news-record.com

Talk with anyone around this region and you’ll hear them voice the same concern: What is going to happen to the furniture industry?

It’s an industry that has made city names such as High Point, Thomasville and Lexington synonymous with furniture and interior design. And it’s an industry that has taken a hard hit from these tough economic times.

But right here on High Point’s Main Street is a place that may hold the key to our furniture industry’s future. It’s the Bernice Bienenstock Furniture Library. The two-story colonial revival house at 1009 N. Main St. has grabbed my attention for more than two decades with its distinctive Mount Airy granite construction, its wide, welcoming front porch and the mystery of what exactly the library was.

A furniture library?

Let me enlighten you.

The Bernice Bienenstock Furniture Library houses the world’s largest collection of books and publications on the history of furniture. As the website will tell you, the library contains more than 7,000 volumes — volumes that include a complete collection of the original works of 18th-century furniture masters Chippendale, Sheraton and Hepplewhite. They date back to 1640.

What the website and brochures can’t convey, though, is the passion of the founders, Nathan Irwin (Sandy) and Bernice Evelyn Levin Bienenstock, the dedication of now-retired curator Carl Vuncannon and the enthusiasm of new curator Karla Webb.
A little history lesson: The library’s founder Sandy Bienenstock, who lived in New York state and owned Furniture World Magazine, started the library in 1972 with his own personal collection of furniture books and publications. A regular furniture market visitor to High Point, he and his wife, Bernice, bought the home that had been built by Dr. Charles S. Grayson in 1924.

The Bienenstocks moved their books into the first level for the public’s use and turned the upstairs into an apartment for themselves. After Bernice Bienenstock died, Sandy Bienenstock named the library after her and secured the institution’s future by establishing an endowment to fund it.

In 1985, Sandy Bienenstock hired Carl Vuncannon as curator for this nonprofit entity, and for years the library has been used for furniture design research and as a vital source of information for publications relating to the furniture and interior design industry.
What so many don’t realize is that Sandy Bienenstock’s zeal for furniture was rivaled by his passion for those studying furniture and interior design.

Through Beinenstock’s endowment, the Bernice Bienenstock Furniture Library sponsors more than a dozen scholarships to schools such as High Point University, UNCG, Meredith College, Randolph Community College, Carteret Community College, Appalachian State University, Auburn University, the Pratt School of Art and Design in New York City, the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Kendall College of Art Design in Grand Rapids, Mich., and the Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, Fla.

“These students are the future of the furniture industry,” Webb said with enthusiasm that would undoubtedly delight the library’s founder.

In her first few months as curator (she took over in December when Vuncannon retired), she has made the scholarship program a priority. Webb intends to visit the schools and meet scholarship recipients.

“I want to put a face with each scholarship recipient,” said Webb, an interior designer.

To further that goal, she and the library’s board of directors are looking at ways to raise local, regional and national awareness and use of the library.

“We’re looking at plans for change. We’re looking at a new vision of Mr. Bienenstock’s plan,” Webb said.

As Webb walks through the 5,000 square feet of the house-turned-library, she sees new bookshelves that feature counter space for books, laptops and drawings.

She sees Wi-Fi connections and computer stations for students and designers alike.

She sees a coffee bar in the sunroom that once housed an office for her mother, who worked for Vuncannon. (Webb also worked at the library when she was in college.)

She sees book tag sales on the expansive front porch that will attract shoppers in the growing Uptown High Point district.
And she sees infinite possibilities for partnering with designers, colleges, industries and local people.

“I look forward to having a place where people can discover the world of furniture and design in here,” Webb said.

Although the Bernice Bienenstock Furniture Library has been a staple for the many manufacturers and retailers who come the furniture market, Webb now sees the library as a hub of information — and inspiration — for furniture and interior designers, architects and, especially, students who are in design-related fields.

Now, the library is full of fascinating books detailing every curve of a chair or a table leg, hundreds of issues of Antiques magazine dating back to the 1920s and sketches from the masters of cabinet construction.

Webb’s vision, and the vision of the library’s board of directors, is one filled with passion — passion to pass this wealth of information on to the next generation of furniture and interior designers.
Passion that is sorely needed to secure our region’s furniture heritage.

Contact Cathy Weaver at CWeaverNR@gmail.com