Edward J Wormley was born on December 31, 1907 in Oswego, IL, a small community west of Chicago. He attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 1926 to 1928 and took his first job in the interior design studio at Marshall Field & Company department store.

Dunbar Furniture, founded in 1910, began by crafting horse-drawn carriages before transitioning to high-end furniture in response to the rise of the automobile. The company became an icon of American design after hiring designer Edward Wormley in 1931, who led the company's shift to innovative and modern designs. Wormley's three-decade tenure resulted in a vast collection of influential mid-century modern pieces, establishing Dunbar as a major force in the furniture industry