Luxury furniture producer Chaddock has teamed up with designer Benjamin Johnston to launch one of its largest collections of case goods and upholstery in recent years. The roughly 50-piece line, produced at the company’s workshop in Morganton, North Carolina, will debut at the High Point Market Oct. 22-26.

“We are thrilled to add Benjamin Johnston as our newest signature designer,” said Andrew Crone, Chaddock chief executive officer. “Ben has the unique ability to blur the lines between architecture and interior design.  This collection personifies modern luxury.”

Johnston, who got his start as an architect and then moved into interior design, now combines both pursuits as partner and creative director of Benjamin Johnston Design in Houston, which creates luxury homes for clients, from start to finish.

The new Chaddock collection, split roughly evenly between upholstery pieces and case goods, features quartersawn oak and maple, brass hardware and other embellishments. Crone said the line showcases Chaddock’s custom capabilities, including two new wire-brush finishes, while diversifying the manufacturer’s line of heirloom furnishings.

Each piece, the company says, is inspired by Johnston’s travels and work around the globe to create “a modern interpretation of neoclassical forms with midcentury influences.” Johnston’s firm is known for its “classic, curated, cool” aesthetic, and the new Chaddock line is imbued with crisp, precise detailing and a sense of luxury.

Chaddock expects the line to appeal to both Johnston’s global clientele and also interior designers “looking for fresh and inventive pieces to layer into their own designs,” Crone said.

From customer to collaborator

The initial conversations between Chaddock and long-time customer Johnston began about two years ago.

“We’ve sourced their products for our clients for years, and our mutual passion for innovation and commitment to exceptional quality and service made this partnership feel like a very natural next step,” Johnston said. “Together, we are building upon Chaddock’s legacy with a collection that pays homage to traditional silhouettes in fun, unexpected ways. This is a dream collaboration for me.”

Crone noted that many of the projects Johnston’s firm handles are for large, multimillion dollar homes with high ceilings, and that experience is bringing larger-scale pieces to the Chaddock line. “You don’t want to have a nightstand that looks miniature in a large-scale room, so he is bringing some larger scale to the line, which is fun,” he said.

The line includes sofas and chairs, tables and other case goods. There are two main beds in the collection, including a tall, four-poster bed with a wood-framed upholstered headboard. Another bed is fully upholstered and features block legs. Companion case pieces include multiple nightstands.

Johnston has collaborations with other luxury home goods companies. He has a line of fabrics with S. Harris, which, Crone said, “we are going to showcase and tease up at our showroom (during market) so there will be some cross-pollination there.” Johnston also has a rug line with Madison Lilly that can be seen at the Chaddock showroom in 200 Steele in High Point.

But during the October market, the furniture will take center stage in a way that brings Johnston’s modern approach to life across multiple categories.

“One thing that has been a little challenging through this whole process is flexing our product development team just to try to get through some of the backlog,” Crone said. “It’s much different in today’s world, trying to bring a new collection, especially one as large as this, to life.”

But, he said, Johnston has been a great collaborator.

“It’s been fun to work with him because, from a product standpoint, I have never met somebody who is so detail oriented and who understands the intricacies of our business and how product is made,” Crone said. “Usually it is us trying to teach the designers and trying to mold their vision to fit what our capabilities are. This one has been fun because it is kind of going at it from a different way where he already has that in mind with what the possibilities are and how to tweak things and get them right.”