 Heydenryk Jr. would eventually branch out from traditional frame making and design his own mouldings and finishes for contemporary artists in Manhattan under the name The House of Heydenryk Jr. Inc.

Henry Heydenryk Jr. is credited with introducing and popularizing the wormy chestnut frame in 1938, using wood from trees destroyed by blight and applying new finishes, painted, scraped and stained, as an alternative to traditional gilt and smooth surfaces.In 1937, Heydenryk befriended the American Modernist painter Marsden Hartley after his dealer Alfred Stieglitz closed his gallery.He designed and loaned frames for Hartley's first exhibition with the Hudson Walker gallery in 1938.