A new format

As you may have seen on our homepage, we have started something new: we have created our first online look-book.  The idea behind this is to create a format highlighting our one-of-a-kind pieces in settings that reinforce the unique character of each piece.  We wanted it to be something more pleasing to the eye than a simple catalog.  So the plan is to periodically produce brief books of our unique items, either antique or our own designs, in equally as unique settings.

We hope you enjoy our first effort at it!

Open publication - Free publishing - More antique

FPV Holiday 2011

The same, but different...

We recently re-discovered a custom pair of our model R644 end tables and it got me thinking it might be fun to see how we have adapted the model over the years. Fortunately, we have images of some the various ways we have made this model for clients.

This black and white image below is of the original my grandfather made in the 1950’s with a Rouge Royale marble slab top over a single drawer with 2 drawer fronts and a partially enclosed shelf.

This is the same model but in a natural mahogany finish without its marble top or any of its hardware.

Here is one of the pair that we now have available. This smaller pair was probably made by us sometime in the late 1980’s. The marble is Rojo Alacante.

I really love the scale of this other pair of smaller versions of the table, particularly for a bed side. The marble slabs are Carrara.

Finally here is a larger scale version of the table. You can see the model size on the left in the image below. Because the client in this case wanted a particularly deep drawer, we had to eliminate the partially enclosed shelf altogether. There is still only one drawer, but with 3 drawer fronts. Why such a deep drawer? To house the client’s gun box. This also presented some challenges to be sure the drawer could support the weight when it was pulled out. But we have no images to illustrate that. The top is a painted faux marble.

An Old Holiday Card...

We had quite an exciting discovery last weekend - Tony found this old holiday card from Elsie de Wolfe to my grandfather, Frederick Victoria! It seems to be from 1950, and shows a super-imposed bust of Lady Mendl between her two dogs, all of which is supper-imposed on a, rather nice, marble mantel piece. Moreover, it confirms Elsie de Wolfe as a pioneer since she appears to have started photoshopping before the program even existed!

F.P. Victoria + Son Trade Tips 4

Hello! We have taken far too long to put this next batch of videos together, but we are happy to finally have one for you to see.

This video is the first of a three part series we are devoting to upholstery. All too often these days, we find chairs that have had some foam thrown on a frame, with some fabric haphazardly stapled over it, accepted as standard practice. Upholstery is truly an art and can, without a doubt, make or break a chair. We have divided the series into "Upholstery Styles and Appearance," "Upholstery Trim," and "Upholstery Construction." Three short video clips certainly aren't enough to cover a broad topic like upholstery, but we hope it will help remind us all of what to look for in high-quality upholstery and how upholstery can enhance the unique character of a piece.

We hope you enjoy the first video on Upholstery Styles and Appearance.

Trade Tips: 18th Century French Chairs

Here is our third Trade Tips video clip! Tony Victoria covers the defining characteristics of Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI chairs as well as the transitional periods. He offers some great details to look for to help you identify the different styles. We hope you find it useful and enjoyable!

Note: you may need to to turn up your volume since we had to film a bit farther away this time to fit everything in the shot. Sorry!

Trade Tips: Chair Frame Construction

We just finished our second Trade Tips video clip. This segment covers some of the basics of traditional chair construction and some key dimensions to keep in mind regarding chair design and comfortability. We hope you find it useful! Have a great Labor Day weekend!

Learning from the design process

The development of this table has been a bit of an odyssey and a learning experience for me. Believe it or not, we starting working on this table in 2008!


There were some structural problems that we had to fix: primarily the "wobbliness" of the frame. Without cross supports or the right gauge material, this basic "Mallett" style of table is always a bit shaky. We solved this this by using heavier gauge brass both for the legs and the shelf-supports and the difference is remarkable.


That first, wobbly, prototype had wooden shelves too - that was the original look I had in my mind; something rustic yet contemporary, industrial but refined. But as we were improving the frame, a finisher friend of mine saw and fell in love with the idea of the table and offered to lacquer the shelves in a new technique that she was working on. I consider this friend to be an extremely talented and innovative finisher, so naturally we went ahead and lacquered the shelves instead of using a natural wood finish. This was the result:





And here is a close up of the lacquer:

I really love this lacquer. The pattern is hand applied using a metallic dust that sort of bleeds out into the white lacquer, creating a soft halo-effect or shadowing around the lines. And more importantly, I like how it makes the table look. It gives it a more modern feel. However, I must admit some degree of satisfaction now that we have the table as originally thought of with the wooden shelves. Perhaps that is just because it fits the expectations I had in my mind. But it taught me a lot about the design process. There is a hard balance to maintain between your own inspiration and external inspiration. Truly, whenever I go to my friends studio, I get inspired. And I am thrilled by this lacquer technique and using it. But, somehow I am just a bit more fulfilled by seeing the table as I originally envisioned. It may be a tired axiom, but you really must stick with your vision for a project. Of course outside inspiration is vital, but I believe you must somehow take that inspiration and adapt it to your vision instead adapting your vision to the inspiration.