BAKER NEWS

April 2008
BAKER INTRODUCES NEW PIECES TO THE THOMAS PHEASANT COLLECTION
Thomas Pheasant Adds Glamorous, Contemporary Edge with His Latest Designs for Baker

CHICAGO (April 7, 2008) – Baker, premier designer and manufacturer of fine home furnishings, unveiled a remarkable breadth of new work by world-renowned, multi-disciplinary designer, Thomas Pheasant, at the Spring 2008 International Home Furnishings Market in High Point, N.C. Bridging his earlier designs for Baker, Pheasant brings a glamour and contemporary component to his latest pieces. The Thomas Pheasant Collection was originally unveiled in 2002, with additions to the collection in 2004. These latest pieces by Baker add to this breadth of work and include living room, dining room, and bedroom items, upholstery, occasional and accents pieces, lighting, and soft goods.

Combining classic forms, modernistic touches and visual relief, Pheasant maintains the integrity of the earlier designs, yet adds new dimension by incorporating contemporary elements and alluring materials. “I wanted to bridge both worlds with these designs,” explained Pheasant. “Fusing classic sensibility with sophisticated nuance evolves the collection’s vocabulary with glamorous, seductive forms to capture the attention of a broader range of consumer.”

Intrigued by simplicity and refinement, Pheasant has created a body of work that speaks to the intricacy and art of fine craftsmanship. A lifelong student of design, Pheasant continues to explore new avenues in which to express his creativity. With a career that spans over 25 years, Pheasant has been responsible for a wide range of commercial and residential work, his distinctive style the subject of literary works and captured within the pages of numerous magazines over the years. Sharing the spotlight with his interiors are his accomplishments as a product designer, both based upon the principles of symmetry, scale and form. It is this design philosophy and focus that has made Pheasant’s designs some of the most recognizable throughout the world.

The pieces are meticulously crafted by Baker and continue to bring to the collection flexible and multi-purposed home furnishing choices. Functionally as effective today as in the future, the pieces carry a versatile component that allow the pieces to move effortlessly from living room to foyer to bedroom as tastes and needs change.

Rendered from mahogany and decorated in highly figured quarter or flat cut veneers, the case pieces use a variety of Old World craft including complex flush wood joinery. This highly skilled technique allows the form to maintain its minimal, clean aesthetic, yet allows for the natural expansion and contraction of the wood to ensure the case and figured veneer works do not crack and buckle. In addition to the Sable finish, which was created by Baker exclusively for The Thomas Pheasant Collection, many of the pieces are also offered in the 20 Baker corporate finishes, feeding the imagination with an array of customized options. The furniture is dressed in a variety of decorative elements including grained Ivory leather, a fine, low lead, crystal clear European glass, and graphic elements to surprise and attract visual interest and complement many of the signature details found on Pheasant’s earlier pieces for Baker. Completing the designs is hand-cast brass hardware, finished in a hand-rubbed lustrous Antique Bronze and exclusive to the collection.

The marriage of craftsmanship with flexible, versatile styling can be seen in Pheasant’s innovative Dining Table, which can be used in small, urban settings or bunched together to create a more extensive table length. Its pedestal is a series of solid mahogany panels which have been mitered and doweled to create the illusion of a sculpted base. Each table has a metal ganging device on the underside of the top to allow the tables to be joined side by side to create a large square or rectangular table. Crafted entirely from mahogany solids, the table is offered in an Ivory or Black leather top framed in flat cut mahogany veneers or in a mahogany veneer top that can be customized in any of the 20 Baker corporate finishes.

Complementing his new designs is a series of upholstery including four lounge and one club chair, four sofas, two loveseats, and a chaise lounge. The forms resonate with the lean, sculptural silhouettes so familiar in Pheasant’s designs.

The pieces are thoughtfully scaled with even the most tailored forms exuding a sublime comfort. Graphic, squared frames and curved silhouettes are the upholstered in true European fashion and rest upon feet that are expertly crafted into faceted and tapered designs. Many of the pieces are offered in the 20 Baker corporate finishes for customized options with visual relief afforded by such signature touches as nail head trim and simple welt detail.

A significant addition to the collection is the Paris Chaise Lounge. This fully upholstered piece rests on exposed, squared and tapered feet, which is offered in the collection’s Sable finish or can be customized in any of the 20 Baker corporate finishes. The frame has high sides that meet a lower base supporting a series of large, tufted cushions in a complex upholstered seat design and flanked with bolster pillows. Antique Bronze nail head trim outlines the exterior front, side and back panels in decorative relief.

Pheasant rounds out his latest designs for Baker with a series of lighting, a unique wall accessory and a series of velvet, leather and linen pillows that incorporate signature elements found in his earlier designs. Rooted in classicism, the handcrafted items reflect a modernism that makes the pieces refreshing and altogether unique.

The lighting is expertly handcrafted using Old World techniques by family owned craft shops in Italy. Pheasant hand-selected the materials, and traveled to Italy to work with the artisans personally to complete his designs. The lighting has a glamour and elegance that marry beautifully to the earlier, more minimal designs. The new pieces include six table lamps, three floor lamps and two chandeliers decorated in an organic mix of crystal facets, leather, and Murano glass. Bases are executed from alabaster, marble, and brass finished in a golden Antique Bronze, and topped by handmade Italian shades, the dense silk almost virtually impenetrable creating a stunning escape of light both from its top and in a lower cast that highlights each lamp’s decorative base. The lighting accommodates 60 watt incandescent bulbs, and is fitted with on-line and floor switches and transparent power cords. The lighting is Underwriters Laboratories (UL) approved.

Baker Knapp & Tubbs, Inc. includes Baker furniture, Baker Knapp & Tubbs Showrooms, and Baker Stores. Along with McGuire Furniture Company, Ann Sacks tile, stone and plumbing company and Kallista plumbing, it is part of the Kohler Interiors Group and wholly owned subsidiary of Kohler Co., a global leader in kitchen and bath designs.

Founded in 1873 and headquartered in Kohler, Wis., Kohler Co. is one of America’s oldest and largest privately held companies. Kohler is a global leader in the manufacture of kitchen and bath products, engines and power generation systems, cabinetry, tile and home interiors, and international host to award-winning hospitality and world-class golf destinations.