MINTON-SPIDELL Continuing a Tradition of Timeless and Timely Design

MINTON-SPIDELL

CONTINUING A TRADITION OF TIMELESS AND TIMELY DESIGN

Designers have always had the urge to look back, pluck gems from the past, and revive them in today's décor. For over 55 years, they've recognized Minton-Spidell as a master at taking the past and making it their present. Known for its 18th- and 19th-century furniture reproductions and transitional, cleanlines with pieces and finishes fully customizable to designer specs, Minton-Spidell has been a mainstay for decades in showrooms across the country, including M-Geough. [Ed. Note: We can't think of one designer who hasn't incorporated at least one of their pieces into their designs.]

And thanks to the timely intervention of Matt Costigan, owner of Michael-Cleary Showrooms, Minton-Spidell now enters a new era, ensuring the line will continue to grow into the future.

Growth wasn't always Minton-Spidell's future – in fact, quite the opposite. After decades of being a designer favorite, MintonSpidell was at risk of closing shop forever

when the founders Robert (Bob) J. Minton and Neil (Mo) Spidell decided to retire. Costigan, who had carried the Minton-Spidell line in his Chicago showroom for 30 years, saw an opportunity. He purchased the company in January 2020, ready to keep its culture and history alive. The bold move wasn't without risk though – Costigan's background is in showrooms, not furniture making. "I quickly realized there would be many challenges," Costigan said. "Not least of all was taking that leap from sales to manufacturing."

However, Costigan also realized that he was in a unique position with experiences that he could bring to the manufacturing side. "I know what a showroom needs. I know what designers look for in a manufacturer. And I know what they need in terms of offerings: what kinds of pieces they want, how wide a selection, what materials, and so on. I knew that if I just focused on my areas of expertise, I could guide the creation of pieces in a way that few in manufacturing could."

This top-down approach to design is working well already. It's a system that gives the words "custom" and "contract" whole new meanings. Costigan works

It's a system that gives THE WORDS "CUSTOM and CONTRACT", whole new

meanings.

closely with furniture designers and manufacturers, providing his vision and allowing them to do what they

do best. Recently, he collaborated with renowned Boston designer Eric Haydel – who is also PresidentCreative Director and part-owner of M-Geough Showroom – to create a desk, a side chair, and a barstool. He expects Haydel's Brittany Desk to be

part of the Minton-Spidell collection soon.

"We are developing new products as we speak for the collection," states Costigan. "I can't share everything at the moment, but we're excited about the new directions we're exploring."

Costigan said he could reveal one new manufacturer they're working with: Las Palmas, a Los Angeles-based cottage industry company. "We want to make the MintonSpidell collection more robust: more dining tables, beds, and lighting. We want Minton-Spidell to be a go-to collection. We will still be the place for period reproductions, but we'll also have other unique offerings."

Las Palmas itself is known worldwide for its elegant and handcrafted furniture and outstanding finishes. Its style and attention to intricate detail make it the perfect fit for Minton-Spidell. (In fact, if you view the Minton-Spidell and the Las Palmas websites side by side, you'll see how dramatic dovetailing their styles will be.)

Finishes are key to MintonSpidell's reputation. Their artistic applications and techniques for antique reproductions are hallmarks that help set the company above other manufacturers. Designers can pick and choose from 90 hand-applied finishes ranging from handrubbed, French polishstyle wood stains to artfully aged paints and 23k burnished gold. They recently added fresh hand-brushed paint and sleek stains on solid walnut to their repertoire. Here too, Las Palmas proves to be a great fit, bringing its own line of finishes to its Minton-Spidell pieces.

“Reborn” is a phrase Costigan uses to describe his design approach; tweak something that's already proven to be popular. Essentially taking old ideas in new directions. "So, for example, what if we take the frame of a best-selling chair and reconfigure it into a bed frame?" Costigan said. "It's about giving an innovative boost with a fresh set of eyes." Taking over the MintonSpidell Collection has reinvigorated Michael-Cleary as well. Recently, the company re-opened the Minton-Spidell Showroom under the Michael-Cleary name on Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood – literally half a block from the Pacific Design Center. It's a serendipitous mix of a classic showroom, a celebrated product line, and local artisans. It's also another example of taking the past and making it the future.

"The Minton-Spidell Showroom was a fixture in California for 50

years but has been empty for three. After the purchase, they asked me if I'd consider moving back – and I jumped at the idea. It made sense as the artisans and craftspeople such as Las Palmas are primarily in California. It's the perfect location to continue building the brand."

Thanks to Costigan's enthusiasm, MintonSpidell's tradition of providing designers

with exquisitely designed furniture will Econtinue for decades to come, with new and expanding lines moving forward. ighteenth-century "It's been great," Costigan said. "I'm very REPRODUCTIONS close with Bob and Mo, so showing them have not gone away. They are what we're doing and the new oxygen we're STILL CURRENT, whether pumping into Minton-Spidell is fun." it is one piece or ten. Like design itself, Minton-Spidell will move forward by building on what's come before. "Eighteenth-century reproductions have not gone away. They are still current, whether it is one piece or ten. And Minton-Spidell will continue to reimagine these classic, timeless pieces that work with any design aesthetic.