The Howell Company
Many of the pieces in RetroPatio’s collection are from the the Howell Company of St. Charles, Illinois. Howell was the first American company to hire Wolfgang Hoffman, a Bauhaus- trained designer, to style their first modern outdoor line. Wolfgang Hoffman was the son of Josef Hoffman the famed Austrian architect/designer who founded the Vienna Secession and also established the venerable Wiener Werkstaate for decorative arts. Howell Company produced the highest quality and most desired American outdoor furniture until 1950 when, unable to resolve union issues, it shut down production.