AT HOME
being craig miller buying from the best
C
raig Miller says he’s not much of a talker - with just enough of a charming southern drawl to eagerly await his next words. One would reckon that’s because he’s so much of a doer. A Texas transplant, Craig travels all over the country to find statement-piece furniture and a bounty of other treasures for his three stores, Harvest Home in Corte Madera and Sonoma, harvesthomestores.com and Fat Pilgrim in Sonoma, fatpilgrim. com. Lucky for us, California continues to win out as his place to call home since 1988. He started with Southwest/American furniture, and then Shaker inspired furniture and accessories with sparse, clean and simple lines. He slowly added upholstery, his mainstay. His first Harvest Home was in San Francisco; today the flagship resides in Town Center. He revisits his Texas roots for antiques and trade shows in New England for primitives that give the stores such a warm feeling - “family places in Vermont and New Hampshire that have
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been there forever and have a great selection.” Trade shows allow him to watch the trends, but more importantly, what the customer is asking for. Says Craig, “It is amazing that in twentyone years of upholstery sales, two arm styles have dominated that timeline and customers have continued to be drawn to them.” Craig has always gravitated to the “I want a curl-up and read a good book living room,” a homey, warm environment that can take a ding here and there and still look great. A styled atmosphere that a family with kids and/or pets can live in is his choice, the modern farmhouse his case in point. And true to his word, that’s exactly the atmosphere you’ll experience when you visit either of his stores. Each locale is an ever-changing adventure. You can go large or small in your purchases, from a custom designed 15’ sofa or 6’ round clock, to an unusual and often humorous accessory to change up your unique space for a very reasonable price. Fat Pilgrim is Craig’s newest kid on
the block and one not to be missed! He coined the name to evoke “the good life” because a rare fat pilgrim had a desirable life amongst all those starving early settlers. Indeed a good life is the vibe there. Along with dramatic
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I want a curl-up and read a good book living room.
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furniture pieces, you’ll find a blast from the past country store, custom made bedding and specialty products, like soaps, jams and curds, along with a large, robust organic garden with seasonal veggies ripe for the picking, and all sorts of country accents. A must see addition is the Christmas store to open at Fat Pilgrim just as you read these words, which just might offer a new holiday tradition for you and your family!