Collecting: Abigail Hendrickson {How Now Design}


i was first made aware of abbey hendrickson's beautiful art work {how now design} when her friend rachael {pistachio press} introduced me. what i wasn't aware of was her amazing collection of many things, till i passed by her photostream recently. i was completely in awe especially of her chairs and asked if she would be interested in sharing her things here for poppy's collecting series. luckily she obliged, and here are the results and abbey's thoughts along with the special pics she took just for us!







why you collect these items and how your collection started?

The chair obsession started because my parents are avid collectors and bought a chair that I loved and eventually stole from their house (it’s the black one covered in Amy Butler fabric...don’t tell). I’ve been moving this chair from apartment to apartment since high school.



As far as the clipboards go, that’s a recent collection and I started it as a way to display the ridiculous number of prints I buy off of etsy.




I started collecting rubber ducks because a friend had a collection and I kept finding ducks for her that I just couldn’t bear to pass along. I guess the moral of that story is don’t let Abbey help you collect anything.



how do you display them or would like to display them?

The chairs are scattered all over our house. On occasion (if we have a large dinner party) they all belly up to our dining room table. For now the clipboards are hanging out on our dining room chair rail. I’m still thinking about how I want to hang them...maybe in our bedroom in place of a headboard.

I need to live with them a bit longer to figure something out. I have a few ducks displayed here and there, but the majority are hidden away in a closet until we live in a bigger place. At one point I had them all displayed on one wall (the apartment had 17 foot high ceilings), so ideally they’d be displayed that way again.



what are your favorite pieces in the collection, is there anything unique?

My favorite chairs are the Heywood Wakefield (Heywoodite) dining room chairs because they’re comfortable and they were only a dollar each. I love collecting things, but I get a particular thrill from finding inexpensive treasures. I’m a total thrift store junkie. The clipboard collection is too new, so I don’t have a favorite yet. My favorite duck really looks more like a swan…it’s a Plakie brand squeak toy with huge black eyes and was a gift from a close friend.

what piece are you most looking for, and what piece would complete your collection?

Most definitely an Eames Lounge chair (my husband is groaning and my change purse is sobbing right now). This is going to sound odd, but I don’t want to just buy one on ebay or Design Within Reach...I’d love to just randomly find one in a thrift store. I don’t know that it would complete the collection (again, husband groaning), but it would definitely be a lovely addition. As far as the rubber ducks go, I’ve pretty much stopped collecting but still love to find unusual vintage rubber ducks. I’m a newbie with regard to clipboards, so I’m not sure what’s out there. I’m looking for ones that are old and colorful.

besides this collection, if you could collect anything in the world, what would it be?

Hmmmm…my ultimate dream collection would be one example of each kind of Eames chair with a few Saarinen chairs thrown in for good measure.

links:
blog - aestheticoutburst.blogspot.com
etsy shop - hownowdesign.etsy.com
flickr - flickr.com/photos/hownowdesign

Jan Halvarson

11 comments:

Fiona Cartolina said...

love everything, all the chairs, the clip boards and the ducks. Very cool collections!
Thanks.

Rachael, Pistachio Press said...

Great interview! It's been fun to know Abbey for years and watch her collections grow, which they have mightily. I'm constantly in awe of the finds she scored, so I'm sure that one day she'll find that illusive Eames Lounge chair!

uncg interior architecture said...

I'm drooling!!! Thank you so much for featuring Abbey's beautiful collections.

suzanne cabrera said...

Whoops...that last comment (the drooling one) was from me. Still signed in to my school blog!

please sir said...

I love the clipboard idea - great and simple!!

bugheart said...

the chairs
are wonderful!
i am so smitten
with the clipboard idea-
brilliant!

Anonymous said...

Abbey certainly has some amazing collections! And I so share her love for special chairs...

Joanna Goddard said...

omg, i have never been so jealous!

Unknown said...

great collections! and nothing looks cluttered... that's amazing!

Aesthetic Outburst... said...

Thank you all so much for your lovely compliments and, most especially, thank you to Jan for the great series! I'm totally thrilled to be a part of it.
Abbey

katelynjane said...

And my husband thought I collected a lot of things! I love her chairs! especially that black leather looking one (: