Nick relaxing on the Romeo chair at his home in Surrey.
This Valentine’s, Heal’s is looking for love as we attempt to reunite our Romeo and Juliet chairs.
One of the great joys of working at Heal’s is reading your enquiries regarding our archive designs. So when Nick’s letter dropped onto our desk we couldn’t help but go all mushy inside. In it he tells the story behind his Romeo chair, bought from Heal’s in 1963 as a wedding gift for his wife Judith and originally sold as a pair alongside the Juliet chair. Over five decades on, Nick is on the hunt for a Juliet for Judith and needs your help.
We’re calling on all you design lovers out there to help us reunite these two star-crossed designs. So if you happen to know an owner in Verona or fancy yourself as a vintage design connoisseur, get in touch today by emailing: [email protected]
Nick’s sketch comparing the Romeo and Juliet chairs drawn ‘from memory’.
Designed circa 1963, the Romeo and Juliet chairs are typical of the Scandinavian inspired furniture produced by Heal’s during this period. The upholstered shell seat evokes designs from Verner Panton with both pieces resting on a four-pronged metal base that allows the chair to swivel. Each was upholstered in a textured wool weave, the Romeo finished in purple while the Juliet in a vibrant yellow.
The Romeo chair at Nick and Judith’s Surrey home.
Now in their eighties, Nick and Judith reside in a leafy suburb in Sussex. Throughout the 1950s and 60s the pair lived in South Kensington, London where Nick trained as an architect while Judith worked as a music producer at the BBC. It was on the commute to work that they would pass Heal’s Tottenham Court Road store, falling in love with the building and eventually popping in to buy the Romeo chair.
The original letter sent to Heal’s by Nick.
