ORIGINS

Emily Henry was raised among the convergence of cultural influences stewing among artists, pueblos, land grants and communes—and draws upon all of it to inform her interior and furniture design and to set an inspirational tempo. Millicent is a fusion of WPA-era Hispanic craft and the Modernist ethos through the hands of a designer whose fingertips echo with the pulse of living culture.

Pulling from inspiration as broad as botany, fabric and urban infrastructure, Emily Henry distills her original drawings into precise patterns for the Millicent pieces crafted at her Taos atelier. From joinery to drawer slides, each piece is individually created with patience and an old-world respect for the material. Pulls are unique castings or custom fabrications and are integrated much in the way a jeweler would mount a precious stone. Hand carving and finishing of intricate relief patterns is a slow and intimate process—the exaltation and evolution of craft.

PROMISE

Each Millicent piece represents an individual journey from conception and design through realization. No two pieces are the same; rather, each carries a rich story. The world is full of conversation pieces, but functional works that contain and exude a narrative of craft and quality are a breed apart. Millicent works aren’t pieces to be owned, but stories to live with—where personality and character augment quality.

Fine woodwork needs to be finished to avoid staining and warping, but our furniture feels raw and fresh off the carver’s table. When you’re investing in beautiful, painstakingly selected wood, it’s a crime to slather it in plastic. At Millicent, our wood sourcing and our pursuit of even tonality and quality finishing is an evolving process. We are constantly evaluating our sources and refining our finishes to match the best available material.

Our cottonwood and walnut lumber is procured one tree at a time. We purchase felled trees from an Amish family in Minnesota. Milled specifically for our use, the premium lumber is brought down to Southern Colorado where it is dried in small kilns for 3 months. When it finally arrives in Santa Fe, our clear, blemish free, stable wood is ready to be painstakingly transformed into distinct works of furniture that will last generations.

Our cottonwood is finished in a clear, matte finish to show off its bright, natural glow. Sugar pine, procured locally, is the regional, historic classic with its distinctive grain and honey tones. After a light stain to even out color variations, our pine is finished with a matte topcoat. Our walnut is stained very lightly and finished with an eggshell topcoat to highlight the carving on our designs.

Visit the Showroom

Visit our downtown Santa Fe Showroom to experience Millicent’s refined, handcrafted Northern New Mexico furniture in person.

You will also find a selection of curated homewares made locally by family and friends.

Often by chance, happily by appointment