Archie Shine

Archie Shine Ltd is a renowned British furniture maker, celebrated for producing some of the country’s most desirable modern furniture. During the mid-20th century, the company produced cutting-edge contemporary designs aimed primarily at affluent customers.

The company had a humble beginning, it was founded by its namesake, Archie Shine in the 1920s. Shine was a cabinet maker who started out on his own and slowly built up a small but successful company making antique style reproduction furniture.

In the 1950s Shine made the decision to switch production to contemporary furniture. This would have been a significant change and a risky move for a small company with an established customer base. Fortunately, the company hired British designer Robert Heritage.

Heritage was in his 20s and had recently started a design consultancy. The decision to employ him as the consultant design director for Archie Shine was a bold decision but it quickly paid off and led to a successful collaboration that lasted around 20 years.

In 1958 Archie Shine released the ‘Hamilton’ range by Robert Heritage. The range was exceptionally modern with long clean lines executed in exotic timbers. The sideboard was chosen as one of the “Twenty Designs of 1958” by the British Design Centre and the range was highly successful.

Archie Shine went on to create a legacy of exceptionally crafted modern furniture designed by Robert Heritage. Designs defined by cool clean lines combined with post-war modernist sophistication. The work spans the Danish modern style of the late 50s through to the masculine chrome and rosewood furniture which emerged in the late 60s and 70s.

In 1976 the Archie Shine assets were sold to upmarket retail store Heals, one of the larger retailers of the Archie Shine brand. While this marked the end of the company, its legacy of exceptionally crafted contemporary design continues to inspire. Today, Archie Shine furniture is highly coveted and remains as fresh as the day it was made.