January 25, 1922 



Hardwood Record — Veneer & Panel Section 



39 



Grand Rapids Enjoys Record Attendance 



By Our Special Correspondent 



The furniture market for 1922 in Grand Rapids draws to a close 

 with a record attendance. No January market has ever brought 

 BO many buyers, and only one summer market has surpassed it. 



This furniture market is worthy of serious consideration by 

 economists and others who are studying earnestly the condition of 

 our Nation. A furniture market which is a general and repre- 

 sentative is the best barometer we have as to our country's con- 

 ditioin. There is no speculation in furniture as there is in many 

 of our foodstuffs, in oil, and in the basic products such as steel and 

 copper. It is not the outlet for extravagant expenditures for dis- 

 play purposes, nor can it be classed with the daily necessities such 

 as food and clothing. 



The purchase of good furniture is the practical manifestation 

 of the American standard of living. The American citizen wants 

 more than food, — more than clothes, — more than shelter. He 

 wants attractive surroundings which will make his shelter a Home. 

 When we find all along the line from the medium grades to the 

 best, that furniture is being purchased by the dealers to meet the 

 demand of the consumer, we realize that the country is not bank- 

 rupt; that funds and business are not to be had, and that the 

 general tone must be optomistic. These are not the purchases 

 of need, or of extravagance but present a good sound tone in 

 American buying. 



Largest Furniture Show 



Now what is the retailer purchasing for his trade? The answer 

 is, "everything that is good, in moderation." To some the market 

 may have appeared spotty. This is particularly true with some 

 of the new and little known outside lines. This was the largest 

 show of furniture ever brought together in one place, and the 

 a\erage buyer does not give himself to time to see it. For this 

 reason we found a very pronounced tendency amoung buyers to 

 purchase their requirements in comparatively few places and to 

 visit other lines as "lookers" only. This is what the new lines 

 must expect, and onlyquality, values, or salesmanship will avail 

 to transform the "looker" into a customer. 



In a previous number we have observed that the outstanding 

 characteristic of this market is the good design and the good taste 

 shown in the medium and lower grades of furniture. The floors are 

 quite free from the atrocities of a few years back. Along with 

 good design is the tasteful use of cabinet woods. I have in mind 

 one dining room line from which the glass front china cabinet has 

 entirely disappeared to be replaced by cabinets with beautiful 

 paneled fronts relying almost entirely upon the figured woods for 

 their decoration. 



Burls in medallions and panels are common as decorative features, 

 in various combinations of cabinet woods and this study of woods as 

 \ve\\ as line among the designers is noticeable in nearly all the better 

 lines. 



We find too, an increasing aversion for composition ornament, 

 and not in many years has there appeared so much genuine wood 

 carving. Several of the Grand Rapids factories have materially 

 increased their carving room forces; and the Grand Rapids School 

 of Carving which is operated by the manufacturers of the city for 

 the training of hand carvers, hand turners, and spindle carvers, 

 and incidentally does custom work, is looking forward to the 

 busiest period in its history. 



Gum In High Favor 



There is, of course, more use made of gum than of any of the 

 other woods. It has proven an exceedingly valuable wood, for the 

 manufacturer and for the dealer, and no amount of propaganda 

 of disparagement will ever dislodge it from the position of high 

 favor which it now holds. Attacks upon it will serve only to bring 

 to light its many good qualities, and make generally known the 



fact that good design and good cabinet work are not lost upon 

 gum. Had gum been given a distinctive finish of its own instead 

 of being made totrade upon the reputation of its aristocratic broth- 

 ers, walnut and mahogany, we might have been spared much of the 

 anxiety with which the furniture industry is being torn today over 

 the question of standardizing the designations of cabinet woods 

 in the finished piece. 



A considerable amount of mahogany is being used in the good 

 lines in this market, but there seems to be a general feeling that 

 v/alnut is the real leader. All of the best things are being done 

 in walnut and while many of them are also being done in mahogany, 

 many are not. Mahogany maintains its supremacy (to the extent 

 that it is used) in the high grade lines of upholstered furniture. 



One feature which is bound to be felt to the detriment of walnut 

 is the amount of very poor walnut that is being used in the cheaper 

 lines. It is walnut, to be sure, but it is far below the grade of a 

 good cabinet wood. This is not so surprising in the solid wood, — 

 but one is frequently surprised at the poor figure and texture, or 

 lack of figure and texture in some of the veneers. This it must be 

 understood, applies to only a part of the walnut shown in a cer- 

 tain class of lines. On the other hand nothing finer has ever been 

 shown than some of the walnut in the high grade lines. Seeing one 

 suit in the Royal display, and one other on the John Widdicomb 

 floor, one would feel impelled to say that walnut was a cabinet 

 wood without equal. 



Oak's Position Enigmatic 



There is considerable uncertaity as to the vague of oak. It is not 

 at all common in the market, but where it does appear it is spon- 

 sored by the best houses, correctly used by the best designers in 

 Italian and Gothic studies, and set forth with the utmost skill of 

 the cabinet and finished rooms. It may be that the present high 

 cost of oak accounts for this sumptuous setting, but we prefer to 

 believe that oak as a cabinet wood is winning the appreciation that 

 rightfully belongs to it. It has ben badly used in the past and has 

 suffered much at the hands of conscienceless wood butchers; but 

 it certainly seems as though a new day were dawning for oak, and it 

 is a safe prediction that the next show will see considerable more 

 of it. 



The industry has every reason to congratulate itself upon this 

 market. At a time of general depression and apprehension in 

 many lines of trade, such an attendance of sellers and buyers and 

 the generous buying of many lines indicates confidence. A feeling 

 pervades the trade that home building on a large scale is begin- 

 ning or is imminent and everyone believes that when building is 

 under way we shall have a general revival of business. A wide 

 spread building activity will not only relieve unemployment di- 

 rectly but will stimulate buying in all lines from the basic indus- 

 tries to the specialty shops. 



In those scattering instances in the market where business has 

 not been good (and this is almost entirely with the new exhibi- 

 tors) the manufacturers have had the advantage of meeting a large 

 number of buyers, have taken the temperature of the trade, have 

 had the benefit of friendly, constructive criticism, and have laid 

 the foundation for future trade. On account of the large num- 

 ber of lines shown, and the numerous incidental advantages of the 

 market, there is a growing tendency of the buyers to stay longer 

 each season in Grand Rapids. This is made difficult by the limited 

 hotel accomodations, but if (as now seems certain) the new Hotel 

 Rowe is open in January, 1923, many buyers will double the length 



of their stay. 



Twenty-two Hundred Buyers 

 The fact that twenty-two hundred buyers — a record for Janu- 

 ary — attended the market attests the fact the buyers are more and 



if'ltUtiUHl tf till IHIIlt .J 'J I 



