Exclusive: First Look At American Leather’s New Menlo Park Collection

Twenty-five years ago, furniture designer Rick Lee was approached by American Leather, a made-to-order, Dallas-based furniture company, to design a small collection of pieces, dubbed Menlo Park. Fast-forward to today, and the two have teamed up once again to reimagine the successful line through a modern-day lens. Set to debut at High Point's Fall Market this month, the highly customizable collection—featuring a bed, modular sofa, and chaise lounge—is available in hundreds of fabric and leather covering options, including more than 90 eco-conscious Ultrasuede colors.

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Lee's collection with American Leather, Luxe caught up with the designer to reminisce on the origins of the iconic Menlo Park collection.

Designer Rick Lee Chats Menlo Park’s Refresh Ahead Of High Point Market Debut 

Congrats on the reissue of this collection! How did you link up with American Leather?

All my manufacturers that I work with are my clients. I was very lucky that I met a few manufacturers who wanted to work with me, one of them being American Leather. At the time (the mid-1990s) they were a small company. I feel pride when I think of American Leather and how we helped to create a new landscape within the American home furnishing industry.

So, you’re brought on to design a capsule collection and you call it Menlo Park. What was the inspiration?

The spark came from the 1960s era. The collection consists of three pieces—a sleigh bed, a sectional and a chaise lounge. The sectional was basically a circle sectional. I was inspired by similar pieces from designers like Milo Baughman and other Italian designers before him. Nobody had this kind of infinite shape in 2000. I consider this my signature design. It's timeless, minimal, sensual, very sexy. And in the end, it's very versatile.

How did you feel when you were first asked to revisit one of your past designs?

I would never voluntarily redesign my pieces. Especially when it was a successful design for so long. I just didn't really think about it until they asked me. This is more challenging than doing something brand new. So, in a way, this project took more effort, more time.

What was your thought process this time around?

To reimagine these pieces, I thought about how classic cars like the Mustang were cool in the 60s and are still in the market today. These furniture pieces were comfortable when they were first introduced, but we needed to improve them even more for the anniversary collection. Their performance is the driving force. The design integrity is the same. The pieces are still timeless and minimal and defy gravity. We added a line of channeling to the sectional, the stitching has been updated, and we updated the leg to one that’s more organic. I hope this design will be enjoyed by a new generation of consumers for another quarter century.