Toms-Price Home Furnishings gets rare chair built to Dalai Lama's specifications

WHEATON – Toms-Price Home Furnishings has a new item in its inventory for those looking to add a piece of furniture with a little extra significance to their collections.

The store has four of the 100 original copies of a piece made for the Dalai Lama three times by historic Stickley Furniture between 2006 and 2012 for American speaking engagements.

A variant of the manufacturer's Eastwood chair, the limited release is wider and deeper than the original because of the leader of Tibetan Buddhism's preference for sitting cross-legged, said store owner Scott Price.

"In general, Stickley has done commemorative pieces every couple of years," Price said. "Those pieces tend to appreciate in value quite substantially ... and on the auction market they fetch many multiples of their original price."

Price said his store got the opportunity to sell the rare, American-crafted pieces because Toms-Price is the exclusive dealer for Stickley in the Chicago area. Copies are on sale in other major cities across the country, including in New York City, San Francisco and Boston.

He said the store has fielded a lot of consumer interest since the pieces arrived in mid-August, both from typical customers and Stickley collectors. Inquiries have come from as far away as Texas.

Based in Syracuse, N.Y., Stickley has been making arts and crafts furniture since 1900.

The style, popular around the turn of the 20th century, uses ornate, Medieval techniques found often in works of Prairie School architecture, including those by Frank Lloyd Wright, he said.

"We have a list of people who collect Stickley furniture who come out every time there is something new and different by the company," he said. "Illinois is one of the best markets in the United States for arts and crafts furniture."

Though the item, which retails at around $10,000, isn't for everyone, Price wants community members to stop by and look at the chair even if they aren't interested in buying.

"We're encouraging people to come in and get their picture taken with it," he said. "It's definitely a bit of a novelty item as well as a great piece of furniture."

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Know more

For more information, visit www.tomsprice.com and www.stickley.com.