Illustration: Heal's advertising literature, 1898.
Ambrose Heal set out with the idea to expand his family's bedding business into the lucrative furnishing and accessory market. He was convinced that simple, well-constructed and functional furniture could be produced at a reasonable retail price for the general public.
This does not, of course mean that he was adverse to selling furniture that was more elaborate and expensive. Ambrose Heal was above all a pragmatist who was well aware that there was more than one type of consumer for interior products and more than one type of retail strategy and he was more than happy to cater for a cross section of tastes and finances.
However, as far as furniture is concerned, it is the simple, well-constructed styles produced at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century that Heal's is now best remembered.
Heal himself was never just a retailer. He had the final say in all aspects of the business, whether it was graphics for advertising, shop layout, or indeed, the construction of the furniture for sale. Obviously this attention to detail paid off, as Heal's, along with Liberty, had one of the earliest corporate identity's in the retail sector.
Ambrose Heal, through the Heal retail outlet, was able to produce realistic Arts & Crafts inspired interior furnishings and accessories. That he was able to sell furniture, at a relatively cheap price made it all the more attractive and affordable to the masses, something the Arts & Crafts Guilds, although aspiring to, never managed.
This had always been the dream of the Arts & Crafts movement and it is perhaps ironic that a retailer was able to achieve one of the fundamental aspects of the movements philosophy, simple, well-constructed and functional furniture, affordable to the common man. But perhaps what had really been needed amongst the Guilds and the Arts & Crafts movement in general, was the realistic and above all practical and pragmatic imagination of an Ambrose Heal.
Further reading links:
Victorian and Edwardian Furniture and Interiors: From the Gothic Revival to Art Nouveau
The Arts and Crafts Movement in Britain (Shire History)
The Arts & Crafts Movement
Arts and Crafts Movement (World of Art)
Arts and Crafts Furniture: From Classic to Contemporary
Arts and Crafts Furniture
Arts & Crafts Furniture Anyone Can Make
Arts & Crafts Furniture: Projects You Can Build for the Home (Woodworker's Library)
Authentic Arts & Crafts Furniture Projects
Good Citizens Furniture: The Arts and Crafts Collection at Cheltenham
This does not, of course mean that he was adverse to selling furniture that was more elaborate and expensive. Ambrose Heal was above all a pragmatist who was well aware that there was more than one type of consumer for interior products and more than one type of retail strategy and he was more than happy to cater for a cross section of tastes and finances.
However, as far as furniture is concerned, it is the simple, well-constructed styles produced at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century that Heal's is now best remembered.
Heal himself was never just a retailer. He had the final say in all aspects of the business, whether it was graphics for advertising, shop layout, or indeed, the construction of the furniture for sale. Obviously this attention to detail paid off, as Heal's, along with Liberty, had one of the earliest corporate identity's in the retail sector.
Interestingly, Heal was a trained cabinetmaker and he in fact designed the 'St Ives' furniture shown in the advertisement of 1898 that illustrates this article. However, he commissioned Charles Robert Ashbee's Guild of Handicraft workshop to produce the furniture initially, but Heal, always being a man who needed direct control over all aspects of design, production and retailing, and with a careful eye on costs, felt that he could achieve cheaper and better results if he were to set up his own workshop. This he did, having first persuaded Ashbee's chief cabinetmaker to run the new Heal's workshop.
Ambrose Heal, through the Heal retail outlet, was able to produce realistic Arts & Crafts inspired interior furnishings and accessories. That he was able to sell furniture, at a relatively cheap price made it all the more attractive and affordable to the masses, something the Arts & Crafts Guilds, although aspiring to, never managed.
This had always been the dream of the Arts & Crafts movement and it is perhaps ironic that a retailer was able to achieve one of the fundamental aspects of the movements philosophy, simple, well-constructed and functional furniture, affordable to the common man. But perhaps what had really been needed amongst the Guilds and the Arts & Crafts movement in general, was the realistic and above all practical and pragmatic imagination of an Ambrose Heal.
Further reading links:
Victorian and Edwardian Furniture and Interiors: From the Gothic Revival to Art Nouveau
The Arts and Crafts Movement in Britain (Shire History)
The Arts & Crafts Movement
Arts and Crafts Movement (World of Art)
Arts and Crafts Furniture: From Classic to Contemporary
Arts and Crafts Furniture
Arts & Crafts Furniture Anyone Can Make
Arts & Crafts Furniture: Projects You Can Build for the Home (Woodworker's Library)
Authentic Arts & Crafts Furniture Projects
Good Citizens Furniture: The Arts and Crafts Collection at Cheltenham
