Fred Baier

   Funny how you switch the radio on in the middle of a programme and you immediately know who they are talking about, rather like hearing the first three bars of a famous tune. Libby Purvis was in laughter as Fred talked about a bookcase on wheels he had created for the House of Lords. It was too early in the morning for me to grasp the technicalities or as in Fred's case the mathematics of his abstractions but to ponder at grand old wise men doing wheelies down the corridors of power on one of Fred's furniture creations.

    I first met Fred Baier at the Sunday Telegraph British Crafts Awards at Somerset House in 1976. He was the winning craftsman and I was one of the shortlisted exhibitors. I expected his workmanship to be  immaculate but what he did was set new boundaries for furniture design.  I introduced myself to him by saying 'Well done mate, refreshing to see you didn't go to the Royal College of Art'. The blank look on his face immediately made me realize I had misread his CV. Oh well, it was a conversation opener and yet curiously over all those years we shared the same exhibition platform it is only very recently that we had a conversation and said hello to each other. Maybe the truth is I was being acknowledged more as a documenter of furniture history than as a fellow innovator!!!

The golden boy of the craft furniture scene, nurtured by the Crafts Council, Fred was a defining character if not to the general public to scores of college graduates but also uniquely alongside John Makepeace bridged the Fine Art barrier.  He was one of the 70's Revival pioneers and it is good to see that he has not disappeared off the radar and is enjoying something of a comeback today.  What makes me very proud of that golden era that we helped shape was that all our work was instantly recognizable, Fred's in particular not least the vibrant pop art colour and Starwars futuristic shapes. A true innovator and someone you couldn't easily copy.

The story I heard that amuses me most is an early one when Fred picked up another prestigious award. The reception was at the Savoy Hotel and when he turned up as guest of honour up he was promptly kicked out by a doorman for inappropriate dress. I think we nicknamed him the punk furniture maker. I have chosen Fred's Prism chair as the symbol of my three part documentary 'Furniture Today'

   Fred Baier's Prism Chair (circa 1994) selected for the V & A Collection