desk, one that we don't get to make every day.   Everyone who worked on this piece agreed that it was the most beautiful desk that we have ever produced, so I had to take some pictures and share with everyone.  Enjoy.

  

 The Presidential Desk is an executive style desk made with various species of reclaimed wood, including walnut, redwood, curly cherry, and Western Heritage's signature Ghostwood. 

 

 

 Along with using reclaimed lumber to build our furniture, WHF also reclaims architectural details, such as this molding.   This particular molding was pulled from a building here in Jerome, AZ.  

 

 

 Part of what made this desk so breathtaking were the panels on the top.  These panels were hand picked by Adam, our sawyer, for their ability to shine in an application like this. 

 

 

A closer view at the wonderful heartwood panels. 

 

 A bit of Ghosttown Copper was added in to the corner leg insets, and the top corner detail.  This corner detail is bordered in the curly cherry to really make it stand out.

 

 

Buffalo Nickel tacks were added over the leather trimmed edge for a fun Western detail.

 

 

Western Heritage makes file drawers that are easily converted from letter to legal per the customer's preference.   The central pencil drawer can also me made as a keyboard slideout for PC users.

 

 Hats off to the team at Valerie's Furniture and Accents (valeriesfurniture.com) and to our artisans who make each piece of Western Heritage Furniture special and one of a kind!

 

 

Western Heritage - Thursday, October 06, 2011

 

Our customers are pretty darn creative! 

 Take a look at these custom pieces designed by Paul M.

 

 The shape of the End Table was inspired by a Moroccan Table that Paul owned.  Liking the unique shape, he wanted to utilize it on his new tables as well.  The top pattern is a variation of WHF's Archer pattern.  Some inspiration was taken from the pattern found on our Carson Desk.

 

         

The same shape concept was used on the sofa table, as well as a coordinating top pattern.  Clipped corners are a great way to make the shape of a table more dynamic, as well as eliminating sharp corners that you could possibly walk in to.  (Not that I have ever done that, I am as graceful as a swan.)

 

          

 Arroyo Copper accents were added to the bottom shelf, around the top, and inset into the top pattern.  WHF's Arroyo Copper technique is oxidized to look like an old penny, with some shallow wrinkles for character.  

Also, on many of our Ghostwood pieces you will see wonderful saw marks, like you can see on the leg of the piece above. 

 

 More of that wonderful Arroyo Copper accent on the top of the piece.   Did you know that WHF doesn't use wood stain on our 100% Ghostwood pieces?  Each piece of wood is hand selected by our artisans for it's character and color, and given a luxurious wax finish to enhance all the natural tones of the wood.   

 
Hats off to Paul M. for a gorgeous design and for letting us feature his pieces on our site.  Thanks Paul!

 

 

Western Heritage - Friday, September 09, 2011

Every now and then, Western Heritage Furniture pops up in some pretty amazing places.   One of the more wonderful places that I have seen is The Ranch at Rock Creek near Philipsburg, Montana.   This luxury guest ranch gives a flavor of the "wild west" in conjunction with first-class amenities. 

The RARC owes it's gorgeous western style to Santa Fe based interior designer Jet Zarkadas, founder and owner of Los Griegos Studio.   The interiors are rich, rustic, and above all, authentic; completely devoid of kitsch.  From the guest rooms to the Silver Dollar Saloon, this place is the ultimate in "glamping".  (Thanks to the Travel Channel for coining this term!)

Enjoy a few photos of this acclaimed property, and start planning you next vacation.

  

The Ranch at Rock Creek, Granite Lodge

 

 Horse Drive

 

Fly fishing on Rock Creek

 

 The Great Room in the Granite Lodge.  Check out that gorgeous poker table!

 

Zakardas used WHF's Cheyenne desk for the Concierge's office.

 

The Winchester Room, one of nine guest rooms at Granite Lodge.

 

 WHF's Saloon Tables with checkerboard tops are seen just off of the four lane bowling alley.

Contact the Ranch at Rock Creek at theranchatrockcreek.com for more information and reservations.

Contact Jet Zarkadas and Los Griegos Design Studio at losgriegosstudio.com.

Thanks to Los Griegos Studio and to Ranch at Rock Creek for images.

KM

 

Western Heritage - Monday, August 22, 2011
Happy Monday Everyone!

Just wanted to let everyone know that we are having a little technical difficulties with our phone systems.  We had lightning strike our factory Friday afternoon (gotta love those Arizona monsoons!), and our phones have been down ever since.  Our system will be down for a few days while we install a new one.

In the meantime....

send us an email at sales@whf-inc.com and we will get back with you promptly.

Sorry for the inconvenience, and we hope to hear from you all real soon!


 

Western Heritage - Thursday, August 04, 2011

We don't always, or even often, get to see our furniture as it relates to a customer's home.   Every now and then, we get the privilege of personally delivering our pieces out into the world, and can appreciate how the design process all comes together. 

Recently, we made a dining table that had our tongues all wagging, thanks to Sedona designer Sheri Mleynek.   Sheri designed this piece to have 2 leaves (expanding out to an oval), custom finish on the table and chairs, and Ghosttown Copper accents on the chairs, table top, and edging.



The top is our Archer pattern with the turquoise copper accentuating the darker wood tones.  The leaves are engineered so that a pattern is maintained when the table is expanded.



The table looked amazing on the slate flooring.


 
The chairs were coordinated with the same custom finish, Merlot leather, and a Ghosttown Copper panel on the back.  A gorgeous group designed by Sheri!  Thank you and keep up the great work!!

To contact Sheri Mleynek, email sheri@mleynekdesigns.com

For information on furniture, customizations, and bending the rules of time and space, contact sales@whf-inc.com


 

Western Heritage - Thursday, July 21, 2011


It used to be that we would come home from a long day at work, kick off our boots, grab a tasty beverage and settle in to the sofa to watch a little TV to unwind from the stresses of the day.  The living room is aptly named, as that is where we did most of our living.

But, in today's fast-paced, wireless, on-demand society, people are spending more and more time in front of a computer.  So why not make your office as comfortable and pleasant as your living room?  Might as well, desk potato.

Take a look at WHF's new Carson Desk.  Available standard in 60"x30" or in 72"x32", or custom sized to whatever dimension your little heart desires.

The majority of this piece is made from our Milled Ghostwood.  The rough exterior edges of our Ghostwood are planed back to reveal the interior wood.  The finishing result is a cleaner, sleeker, lighter wood tone, perfect for Mountain Modern or Contemporary Southwest designs.
 


The front of the desk is WHF's original Archer pattern in Ghostwood, Milled Ghostwood, and Ghosttown Copper.  Super Ghosty!  Any of WHF's patterned table tops can be put on the front of this piece, and our coppers and leathers are all available as accents to customize the look to your hearts content.



The top of this desk has a central writing panel of our Amber leather and a decorative panel of Ghosttown Copper to set off the top.   The side panels are crafted of the Ghostwood raised center, beveling back to the Milled Ghostwood below.



A single file drawer and two storage drawers on one side, and a tower compartment on the other are on the back of the desk.  The central pencil drawer can convert to a computer keyboard slideout if you need.  Of course WHF can accommodate whatever office configuration that you require.

Contact sales@whf-inc.com for more information regarding customization, construction, and where to buy one for yourself.

Sidenote:  Since this is very ghosty post, I thought it would be fun to mention that this pic is taken at Minehouse Collection on Main Street Jerome.  A few days earlier, they had their first ghost sighting just across from where this desk sits on the mezzanine.   He was relaxing in a chair.  I guess he approves of the new furnishings and was enjoying the space!