British furniture artist Fred Baier was born in the Yorkshire city of Kingston-upon-Hull on the eve of the Korean War. His life so far has witnessed an incredible half-century of dynamic change in Western society. Part of that change has been the emergence of a design culture that complements new technologies. As an artist, builder, designer and philosopher, Fred couldn't possibly have been born at a better time. Armed with an M.A. from the Royal College of Art, he has immersed himself in opportunities presented by diverse materials and constantly shows us new ways to build, play, work and think about our immediate environment.

He also is a superb writer, and anybody interested in making a living building furniture owes it to themselves to read his often hilarious and always very British "Manifesto", a 40-page essay on his Web site which encapsulates his "advice to budding artist craftsmen". He is just as much at home manipulating words as he is plywood...

Mr. Baier is a consultant to the British Design Council, the Crafts Council, several regional arts associations, architects, interior designers, manufacturers and educational institutes. His work has been exhibited extensively in Europe, Japan, Australia and the U.S. He currently lectures in both Europe and the United States. His client list is diverse - from Issey Myaki in Japan to the U.S. Ambassador to Denmark, and London's famed Victoria & Albert Museum.

A desk for a domestic situation, featuring pigeon-holes, display shelving and a magnetic display board.

This dining table in polyester lacquer over honeycomb aluminum and wood seats 12, but has removable sections so it can accommodate 4 to 8 people.

A "Rolls Royce" version of his Comfortable Chair, its edge is lipped in a red rippled ash piping. The wings feature blue-stained burr ash veneer and the seat is red leather upholstery.

Dual Quad is a rolltop, dropleaf Transformer(TM) style robot desk in stained plywood, steel and graphite.

Occasional table/stool in stained sycamore, featuring the sharp end of a cone.

The Prism Chair (various complex effects of polyester lacquer over sheet goods) has won an award in a Japanese lacquer competition. It is in museum collections in Pennsylvania and Virginia in the U.S., and versions also have been sold in the U.K., Hong Kong and the Netherlands.

The "Smoker's Bow" is a contemporary version of this seat type, available in various color and wood combinations.

This tripod consists of three multi-faceted cones which penetrate three sides of a cube. Looking through holes in the three remaining faces of the cube, one can see the points of the cones almost touching. In the collection of the Contemporary Arts Society.

Titled "1/2 cube+cone-cylinder=table", this is actually a pair of side tables. It is reversible to deliver either a square or oval top. Veneered myrtle burr, coopered oak and rolled nickle silver.

The Boudoir Grand is a customized 1892 Kapp's six-foot grand piano with "wheel arches and go-faster stripes"! Wood, steel, mica pigments in black polyester lacquer, gold leaf and stain.

Entitled "Folded and Pierced", this is a coffee table in veneered plywood and anodized aluminum.

Love Seat was Fred's first piece conceived, modeled, developed and machined using a combination of commercial and home-grown computer software. Birch ply and high-tech adhesive.