Feature: What's In a Name?
March 1, 2004
At around the same time that Barry was signing on with Baker
in the mid 1990s, nearly all of the major American furniture giants—Century,
Bernhardt, Thomasville, Lexington, Vaughan Bassett—were licensing the talents of prominent interior designers to
build star power into the furniture business. Concurrently, many interior
designers forged ahead independently with their own custom furniture lines
without an alliance with an established furniture maker.
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Michael Vanderbyl’s new Domicile collection for Bolier & Co. includes the
Crescent lounge chair. (Click image to enlarge)The difference
between the two approaches has become a debate over quality. Some argue that
licensed collections built by major manufacturers are inferior to made-to-order
furniture because they are produced in factories that turn out hundreds of
pieces at a time. Others insist that made-to-order collections are hardly custom
because they are not entirely handmade. “Consumers know good design. So once
they get over liking the product, then the fact that it’s a Bill Sofield or
Barbara Barry or Thomas Pheasant only adds to the credibility of the product,”
says Daniel Bradley, president of Baker Knapp & Tubbs.
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Barbara Barry’s latest collection for McGuire includes the Script chairs
inspired by Spencerian calligraphy. (Click image to enlarge)What is not
debatable is how most of this furniture is being marketed predominantly to
affluent buyers, who recognize the names of decorators and often use their
services. Still the end goal, arguably a number of years away, for most of the
major players is to educate, and ultimately sell, to aspirational shoppers as
well.
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A writing desk, from Michael
Vanderbyl’s Archetype collection, has pullout trays on either side. From Baker. (Click image to enlarge)“We live in a world now where everyone believes they have the right to
be fabulous,” says Los Angeles interior designer Madeline Stuart, who describes
her made-to-order furniture as neither trendy nor contemporary, but quietly
elegant and understated. “Whether the person is a shoe designer, a sheet maker
or a cookbook author, everybody wants their name out there because we live in a
cult of celebrity. If your name isn’t out there, you haven’t achieved a level of
success that is due. It’s your right as an American.”
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