Specializing in iconic 20th-century furniture, particularly mid-century masterpieces, East Hollywood-based DEN has become a mainstay of the SoCal furniture scene. Founded by Emily and Jason Potter, the expansive, light-filled showroom also features a workshop, where new arrivals are continuously restored to their best ready-to-love condition. We spoke with Jason about their business, the state of the ongoing mid-century craze, and the pieces they’re excited about right now. See what he had to say, and be sure to shop their hundreds of items available on Chairish.
Tell us a bit about how you launched DEN. How did you become passionate about mid-century modern furniture?
The real story began about 14 years ago when I mentioned to Emily I was thinking about getting into furniture and she was the first person to encourage me to really pursue it.
So DEN started as a weekend flea market side hustle while we worked our full time retail sales jobs. Slowly we built an online presence allowing me to take on DEN full time in 2013. We’ve always enjoyed all things vintage, from music to fashion and furniture. The construction and beauty in mid-century design just isn’t something you see in many new production pieces today.
You also recently renovated a mid-century modern house… that’s quite the undertaking. Tell us about that.
Oh, you mean our accidental renovation? We purchased our Palmer and Krisel home in the summer of 2021, just wanting to paint and refinish the wood floors hiding under the rug, but one thing snowballed into the next and we were in full renovation mode. We tore out two bathrooms and a kitchen, took down and rebuilt walls and so on… We peeled back the layers of “destruction.” The previous owner attempted to turn our mid-century beauty into a Spanish revival-esque mess. We’ve been working to undo that for a little over a year now. It’s a process… and we’re getting there!
There’s been such a mid-century modern craze for the past several years… well, decade or two. Why is it important for people to shop the real thing?
Sustainability is number one! Also the new pieces being produced are not made to last. You buy something cheap, and it wears that way or you tire of it and often just throw it away. Not to say we haven’t found some of our favorite pieces curbside!
On that same note, how do you manage sourcing, when mid-century pieces are so in demand?
We have had a few lucky dumpster drive-bys though those are completely random and rare. I keep my head on a constant swivel in any neighborhood we drive through. Every vacation is a buying adventure. There hasn’t been one trip we’ve been on since we’ve been together that we didn’t buy something for the showroom. We’ve been in the business just shy of 15 years and have made connections with people all over the country. We have referrals and lots of late-night internet browsing rabbit holes.
How does Los Angeles itself figure into your work? Does being based in Southern California have a particular impact on your focus on mid-century modern and the way you do things?
We’ve always been a big believer in purchasing locally and a lot of the best designs have come out of California… Glenn of California pieces, David Cressey, Architectural Pottery, and Greta Grossman to name a few.
What types of pieces do you see moving these days? What are the patterns in terms of what’s selling right now?
Mario Bellini Cab Chairs are a fun trend right now; they pair with lots of different design aesthetics and the patina is always perfect, in our opinion. And side tables! We always try to keep unique side tables well stocked and it’s hard because we never seem to hold on to them for long.
What’s a dream piece you’d love to own yourself?
Our backyard decked out in Walter Lamb! Dining set, lounges, side tables… everything!
Do you see any upcoming trends in terms of what’s next for the design world? What types of pieces do you hope to stock next?
Maybe a bit of resurgence of the Art Deco 1930s/1940s European design. Mainly because Postmodernism took a lot of influence from the Art Deco Era. As our business progresses, we strive to stock more rare one-off pieces from many different eras to set us apart from other sellers.
Are there any styles or trends you’d like to see disappear in the design world right now?
Togo sofas, Camaleonda sofas, Boucle fabric, and cheap design that mimics classic design
Who are some of your favorite makers or designers, in terms of your own inspirations?
Gordon and Jane Martz, Walter Von Nessen, Edward Wormley, Cedric Hartman, Gerald McCabe, and Paul Laszlo to name a few, but the list can go on and on…
All images courtesy of DEN
