Irion Company Furniture Makers & Richard Herzog
Spring/Summer 1995 Chester County Town & Country Living
At Irion Company in Christiana, PA, men like Gerald Marin, left, are referred to as furniture makers, a title held in high esteem by the craftsmen who work there and by company’s founder, Louis Irion. And furniture makers were what the CCHS needed to have their eighteenth century Queen Anne slant-front desk hand built. The desk is a particularly striking piece of furniture. Gerald Martin said, “Although it has the simplicity of a country piece, the beautiful shell interior dresses it up. The distinctive striping of the tiger maple is an eye-catcher.”
“Wood,” according to Irion, “is where we stake our reputation.” And it’s been said that Louis Irion, a second generation furniture maker has a deep feeling, almost a reverence for wood. And wood is definitely one of the things that makes the Queen Anne desk so special. Irion Company cuts their wood from logs. After each log is cut, it is marked and stacked together. When they make a piece of furniture, they use the same log for all the major components. The desk has a spacious writing surface, storage area, and even secret drawers.
Richard Herzog
For almost twenty years, Richard Herzog has been upholstering period furniture. In 1985 he set up shop in Paoli which now has a four upholsterers, one apprentice, one cutter and two sewers.
Herzog’s reproduction, eighteenth century wing chair is upholstered in documented gold silk damask which originally was made in France in 1790. Herzog chose this fabric, because it “…will enhance any wooden case piece, Oriental rug, or porcelain that is placed near it.” The hardwood frame of the chair is all mortise and tenon. For the sake of modern notions of comfort he used hand tied coil springs layered with horse hair and covered with muslin. Springs, of course, are the only thing about the chair that aren’t 18th century. Fabrics are cut, tailored and expertly applied with meticulous hand stitched seams.
Herzog, who has been in the upholstery business since the age of fifteen, worked both as a woodworker and upholsterer. He also upholstered furniture for an antique dealer.