Exploring the legacy of furniture production in N.C.

A new exhibition at the North Carolina Museum of History in Raleigh explores how North Carolinians have contributed to the state’s economy through furniture production for hundreds of years.

“Furniture: Crafting a North Carolina Legacy” opened Sept. 16 and will run through March 2024. It explores, honors and illustrates the ways the furniture industry is woven into the state’s history.

Crafting furniture in the state evolved from small backyard shops to modern mechanized factories, creating a major economic impact on North Carolina’s economy and propelling the state to become an international leader in home furnishings, according to the museum.

“Although furniture plays a major role in our lives, it’s an integral part of how we gather, connect and express ourselves, most of us spend very little time thinking about our furniture,” Michael Ausbon, curator of decorative arts, said in a statement. “This exhibit tells the very human story of furniture manufacturing in North Carolina.”

The story includes Thomas Day, a freeborn African American craftsman and entrepreneur, recognized as the father of North Carolina’s furniture industry; Biltmore Estate Industries, the longest-running craft industry in America; Craftique Furniture, a maker of solid mahogany furniture, and Thai designer Nuttapong Charoenkitivarakorn, who designed the Seat Belt Chair, featured in the Hunger Games movie filmed in western North Carolina.

For more, visit ncmuseumofhistory.org.

This article was originally published in the November 2023 issue.