In May of 1946 Carroll and Mary Henkel along with a close friend, John Harris, started a business building furniture in the basement of the Henkel home on Amherst St in Winchester, VA. The first piece was a corner cabinet, it was too big to come out of the basement in one piece, so they cut it in half, brought it out and glued it back together. It was taken to Washington D.C. and sold quickly. Soon, they moved their operations to a small warehouse next to the Henkel home. In the early 50s they moved to 660 North Loudoun Street in Winchester and their reputation for quality furniture spread rapidly. In 1954, John Harris sold his interest in the company to the Henkels. Henkel Harris employed 22 craftsmen at that time and their reputation for building quality furniture continued to spread. Carroll Henkel designed and built a new state of the art manufacturing facility in 1964 that became a model for the industry. This plant is still being used today, functioning smoothly with today's technological advances. Each piece of Henkel Harris furniture is still detailed and finished by the hands of a skilled craftsman.

Although Carroll Henkel passed away in January of 1969, his standards for attention to detail and quality workmanship are alive and well at Henkel Harris today. Mary Henkel was determined to continue her and Carroll's dream to build the finest furniture in America, despite suggestions to sell out and offers to buy her out. The odds of a woman successfully running a large furniture company at that time were against her, but she succeeded and gained respect in the industry as a leader. Mrs. Henkel's contribution to her community was second to none, her gifts to every kind of public institution were generous, from schools to fire halls to Apple Blossom Queens. Henkel Harris continued to grow and expand under her direction. In 1996 she was honored by being inducted into the "Furniture Hall of Fame". In November of 2001, Mary Henkel passed away. She was loved and respected by her community and the employees of Henkel Harris.

William (Bill) H. Henkel has been President and CEO of Henkel Harris since 1982. He has 3 sons, and all are currently working at Henkel Harris. Hopefully, they will continue the legacy left by Carroll and Mary Henkel, building the finest furniture in America.

Stenella says: Stenella Antiques is the largest retailer of used Henkel Harris furniture. We regularly stock over 100 pieces and new items arrive almost daily. Henkel Harris furniture has a very distinct look and is particularly desired because of its rich deep finish. The finish uses a very complex process (up to 25 steps). Starting with color padding to match color, to the multiple levels of applied lacquer with very time consuming hand sanding done between coats. The extra time and effort that goes into the Henkel Harris finish is one that creates a durable, beautiful, deep finish which is rarely, if ever, duplicated outside the factory. Over the years Henkel Harris created and finished their items with various finish colors and variations. The #24 finish for their cherry products, #29, and more recently #37 finishes have become the most popular choices among the Henkel Harris purist. They have also done many variations and custom finishes with such features as distressing and shading. Over the years, we have noticed that Henkel Harris furniture has one of the highest resale values among all the American made furniture companies. Many pieces even appreciate as time goes on, due to the rarity and collect-ability of specific items and models. Henkel Harris furniture is a product that people recognize as having a consistent quality and owners are very loyal to the brand when furnishing their homes. New and used Henkel Harris furniture can be classified as investment grade furniture due to the residual value of their items.

Henkel Harris also crafts a line for the high end traditional executive or home office. Henkel Harris Executive is a full line of traditional office furniture including large executive desks, credenzas, bookcases, file cabinets and more. These pieces feature the same gorgeous finish, fine crafted details and high quality tooled leather (on some pieces) as their other lines. These pieces offer a choice when traditional office furniture is just not sufficient. Henkel Harris Executive offers style and distinction and is sure to create the most impressive executive office possible. If interested in learning more about the Henkel Harris Executive line, feel free to contact us for more information. Our showroom often has pieces on display from the Henkel Harris Executive line along with 100+ pieces of used Henkel Harris pieces. Be sure to check our inventory regularly as we often offer some brand new Henkel Harris pieces from store liquidations and closeouts. These items are offered with great pricing.

If you have any gently used Henkel Harris or Henkel Moore items that you are looking to sell or liquidate, be sure to contact Stenella for fair current market price. We have a large customer base looking for many select pieces. We offer great buyout and consignment terms. If you are a store owner, looking to liquidate some inventory or discontinued pieces, be sure to give us a call.

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