organic forms

Attica is featuring a unique collection of furniture made from found woods such as teak, rosewood and makha. We found this collection on a recent buying trip, and fell in love with the sensual nature of these beautiful, natural forms.

Made by skilled craftsmen from reclaimed wood, each piece of sustainable furniture is one-of-a-kind. These eco-friendly, organic, pieces that will help bring an exotic quality to your space.

stainless and teak outdoor furniture

Attica is carrying a new line of outdoor furniture - new to us but made by a company that has been producing the highest quality, award-winning products for ninety years.

There are several reasons why choosing this furniture is a great idea. Firstly, the quality of the materials used: the highest grade of teak (tectona grandis), marine-quality solid brass and stainless steel fittings. Secondly, the quality of the designs, always created with careful attention to form and proportion. Thirdly, the quality of the construction, using traditional and tested methods. Lastly, you'll just love it for many years to come!

18K Neighbourhood Store

Attica is now an 18Karat Neighbourhood store in both Halifax and St. John's, allowing us to exclusively introduce innovative collections for the home and body. The look is modern and simple, with collections that are fashionable yet comfortable to live with.

The products are imported from many countries around the world, and 18Karat is committed to working with factories and cottage industry producers that maintain fair and honourable business ethics. 18Karat's products support the workers in developing countries who rely on their handicrafts to provide the necessities of living for themselves and their families. Most products are hand made.

Based in Vancouver, 18Karat is a design-driven company, introducing over 500 new items annually. Many of the forms take their inspiration from the natural world. The look is often organic, fresh and simple, adding richness and texture to environments.

catalina: stylish and eco-friendly

Increasingly manufacturers are taking notice of the demand for products that are produced in a more eco-friendly manner. The Catalina collection lets you satisfy your desire to minimize your carbon footprint while at the same time being at the height of contemporary design.

Combining the clean, unadorned lines of the International Modernists with organic and geometric forms, the Catalina Collection is suggestive of the works of America’s Mid-Century Modern designers. All pieces are crafted in solid American black walnut or maple hardwood, made from wood that is harvested from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified woodlots and FSC certified sawmills. The Catalina bed is low and sleek, designed for a mattress only, and is available in two heights. It is perfectly complemented by a selection of case pieces, including a 3 drawer chest with organizer options for home entertainment equipment and a laptop desk that creates a trim, functional workspace.

The company that produces the Catalina, Copeland, has been awarded the 2009 Sage Award Winner for Environmental Excellence, and the Silver Exemplary Membership Status by the Sustainable Furnishings Council. Says Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Professor Roseanne Somerson: Copeland Furniture's furniture manufacture includes a strong commitment to the principles of sustainability, durability and quality construction. This approach is more and more rare in American manufacturing, although the environmental issues of our times beg for more companies to think about the ramifications of how and what they manufacture. Copeland is a leader in demonstrating how a strong value system coupled with quality design and manufacturing can make a positive impact for this generation and those that will follow."

artful accents

Attica has just introduced a new line of beautifully handmade pillows from Brooklyn, New York. These signature down-filled pillows are made from velvet and silk.

The pillows are hand-dyed and painted in small batches. Actual objects and botanicals are used and embossed into the velvet. It's wonderful to run your hands over the pillows and feel the impressions of each nuance. You will feel how each branch, object and blossom is engraved with exquisite detail exactly as they are in nature.

Each of these pillows are each one-of-a-kind creations. No two are alike and each celebrates the objects of nature that inspired them. Come to Attica to see these award-winning pillows that are hand-printed, hand-sewn, silk-lined and backed in silk dupioni.

The way a bed is supposed to be...

Selling mattresses was a side of the furniture business that we had avoided for our fourteen years of business, because generally we felt that the mattress industry was designed to confuse the customer. Indeed, much of what was out there confused us; the way that mattresses were made and priced just didn't seem to make a whole lot of sense. We started out as furniture designers and makers ourselves, so always want to know that we're offering value to our customers in everything we sell, including mattresses.

This fall, though, we had the exceptional opportunity to visit the factory of Vi-Spring, Europe's premier bed manufacturer in Plymouth, in the south of England. Each Vi-Spring bed is built individually, to order, entirely by hand, to create the one perfect bed for each customer. It's a bed with a lifetime warranty, that you will have for decades to come. It's a bed that will change the way that you sleep, which will change the way you live.

Vi-Spring beds managed to, over the past 100 years, gain an almost legendary reputation for quality, comfort and endurance. Vi-Spring was founded in 1901 and was the first company to produce 'pocketspring' mattresses, based on individually packaged springs.

This unique system caused a revolution in the way beds were made, and ensured a hitherto unheard of level of comfort, support, and durability, which today, too, guarantees quality of sleep for a lot of people.

Here's a picture of me holding the calico nested springs. Vi-Spring makes their own springs; each spring has six turns of high quality vanadium steel. Vi-Spring's unique close honeycomb buildup allows for the use of many more springs than usual and thus to guarantee exact support, in every spot. This buildup also makes for a smooth sleeping surface, by not leaving any room between springs, and so prevents shifting of the covering layers. A Vi-Spring mattress can contain up to thousands of spring in separate cotton pockets with, on average 30% more thread than the average bedspring. The Vi-Spring range of mattresses contains several spring options with different diametres and spring tensions, so that you can always find the mattress that fits you perfectly.

Here's Chris with lambswool and horsehair fibres that are about to be blended together. Synthetic materials simply do not breathe as cotton, lambswool and calico do. Where possible, costly natural materials are used to boost a refreshing sleep: pure cashmere, fine lambswool, manelong horsehair and soft cotton. This mixture continues to breathe timelessly. The finest Egyptian cotton, coated with wax, is called 'cambric' and forms a protective layer to prevent the hair from pricking through the mattress' surface.

Whilst some synthetic beds can make you uncomfortably hot, a natural Vi-Spring bed keeps you cool in Summer and snug in Winter. It’s why, unlike almost every other bed-maker in the world, Vi-Spring makes mattresses with 100% natural materials.

This picture shows a Vi-Spring employee side-stitching the mattress by hand. Each mattress within the range is typified by at least two rows of side-stitching, to fasten each external spring, by hand, to the mattress sides. Side-stitching is done by experienced upholsterers who use a traditional long needle and yarn for the fortification of the edges and seams. This improves the durability and preservation of shape. The springs are securely embedded, but can move freely and adapt quickly to every movement of the sleeper. In addition, the comfort of the sleeping area extends itself to the utter rim of the mattress, without any hindersome hard edges.

Vi-Spring's natural fillings include horsehair, cotton, coir, lambswool, cashmere, mohair, silk, blended lambswool and cotton and bonded lambswool and cotton. There are three different categories of mattress filling:
Comfort layers – providing fluffiness, softness, ventilation and moisture regulation, placed directly underneath the ticking of the mattress.
Insulators - should be strong and have some 'mass' to divide pressure or to protect the softer comfort layers/filling materials.
Filling materials – must be resilient to give support during sleep and, after a night’s sleep, to return mattress to its original shape. In general, the higher the grams per square metre (gsm), the more 'comfort' the product will offer.

Only damask of the finest quality is used to upholster these valuable mattresses. Boxsprings, upholstered divans, and headboards complete the perfect bedroom.

After seeing how Vi-Spring mattresses are made, we know that we are offering the best product for our customers to spend a third of their life on which to sleep.

Vi-Spring beds are distributed throughout boutique and specialty stores throughout Europe. Attica is proud to be the exclusive proprietor of Vi-Spring mattresses in Atlantic Canada.

small office home office

It's been really difficult to find a thoughtfully designed, contemporary office system for a small office or home office. That is, until now. Attica introduces the Sequel Office.

Designed with an emphasis on ergonomics and organization, Sequel Office is a versatile and beautiful component collection offering the ultimate in style, function and flexibility for any home or small office application. Everyone needs a workspace that is comfortable and inviting, and if it can be beautifully designed and neatly organized, all the better.

A versatile component system, Sequel can be configured for any home or small office application. Features include a unique wire management system that keeps all wires out of sight yet within easy reach, and an innovative system drawer that combines a charging station for portable electronics, a keyboard tray and mouse pad. Sequel is thoughtfully engineered from the inside out. Finished with satin nickel-plated steel, fingerprint-resistant glass work surfaces and the finest hardware, the Sequel Office collection looks as great as it functions.

Magnetically attached panels conceal power cords and cables, yet flip down for easy access to connections. The Return ships with a front panel only, while the Desk also includes a back panel that may be used with either the Desk or Return, depending on configuration.

Sequel's desk drawer combines a full featured keyboard tray with a unique deeper compartment engineered for charging cell phones, cameras, and other personal electronics. Cables are kept organized with Sequel's innovative wire management. Drawer bottom and keyboard tray are lined with black non-slip neoprene that also functions as a mouse pad.

We had the opportunity to meet the designer, Matthew Weatherly, of this office collection on a recent buying trip. He spent two years on the development of the Sequel collection, striving to work out every aspect of its functionality, yet not sacrificing any of its sleek design. We have to agree that he has been truly successful. Come visit us to learn more about the Sequel office collection.