THE EARLY DAYS

In 1965, Paul and Virginia (Ginny) Hendrixson opened Hendrixson’s Furniture with the dream of earning a reputation as purveyors of the finest quality furniture and interior decorations. Over the years they have realized this dream by seeking out the best in the products they represent and in the quality of the design services they offer. Along the way they have seen their business grow from a small shop showcasing fine bench-made colonial reproductions to a multi-location business, in both Bucks and Lehigh Counties, representing a broad range of design styles from classic to contemporary. Paul Hendrixson’s interest in fine furniture and interior design originated in his childhood, much of which was spent in his father’s custom upholstery shop. At a very early age he and his older brother Harry learned the time honored methods of upholstering fine furniture. Assisting their father, they stripped furniture down to bare frames and learned the process of securing coil springs to a chair or sofa’s deck with Italian twine tied and knotted eight-ways across the springs. They learned how to pad the arms and seat with horse hair and how to ‘spit tacks’ – the traditional way of securing upholstery to a frame with an upholstery tack and hammer. They learned how to tailor and flow-match the most intricate fabric patterns. Paul would also help his father and brother deliver the finished product into their client’s homes and there he was exposed to the broad quality of interior design to be found in the finest homes of suburban Philadelphia. From this last part of his experience apprenticing with his father, Paul developed a fascination for fine wood case pieces as great as his love for upholstery. To encourage this interest, his father introduced him to Albert Sack’s seminal Fine Points of Furniture: Early American – Good, Better, Best, which taught him to discern, not only excellence in furniture design, but also the finer points of traditional construction. As an adult, Paul joined his brother in opening their own upholstery business, but when his brother chose to move to Maine and open shop there, Paul decided to expand the business into retail furniture. This would give him the opportunity to acquire furniture lines that represented the principles of design and construction that had fascinated him in his childhood and to explore his growing interest in interior design.