Herman Miller's story begins modestly in 1905 as the Star Furniture Company in Zeeland, Michigan—a small town in the furniture heartland near Grand Rapids, settled by Dutch immigrants whose woodworking heritage stretched back generations. When young clerk Dirk Jan De Pree joined in 1909, nothing suggested the company would revolutionise global design. Yet De Pree possessed something rare: the courage to gamble on the future. Looking to sell your designer furniture? Get in touch.
By 1919, De Pree had become president of what was then Michigan Star Furniture Company. In 1923, he convinced his father-in-law—a respected businessman named Herman Miller—to help purchase controlling shares. De Pree renamed the company in Miller's honour, a tribute to integrity and character that would define the firm's ethos for generations.
Throughout the 1920s, Herman Miller produced traditional reproduction furniture—respectable work, but hardly remarkable. Then came the Great Depression. Facing bankruptcy, De Pree encountered designer Gilbert Rohde, who proposed something audacious: abandon historical pastiche and embrace modern design. In 1932, they launched bedroom group No. 2185—Herman Miller's first modern collection. When Rohde's work debuted at Chicago's Century of Progress exhibition in 1933 to tremendous acclaim, De Pree's gamble paid off. By 1934, Herman Miller had published its first catalogue of entirely modern furniture.
Rohde's untimely death in 1944 forced De Pree to find a successor. After spotting photographs in Life magazine of George Nelson's storage wall unit, De Pree spent nearly a year convincing the architect to join Herman Miller. Nelson accepted in 1945, inaugurating what many consider furniture's golden age. Nelson didn't merely design; he recruited. His eye for talent brought Charles and Ray Eames, Isamu Noguchi, and Alexander Girard into the Herman Miller fold—a constellation of designers who would define American Modernism.
The Eameses' moulded plywood chairs (1946), their iconic Lounge Chair (1956), Noguchi's sculptural coffee table (1948), Nelson's Marshmallow Sofa (1956)—these weren't simply products. They were manifestos about how design could improve daily life, making quality accessible through industrial production without sacrificing craftsmanship or beauty.
In 1960, Herman Miller Research Division opened in Ann Arbor under Robert Propst, marking the company's pivot toward office furniture. Propst's Action Office system (1964) introduced modular workspaces that could be configured to individual needs. By 1968, this evolved into Action Office II—the first cubicle system. Although later maligned in popular culture, Propst's original concept sought to liberate workers from rigid, inefficient office layouts by using flexible, movable panels and components.
The ergonomic revolution continued with Bill Stumpf's Ergon chair (1976), followed by his collaboration with Don Chadwick on the legendary Aeron (1994). The Aeron abandoned traditional upholstery entirely, featuring breathable Pellicle mesh that flexed in multiple directions—a radical departure that initially worried Herman Miller's marketing department. Yet the chair became a phenomenon, selling over 8 million units globally and earning a permanent place in MoMA's collection. BusinessWeek and the Industrial Design Society of America declared it "Design of the Decade," while the Aeron became synonymous with the dot-com boom—the "Dot-Com Throne" gracing every Silicon Valley startup.
Herman Miller remained family-run until 1995, when the first non-De Pree CEO took the helm. In 2021, Herman Miller acquired Knoll in a $1.8 billion deal, rebranding as MillerKnoll whilst maintaining distinct brand identities. The combined portfolio now includes Design Within Reach, HAY, Maharam, and numerous other celebrated marques.
Throughout its history, Herman Miller has championed sustainability—pioneering green manufacturing, funding the U.S. Green Building Council, and implementing "Perfect Vision" targets including zero landfill waste and 100% renewable energy use. The company helped revolutionise how furniture is made, thought about, and valued.
At HFOC, we specialise in sourcing authentic pre-owned Herman Miller pieces—from Eames classics to Aeron chairs, from Nelson designs to contemporary work by today's collaborators. Each piece represents furniture that transcends function to become a cultural artefact, offering discerning buyers the opportunity to own genuine design history at accessible prices.
Herman Miller doesn't create furniture. It creates American design legacy.