Heywood-Wakefield Company Shop News

Heywood-Wakefield Company · April 28, 1967

An article in the April 28, 1967 Heywood-Wakefield Company Shop News about W. Joseph Carr. The article talks about his accomplishments as a furniture designer at the Heywood-Wakefield Company and contains pictures of Joseph W. Carr at work with comments about his personality and skill. He worked for the Heywood-Wakefield Company as a furniture designer from 1936 till the company closed its doors in 1979. In addition to his work as furniture designer, Joseph Carr was also an accomplished artist, sculptor and cartoonist. DESIGNER CARR FEATURED ON INSIDE PAGE SPREAD W. Joseph Carr, Chief Staff Designer, is shown here checking a showroom floor layout prior to the selection of furniture samples to be exhibited for the markets.They have said of William Joseph Carr that he is the only Irish-born designer to come to this country with a oad of green lumber and, if that is true, maybe he got a head start in the furniture business through this association. However, most of us know that it takes more - and a lot more! - to shape a successful career than just being in the right place at the right time. This helps ... but if you don't have the stuff to go with it, no chance associations will carry you through very long. Joe Carr started with the Heywood-Wakefield Company on November 9, 1936 in the rattan department after graduating from the Worcester School of Design associated with the famous art museum in that city. His first jobs here were washing rattan and putting plastic tops on hampers, plus a little carriage coloring and striping. Joe's chance for advancement like many other career opportunities-resulted from the fact that he offered his talent to activities outside of his job. In the early days of ShopNews, during 1936, he used to contributeShop News cartoons. We labeled these fine sketches "Carrtoons" in these early editions. When the word went out from our lateGeneral Sales Manager Paul B. Posser in1937 for "somebody who could draw" to help our Staff DesignerHarry White, Joe was interviewed and got the assignment.Of all the brilliant decisions made by Mr. PosseI', the selection of W.Joseph Carr to help in the design department, must be one of his greatest. And for Joe, it put him in his element where all his natural ability was able to blossom out in unlimited creativity. And it also placed him in the main office where his future wife (Dorothy Dinan) was Secretary to the late George E. JOE CARR (Continued hom Poge 1) he elected to make Heywood-Wakefieldhis ca reer. Gifted with a fabulous sense of humor and an even personality, the design influence of Heywood furniture lines has been exclusively his for almost ten years now and before that he shared those honors with numerous free┬╖lance style specialists like Leo Jiranek, Count Alexis de Sakno/fsky,Ernest Hermann, Gilbert Rhode,Russell Wright, Alfons Bach and many others.While Joe has always dabbled a bit in the design work of our other divisions, only recently he jumped feet first into our Public Seating styling picture.