From the moment we first walked into this old firehall in Highpoint, North Carolina we loved what we saw.
What was so special about it? We can’t quite recall the year (too many markets ago!) but it looked like this.
….and every which way we turned there was more eclectic goodness.
Have you fallen in love yet?
This we would discover was GJ Styles and it was certainly before industrial and vintage would make a comeback to be on trend! The Styling was OFF THE CHARTS and we would spend hours carefully combing through each vignette; with so much to take in it was easy to miss an object here or there. All we knew was that we needed to up thy styling game and start collecting … why lead us to ask: who was the brilliant crew behind this fabulous space? Meet G and J, ie Glyn and his wife Jill – Styles (and the rest of the Style Clan)
Bottom row (left to right): Laura (daughter), Danielle (daughter-in-law), Jill, Oliver (Nathan & Danielle’s son), Glyn, Kelly (daughter). Top row (left to right): Oscar (son-in-law), Nathan (son), Steve (son-in-law).
Glyn’s love for furniture and antiques started from a very early age and by the time he was a teenager his free time was spent travelling Europe, sourcing antiques from various fairs and markets, only to resell them in his hometown of Hereford, England.
Antiques, as we all know, are a rarity (that’s the point) so he decided to manufacture antique reproductions in the early 90s. These pieces constructed using old world techniques mimic an original vintage design.
With Glyn’s distinct eye for the next best thing, staying ahead of the competition was easy and like any smart person who is serious about furnishings does, he got 300q feet of space at the Highpoint Market and took a small range of his line up, only to stake his place as a trendsetter in the industry. Demand ultimately drove him to relocate his family to the US, where they still reside today in the mid 90s.
As expats always do, he met fellow furniture expert and UK-er Richard Jordan, who had moved stateside for another furniture company. Conveniently, he too was passionate about old things and the pair, acting as President and CEO, have been at the helm of GJ’s sourcing and buying operations every since!
Buying in Bali
If you’ve ever wondered how ‘that’ ended up in that store and now your home, this pair could fill in the blanks having sourced from international shows as much as they have the side of a dirt road in countries including China, Romania, Indonesia, and India.
Each item has been hand selected by Glyn and Richard, who have a vast knowledge of the industry that is only attained with years of experience. Moreover they buy into the lines carried before even testing them in the US market. It’s a huge risk and as a result some pieces do well and become immediate best-sellers, and others don’t; memories of a blue jean upholstered collection done in actual recall Levis™ …and we wonder why!
The Blue Jean Sofa
In the summer of 2008, after several years of success in the states, they entered into a joint venture partnership with their primary vendor, Halo Asia, thereby creating Halo Styles. With that the brand took off as did the range of products. They quickly became the place to go for new and exciting pieces and products started to appear on popular TV’s shows such has HBOs “Boardwalk Empire”, the CWs “The Vampire Diaries”, CBS’s “Two and a Half Men” and HGTV’s “Fixer Upper”.
The Aviator Desk (Back Left) on Two & A Half Men
As partnerships do, that ran its course and in early 2014, GJ bought out Halo. While they continue to distribute the Halo Established 1976 and Timothy Oulton brands among others, the biggest change is the amount of inventory held in the USA, which means these products are readily available and can be at your door next week! While the original business was founded on antique reproductions, the majority of their current collections are actually new styles with classic but vintage inspired details instead. Think cabinets with louvered doors and French casement hardware, bookcases and chests with skeleton key locks and French style chests reimagined into vanities. A few favorite picks for 2015 …
As we meet one furniture family after the next (or in this case two) in this Fab Friday series, it becomes clear that success seems to be dictated by the family lineage that elects to work in the family biz and GJ Styles is no different. While Glyn’s daughters were the wiser than to stick it out daily with Dad, his son Nathan is actively involved and likewise Harriet, one of Richards three daughters, who we note is still in college routinely shows up to pull her weight at Market. If we had to hedge our bets on the future all signs point to keeping this operation in the families – and that is the best sign that great things will continue to come out of this self-proclaimed tiny furniture business. We love the story, the product, the quality and we still drool over the styling each and every market … case in point below!
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