A tradition of excellence.

In business for 105 years, Baker Furniture maintains a tradition of making exceptional furniture.

Connoisseurs of furniture turn to Baker for classic designs, museum-quality reproductions and impeccable workmanship. John Black, director of product development for Baker Furniture, and Alex Mitchell, creative director, both attribute the mystique associated with the century-old company name to Hollis S. Baker, son of the founder.

Cook & Baker originated in 1890 in Allegan, Mich., in a small, wood-framed, water-powered planing mill also used to manufacture window sashes and doors. The first furniture in 1893, a combination bookcase desk, was followed by buffets and china cabinets in golden oak.

By 1925, when Hollis became president upon his father's death, the company had moved and expanded several times. But it was Hollis, as head of the firm and a student of fine arts, who changed the direction of Baker & Co. Inc., laying the groundwork for the furniture the company is known for today.

Finding the finest

For some 20 years, Baker traveled annually to Europe, spending months doing research on furniture, seeking only the finest antiques in museums, private collections, homes and shops. He sought antiques that were unique and represented the best of their kind - from the most skilled workmen of the past, John Black explained. (Lest we forget: Every piece of 18th century furniture was not a fine antique, Black added.)

Baker collected more than 1,500 pieces of furniture to use as reference points, and these became the nucleus of the Baker Museum for Furniture Research, established in Holland, Mich., in 1941. He acquired hundreds of measured drawings of specimens ordinarily seen only by collectors, 2,000 photographs, and plaster casts from a noted old English cabinet shop, no longer in existence. "The museum is our greatest design resource," Alex Mitchell said.

Baker also looked for the exact same wood species to use in reproducing these choice pieces. "He knew it would be impossible to reproduce the honey-colored glow of a Biedermeier chest without the elm burl of the Carpathian mountains or European fruitwood from the area where the original cabinetmaker lived," the Baker spokesman explained. "The same holds true for an armoire done in the French manner, requiring good French oak; a Jacobean dresser from Pollard oak that grows in England; or a Queen Anne chest in English walnut."

William Millington, designer from Waring & Gillow, an illustrious and historic English furniture maker, joined Baker, along with a number of old world European craftsmen. The company moved away from standard production methods and focused on handcraftsmanship.

In 1931, the first group of Georgian mahogany reproductions set the standard for every collection that followed. Baker's guidelines, which Hollis Baker said were essential and of equal importance, were: soundness of design, sturdy construction, a deeply beautiful finish, and an intangible quality of spirit or "feeling" of the original - i.e., "presence."

Notable and contemporary

Although Baker concentrates heavily on reproductions and its licensing programs - Stately Homes, Colonial Williamsburg and Historic Charleston - some notable designers have produced contemporary collections for the company. In 1927, prominent stage designer Joseph Urban designed a severely contemporary bedroom group made of bubinga, with straight lines and silver-plated hardware. Gilbert Rohde was another early designer who applied his talents to Baker.

In 1951, Baker produced a modern grouping designed by Sinn Juhl, Danish architect and designer, whose furniture is now displayed in museums. This event marked the birth of Scandinavian design in America, Mitchell said. The New World Collection and other contemporary designs followed. In 1994, Baker unveiled 42 original pieces by the design team of Parish-Hadley.

Last month at the International Home Furnishings Market in High Point, Baker introduced an important 30-piece Neoclassic Collection. Although the designs are new, they have roots in older Baker collections, especially Palladian from 1950, with its classic architectural details. An outstanding oval extension dining table with four columns in light cherry finish alluded to Biedermeier inspiration. Also, 25 new reproductions were added to the Stately Homes Collection.