Antigua Furniture Auctions Chance to Design Furniture Line

Lauren Heist
Going once, going twice, gone to Staci Levenson!

For a last-minute bid of $17,000, Levenson, owner of the interior design firm Levenson Design Associates in Austin, TX, won the right to create her very own collection for Antigua Furniture at an auction at the American Society of Interior Designers’ annual conference on March 14.

“I’m extremely excited,” Levenson said. “I’m still tongue-tied.”

Rex Murphy, one of the founding partners of Antigua Furniture, said the idea to auction off the chance for an interior designer to create their own line of the furniture started when leaders at ASID approached the company about donating a piece of furniture for their annual auction.


“When we found out that the ASID Interiors Show was going to be highlighting sustainability and looking at the greening of the furniture industry, we took a second look at it because we’ve been heavily involved in reforestation in Guatemala,” Murphy said.

So Murphy and his partner started brainstorming: How could they highlight Antigua’s legacy as a manufacturer of high-end, solid-wood case goods that’s become known for its custom furniture-making capabilities strengths and donate to worthwhile cause at the same time?

And then someone stumbled upon the idea of letting an interior designer get creative, and Antigua decided to up the ante by agreeing to show the new line at the October 2018 High Point Market and January 2016 Las Vegas Market.

Murphy said Antigua has carved a niche for itself in the custom-furniture making business because of its strategic location in Antigua, Guatemala.

Murphy said Guatemala has a strong tradition of furniture making, dating back to the Spanish Colonial days, and he said the woodworkers in their factory use precision tools to create the furniture, but then finish each piece off by hand. And because Guatemala is relatively close to the United States, container ships can quickly deliver goods to ports in either Houston or Los Angeles, Antigua can make custom pieces much more easily than a company that has its manufacturing facilities in China.

Levenson, who has often commissioned custom furniture pieces for her clients, says she was thrilled when she heard about the prize that was up for grabs, which included two trips Guatemala, where she will stay in the five-star Hotel Casa Santo Domingo and work with the company’s development team to make her designs come to life.

Levenson said she often works with artisans and custom woodworkers in Austin to create pieces that she dreams up for her clients, and now she’ll have the chance to do the same thing but on a larger scale.

In fact, Levenson said she’s already planning to have Antigua make pieces that she thinks will work with some of her current clients.

“My personal style, I like to combine a real classic, kind of antique piece and kind of clean up the lines,” she said, adding that she likes eclectic pairings, such as a table with a heavy wooden base with a feminine marble top.

Levenson said Scott Bogart, Founding Partner of Antigua Furniture, has encouraged her to be as creative as she wants and not to stick to what she thinks would “fit” with Antigua’s aesthetic.

“We realize we’re taking a risk, but that’s what makes this fun,” Bogart said. “We are giving a designer the opportunity to bring a dream of theirs to fruition and to see their name in lights. And since Antigua is one of the premier players in high-end custom manufacturing, this will be an impeccable, hand-crafted furniture collection; we feel very positive about the success of the line to come.”

Murphy said Antigua is excited to see what Levenson will come up with.

“There were definitely some naysayers around us who thought we were crazy for doing it. How do you know whose going to win? What are you going to do? And then you’re going to have to introduce this at market?” Murphy said. “But we thought life is all about taking chances. We didn’t get where we are today without taking a lot of chances ourselves. We rolled the dice and we’re really pleased.”