The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1936-01-23
BY WILLIAM c. UTLEY


TINE American home is going
modern" II is right now on
the verge OF a wave of buying
that is to reveal a new beauty
in household articles and a new func-
tional philosophy of design in furnish
ings from living room to kitchen, from
basement TO attic.
Such is the impression everywhere
apparent this year in the several great
wholesale furniture and housewares
markets conducted annually in the
wholesale centers of the United
States in January.
In these markets there are actually
twice as many buyers as there were
last year acquiring stocks for the re-
tail trade. There is little or none of
the qUibbling over prices which char
aCterized such markets during the
lean years after 1929.
Such buying could be laid to two rea-
sons, although it is impossible TO say
in what degree 10 either one: That
times are actually better, and that the
depreciation during years of depres-
sion in the American home is no long
er TO be denied. At any rate, manu-
faCturPrs. believing that the turn has
come, have seized upon the 1886 mar
kets as the opportunity for concen-
tration of new ideas, and for the in
PRODUCTION OF tempered qualification
Of trends that, in the extreme forms
by which we knew them a few years
ago. were little more than bizarre nov
elites.
Preview of 1886 Homes.
Although the wholesale markets are
not open to the public. the merchan-
disc that is shown and bought in them
offers an interesting preview of forces
that will influence the American home
in the months TO come. 1t is therefore
the purpose of this article TO set down
the trends as accurately as they may
be interpreted by the lay observer.
Most of the information has been
culled from the markets in Chicago's
wholesale city under one roof, the
Merchandise Mart, where nearly mil
lion and half square feet of floor
space has been occupied by them.
From the nightmare of weirdly cubic
and geometricaIly uncomfortable mod
ernistic'' furniture that was fantastic
10 look at and even more fantastic
10 sit on. in penthOuses paid for with
the paper profits of the boom years
has emerged a new period" furniture
that belongs definitely TO the era of
= Fcz in -Fa 3a
modern"
Buyers estimate that 50 per cent
Of the new furniture shown to the
retail trade this year viii be mod
ern." II makes use of the simple
straight lines and departure from elab-
crate ornamenfation that characterized
the .'modernistic'' pieces of a few years
back. II stimulates the eye. but not
to the point where it leaves you with
an artistic hangover. room full of
it does not look Ike a jig-saw puzzle
waiting to be fitted together. 1t is
both comfortable and practical
In the opinion of T. J. W0rmIey. one
of the most noted of contemporary de-
singers. the simplicity of modern" fur
niture makes its manufacture for sell
ing TO the middle and low-priced trade
possible, and therefore will have a pro-
found effect upon the average home
Furniture to Be Styled"
People who bought furniture in
these price classes used to buy a suite
of walnut or oak or mahogany, simply
because it looked pretty" said Mr..
WOrmley. Consequently their homes
were conglomeratfons of many styles
without rhyme or reason. Now these
same people can obtain definitely
styled furniture. venture TO say
that 20 per cent of the furniture bought
this year viii be definitely styled for
some particular application"
America prefers blends this year
at least in furniture woods. according
10 Mr.. Wormley. Most prominent in
the markets are bleached mahogany,
nutwoOd. acacia, aspen. English are
wood. and other light woods Lphol-
stery and leather coverings re seen
in pastel shades Wool an rough, fur
like fabrics are much in evidence, one
of the most popular coverings being of