Dennis Scully: Tell me about this new collection with Amber Lewis.
Adam Dunn: I’ve been at Four Hands for 10 years, and we’ve never done this style of collaboration before. We knew if we were going to do a collection, it needed to add value to the Four Hands brand and the market, not just put someone’s name on something.

Scully: What finally happened to make Four Hands say yes to the partnership?
Dunn: We said, “It has to be the right person.” We mentioned Amber Lewis’s name, and a week later Amber arrived at Vegas Market for a meeting with Matt Briggs, CEO and president of Four Hands. Amber’s design aesthetic is one that echoes ours. We share a design language, pulling in antiques and mixing eras together. Plus, personality-wise, she’s fun to work with, which fits the Four Hands culture. It was an easy transition, because she was already a big customer of ours. We knew she liked us as much as we admired her.

Scully: What should designers know about the collection?
Dunn: The story behind it: how we worked together and how it was just as much Amber as it was Four Hands bringing these designs to the table. What’s different about Amber’s collection is that it is softer, more feminine and more detailed. It’s a different point of view than the rest of our product, but because we share a mixed-era story, her pieces also feel right at home in our showroom.

Scully: For contrast, what is it that makes Four Hands designs feel more masculine?
Dunn: The heft, the weight, the weathering, the darker colors: A lot of Four Hands pieces are just reflective of my own personal taste.

Scully: What was the timing for this collection?
Dunn: It started last summer in Las Vegas. We saw so much opportunity in the launch that we fast-tracked it. Since this was a first, there was a huge lift across the company. We had to double our samples to supply both the Four Hands and Amber Lewis teams.

Scully: How big is the launch?
Dunn: There are more than 200 pieces in the collection, and they span every category, including indoor, outdoor, art and decor. Amber’s team was easy to collaborate with, and we went abroad with them. This is a global story. We followed the materials—India is known for brass, for instance—and went to artisans around the world who specialized in them. We did a lot of research on finishes.

Scully: What did Amber Lewis suggest was most important to her in these pieces?
Dunn: Amber was eager to have a more accessible collection. At her level of success, she’s used to doing so much custom work. I think she was reflecting on what she would want to spec for her own projects. The resulting collection is elevated and beautiful, but not precious. You can live with all of these pieces.

Scully: Were there any surprises for you along the way?
Dunn: At Four Hands, we’re so instinct-driven on the design side, and Amber brought a lot of unexpected design moments. There were some pieces that at first I admit I did not believe in. I thought, “No way is this going to sell.” But I was surprised when the finished samples arrived. We realized these designs—a giant wicker dining banquette based on a custom piece mixed with a French mattress, for example—were not out there in the market. There’s nothing else like this collection. 

Scully: Speaking of banquettes, where do you come down on the formal dining room debate? Have rumors of its demise been greatly exaggerated?
Dunn: I still have one! I like rooms. I like my own space. I like different flooring. Traditional design is back and being reinterpreted in a less fussy, more contemporary way. Ultimately, people want to feel comfortable and safe in their homes.

Scully: During the early Covid days, people were shocked to find out just how uncomfortable their furniture was, and how the flow didn’t work in their homes.
Dunn: People realized they needed different products. Four Hands did so much forecasting into that. A huge shift for us in terms of design is functionality. We want to have a glass of wine and eat spaghetti on a white couch.

Scully: Is that desire for comfort and function part of what’s driving the Amber Lewis collection too?
Dunn: We’ve started to ask, “How long could you sit in this chair for dinner? How many glasses of wine could you have?” More people are entertaining at home, more multigenerational families are living together, so furniture must work for everyone in the space. We updated our material and fabric selections to reflect this. There are more natural products; there’s texture; and some pieces are washable.

Scully: What’s an example of a product that people are afraid to ask for?
Dunn: Everyone fights over the recliner at their parents’ lake house!

Scully: Were there certain pieces that Amber felt were absolutely necessary?
Dunn: We started with a strong creative brief from her. Nina Venice, associate design director at Four Hands, and I beefed it up a bit more. Then our merchant team built it out with how many pieces we’d need across the different categories. We’d hand back updated drafts to Amber, who would give further design suggestions or just say, “This is great—do we have room for it in the plan?”

Scully: For you, what was most important when developing the collection?
Dunn: Making sure that there was a story. A good leader is a good storyteller. There’s a blend of contemporary, post-modern and Swedish influences in the collection, and we wanted the pieces to create more of a collected home moment, rather than being matching suites, so that it feels like you bought everything from different places even though they’re actually all from the Amber Lewis collection.

Scully: Is that customer still around, the one who wants their house to look like a showroom?
Dunn: People want to express who they are through design now. It’s why vintage is so big. And the most personal purchase you can make is art—it’s one of our fastest-growing categories. Four Hands occupies a unique spot in the industry. We function like a retailer, designing for the end consumer. Designers get it. There’s that quote about how great brands don’t chase people, people chase great brands.

Scully: For your brand, what is it that people are chasing? What makes Four Hands great?
Dunn: There are several pillars. We’re an experiential brand. Our design is good, and from a product perspective, we’re able to answer the way that people want to live today. From a practical standpoint, there are no order minimums. Anyone can come in and buy one pillow if they want. We’re approachable and easy to work with—you can tell that everyone at Four Hands likes one another. Our relationships run really deep. And yes, we throw a cool party. 

Scully: From touring your showroom at High Point, it seems like a friendly and accessible environment with a tremendous range of products.
Dunn: That’s intentional. Our assortment is driving strategy. We’re a lifestyle brand in the wholesale industry. You can buy floor to ceiling and wall to wall at Four Hands. We identify three style “houses” within our creative brief each year: Each has its own distinct story, but they all live together in the same place.

Scully: How does sustainability show up for the brand?
Dunn: It’s something we’re growing into as a company. We don’t want to greenwash anything, but we also understand the position we’re in, shipping containers across the ocean. We try to incorporate sustainability at the design and product development stages. A lot of Four Hands pieces use FSC-certified wood, and we’re always looking for cool new technology—Eucapel leather, for example, which is tanned using naturally harvested eucalyptus leaves. From a social compliance perspective, we only work with companies that fit those guidelines. We also support small artist groups, like Aid to Artisans, and specialty crafts.

Scully: Can you explain your retail distribution for the Amber Lewis x Four Hands collection?
Dunn: There’s wide appeal across customer segments. The designer business will be huge. Regional retailers will be interested and able to leverage both of our names to sell. National brands are going to be into it as well. To gauge its success, right out of Market we do evaluations. We bought a ton of inventory, 30 percent in-stock at launch, so we’ll be able to tell within weeks and months how the collection is performing. Four Hands is kind of a quiet, behind-the-scenes brand—well-known to design pros, of course, but it will be interesting to see how Amber’s e-commerce profile combined with our reputation will change things.

Scully: Looking ahead, how do you imagine the evolution of the Amber Lewis line?
Dunn: We see it as a long-term partnership. We’ll expand top-selling items into other categories, and we’re already working on new colors for collection number two, which will launch in fall 2024.