ABOVE: Recognized for her furniture and interior designs, Snider is also an artist whose work has been exhibited in galleries.

ABOVE: A little lumbar pillow adds comfort to the “Paris Lounge Chair.”

ABOVE: The “Grande Salon Table” was originally created for a house that Maxine Snider had been designing for three years.



ABOVE: The “Armoire” showcases Snider’s minimalist aesthetic with its unfussy facade and subtle details, such as the design of the legs and keyhole.

ABOVE: The “Vienna Bed” features a serpentine headboard that is accented with either a decorative beveled mirror or a hand-painted landscape.

To some, Maxine Snider is a walking contradiction. Not because of who she is but rather because of the furniture she designs. Seemingly simple and uncontrived, her pieces belie the incredible detail and craftsmanship it takes to create them.
Even Snider describes her work as possessing a “contradictory” aesthetic. “My designs are deceptively simple. There’s a lot of skill and artistry that goes into the construction and refinements of each piece,” she says.
In fact, it’s the details of Snider’s first collection, titled “Paris,” that initially brought her national recognition. Tailored, polished and refined, the 25-piece collection of upholstered furniture and casegoods showcases Snider’s signature clean-lined approach to classic silhouettes.
Following an untraditional path, this interior-turned-furniture designer began her career in graphic design. Upon graduating from the University of Michigan with a design degree, she set her sights on advertising. But as fate would have it, she was given the opportunity to show some architects her drawings of interiors and color samples. They liked what they saw and hired her to work in the interior design division of the company. “It was all pretty serendipitous,” she says.
From there, she went on to head the interior departments of several distinguished architectural firms in Detroit, including Minoru Yamasaki and Associates, architects of the World Trade Center.
In 1989, Snider opened Maxine Snider, Inc. to further her interior design career. Increasingly, she became intrigued by the idea of designing furniture or “creating icons as products,” as she puts it.
Several years later, she relocated her home and business to Chicago, where she was “so inspired and there was a sense of readiness,” says Snider regarding her foray into furniture design. “I kept thinking, ‘not only can I do this but this is what I want to do.’ ” But it was a trip to Paris in 1997 that proved to be the turning point of her career. While there, she began sketching the details of the city — its architecture, antiques and street scenes.
“It was more about the timing than the place,” Snider says. “I felt a delicious inspiration from all of the examples of the aesthetic that I love so much that surrounded me.”
The drawings became the starting point for her “Paris” collection, whose bold shapes, fine woods and classic details reflect the beauty of the City of Lights.
From this collection came Snider’s signature piece, the “Paris Writing Table,” which continues to be her best-selling item. To boot, Elle Decor dubbed it “one of the 10 dreamiest dressing tables” in October 2003.
Two other tables from the collection also received praise. Metropolitan Home named her “Dressing Stand” one of the best 100 designs in 2001. And her company received the distinguished furniture award for her “Paris Side Table” at the “New Chicago Furniture VIII” show held at The Chicago Athenaeum.
Since that pivotal trip to Paris, Snider has journeyed to other destinations, such as Turkey, Morocco and Vienna — the latter of which inspired two beds in her recently released “New Collection.”
Another new collection in progress will contrast with the “Paris” line in terms of weight and mass. “We’re going to get into greater scale and create pieces that we haven’t offered yet,” Snider says.
Always looking for a challenge, Snider plans to add new motifs to her repertoire. “Maybe I’ll do a collection laden with gilt and Rococo,” she muses.
Snider’s pieces can be purchased through Tui Pranich & Associates at the D&D Building in New York, and DCOTA in Dania Beach, Fla., at 954/925-6801. DeSousa Hughes in the San Francisco Design Center and Thomas Lavin in Los Angeles also carry her work.
For more information or to purchase her work in the Chicago area, call the studio and showroom at 312/527-4170. Or, go to the website at www.maxinesniderinc.com.