Bernhardt Design

Bernhardt Design makes contract furniture — seating, sofas, tables, storage and textiles — for offices, hotel lobbies, restaurants and public interiors. It was created in 1981, when the family-owned Bernhardt Furniture Company, founded in 1889 by John Mathias Bernhardt in Lenoir, North Carolina, began selling commercial-grade furniture to the architectural and design community.

Under president Jerry Helling the company has built a roster of designers including Ross Lovegrove, Jaime Hayon, Arik Levy, Luca Nichetto, Patrick Jouin, Monica Förster, Ini Archibong and Cory Grosser. Upholstery fabric comes from Bernhardt Textiles, launched in 1989, and the company sponsors design education through a course with Art Center College of Design in Pasadena and the ICFF Studio programme.