Hekman was founded by three sons of Dutch immigrants. Henry, Jelle, and John Hekman started the Hekman Furniture Co. along with experienced engineer and close friend James Boonstra in 1922. William Halstrick designed the company’s first line of 30 tables. In 1970, Grand Rapids native Raymond K. Sobota designed the company’s English Yewwood Collection, which became one of its most successful lines. Hekman’s first introduction was a line of 30 occasional tables. From there, the line grew to include occasional pieces for the living room, library, and hall. During World War II the factory was converted for production of glider bottoms and ammunition boxes. In 1960, pieces were offered in Neo-classical, Italian Provincial, French Provincial, and Danish Modern styles. Besides Sobota’s “English Yewwood Collection,” the company produced other wood occasional lines in the 1970s, including the English Provincial “Charing Cross” collection, the sleek-lined, Mapa burl-veneered “Wind Row” collection, a series of entertainment centers, and the faux bamboo “Bamboo Regency” collection. During the early 1980s Hekman also began marketing desks and computer cabinets for home offices. At about that same time Hekman furnished several large hotels, including the Amway Grand Plaza in Grand Rapids, and the Ritz-Carlton in Chicago. In 1991 Hekman introduced a line of reproductions of furniture owned by English novelist Charles Dickens, including a sloped mahogany desk and a cane seat smoker’s bow chair. Hekman faithfully reproduced impressions made on the original desk by Charles Dickens, who nervously tapped his ring while he was writing. Hekman is truly one of the greatest lines of design and manufacture of quality brand-name furniture in North America.