Baker Furniture, rewriting the history.
- juliaozsarac
- Mar 10, 2021
- 3 min read
Baker brand has been around for more than a century, and for most of its history, it was run as a family business. The company was founded in 1890 by Dutch immigrant Siebe Baker, who was the sole owner of the business. Upon his death, the presidency fell on Baker’s son – Hollis. During his time, Hollis has actively engaged in international research and travelled extensively in Europe, collecting books and furniture pieces as inspirational material for Baker designers. Eventually, the accumulated information and the reproduction pieces allowed to form a Baker Museum and Baker Library for Furniture Research. English furniture specialist William Millington has joined the company in 1927 as a head designer and developed a line of furniture mock-ups and reproductions. Later he has established Millington Road Shops – exclusive showrooms where he showcased reproductions furniture and operated as a division of Baker Furniture (furnitiurehistory.org).
Over the years Baker has collaborated with world-famous designers and released numerous collections. Barbara Barry, Thomas Pheasant, Jacques Garcia, Jean Louis Denoit are to name a few. In 1986 Baker became a part of the furniture division of an American manufacturing company Kohler & Co., and later in 1989, Kohler added McGuire Furniture to its brands' portfolio. Luxury furniture companies M&A deals are relatively rare, with only 16 of them taking place worldwide in 2017 ( statista.com). However, in February 2018, the three brands were sold to a Chinese-owned and US-based furniture manufacturer and distributor, Samson Investment Holding Company, for reportedly a US$35 million price tag. Samson portfolio contains a wide range of mid-range furniture brands, so the acquisition of Baker presents an opportunity to tap into an upper-end of the market. The three luxury brands, Baker, Milling Road and McGuire have formed a corporate umbrella brand Baker Interiors Group.
Naturally, with new ownership starting February 2018, the brand strategy and visual identity needed a refresh. San Francisco based company Ammunition Group has performed a global brand audit and building on existing positioning, created a new visual language and honoured brand’s heritage. Originally, the factory name was printed in a distinctive Gothic script. In the 1940s Baker adopted a logo with a crown, signifying tradition, and tulip, signifying Dutch roots and Dutch craftsmanship, over a ‘B’ which is also in use today. Milling Road Furniture bore its own mark, consisting of an upper case ‘M’ and ‘R’ divided by tree sampling (furniturehistory.org). The new Baker logo has an influence of an original design, yet contemporary and sophisticated feel.
In the past, factories names were printed in a distinctive Gothic script, however in the 1940’s Baker adopted a logo of a crown, signifying tradition, and tulip, signifying Dutch roots and Dutch craftsmanship, over a ‘B’ which is also in use today. Milling Road Furniture bore its own mark, consisting of an upper case ‘M’ and ‘R’ divided by tree sampling (furniturehistory.org).
The main concept of the logo remained unchanged, the new identity presents with a subtly refined wordmark, which retains the heritage of the original script lettering, but is more streamlined, assertive and functional in digital and architectural settings. A secondary hallmark — the crown and tulip symbol, reflecting Siebe Baker’s Dutch origins — was similarly updated into a contemporary geometric symbol (wearemucho.com). The logo was re-drew by an international talent – Brett Wickens in San Francisco.
New brand image is more relevant to an emerging consumer and contemporary interior designers, but at the same time has not lost its existing following base. There is a careful balance of respect to the past and subversion of the new future, making the new positioning equally current and timeless. The new identity was launched together with the Jean-Louis Deniot collection, a world-renown celebrity designer and architect based in Paris, and photographed by Tony Duran - one of the most widely published American photographers of celebrities (tonyduran.net).
Baker brand is a golden standard in the industry, a hallmark of furniture craftsmanship. Its long-standing history of excellence serves as a powerful legacy, and right now is an exciting time for the brand to shape its future. Furniture Pulse is proudly supplying Baker Interiors Group furniture to selected clients in the UK.
Thank you for some of the history. Do you know when Baker began using the brass plates? I have a piece of furniture with the crown & tulip logo & cleaning instructions, but it does not have a brass plate. Thank you.