Corbin, the Hollister maker of motorcycle accessories, has a
flair for unique furnishings
Auto chic may be the next big trend in furniture
– and if that’s the case, Hollister motorcycle accessory
designer Corbin is ahead of the curve.
For the past 10 years, Corbin, in addition to its line of
motorcycle accessories has been designing couches and E-Z chairs
fashioned after famous cars
– such as the 1957 Chevy, 1957 Corvette and the 1951
Mercury.
Corbin, the Hollister maker of motorcycle accessories, has a flair for unique furnishings
Auto chic may be the next big trend in furniture – and if that’s the case, Hollister motorcycle accessory designer Corbin is ahead of the curve.
For the past 10 years, Corbin, in addition to its line of motorcycle accessories has been designing couches and E-Z chairs fashioned after famous cars – such as the 1957 Chevy, 1957 Corvette and the 1951 Mercury.
“My dad always wanted a couch from a ’57 Chevy. When he couldn’t find one, he decided to make one himself. As he went along people saw it and asked him to make other cars as well,” said Tom Corbin, chief operating officer for Corbin. “It was founded out of a love for vehicles of that era, rather than as a business venture. Many people who love motorcycles also love cars, so it lends itself to the other business.”
Corbin’s custom seat business goes hand-in-hand with the furniture line, since the company was already hand sewing custom motorcycle seats and molding other parts. He said that it takes a long time to assemble the furniture, since each piece is put together by hand. The high quality of the finished product is worth the extra time, Corbin said.
“It takes three to four weeks from the point of ordering a piece before it can be delivered,” Corbin said. Each piece is hand crafted and hand finished. We sand each piece by hand and paint, pinstripe and buff each piece to perfection. The upholstery is all hand cut and sewn and everything is hand assembled. It’s all hand-crafted in America, like the cars they’re modeled after.”
But the high level of quality comes at a price. Each couch and chair is priced at $3,900 so the furniture isn’t for everyone, but the aficionados seem to really enjoy them.
Corbin sells about two couches per week. He said it’s a niche market, so finding the right customers is key. Typically buyers have particular models of a car or want to display the furniture in game rooms or dealerships. The owner of Sharper Image in San Francisco bought one to put in his showroom, Corbin said.
He talks about possibly fashioning a 1959 Cadillac next.
“When you think of the best of times you often think of things that you associated with those times. For many people those things are cars,” Corbin said.
For more information you can visit Corbin’s Web site, www.corbin.com and click on furniture.
