Hello, “Meet Milo Baughman”, that’s what I want to say every single time someone takes a seat in one of our favorite chairs. We currently only have two of our six Baughman chairs out for daily use (two chairs are for sale) while we are repairing one and storing another. We are fascinated with the designs that Baughman created. We have sold a few of his designs over the years, parting with them is never easy. I thought it would be great to share some information about him with you, some things about his life and how he made his mark in the furniture design industry.
To say Milo had vision is a huge understatement! His vision went unseen by some, it wasn’t appreciated or understood by many at first, he was often turned away until he and Mr. Coggin met in 1953. Baughman showed him a few of his designs for about an hour and from there they worked together for 50 years on a handshake agreement. They worked together at Thayer Coggin Inc., of Highpoint, North Carolina until his death in 2003.
Milo Baughman was born in Goodland, Kansas. He also designed for several other furniture companies dating back in the mid-1940’s, such as The Inco Company, Mode Furniture, Pacific Iron, Glenn of California, Murray Furniture, Arch Gordon, Winchendon, Drexel, George Kovacs, Directional, Dillingham, among many others. Milo is most famous for his longtime association with Thayer Coggin.
The people at Thayer Coggin are running things just as they were running all those years ago. They are keeping the dream alive. Not only are they still manufacturing stunningly well-built furniture, they are producing many of Milo Baughman’s classic designs today, and they’re not cutting corners! You still receive a quality furnishing just as you would have 40+ years ago.
The people behind the scenes really are what make the business what it is today. They care about the vision
and love what they do, they’re keeping Baughman’s dream alive today. Click on the highlighted links to see an inside peek at what Thayer Coggin is doing today and how these pieces are made, and what the company is about.
I reached out to the Thayer Coggin Co. about a chair that they manufactured in 1968. I wanted to confirm with them that Milo designed this particular chair for them. I was 99.9% sure he had, however, I decided to authenticate the chair and was thrilled when they replied so quickly. Milo Baughman did design the #812 swivel chair we have for sale. They were especially helpful in dating it and providing the model number as well as a scanned copy of the chair in their catalog. This design of his barrel swivel rocker lounge chair isn’t being reproduced today, although they have many other swivel chair designs in production. I am sure many will agree, Milo knew how to create a timeless design!
Timeline
1947: He left Frank Brothers in 1947 to establish “Milo Baughman Design Inc.,” and quickly did commissions for Glenn of California and Pacific Iron, helping to place these companies at the forefront of a new California modernist design movement.
1953: His 50-year association with Thayer Coggin Inc. began.
1965: Baughman converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and was active and passionate about his newfound faith until his death.
1969: He was invited by Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah to establish the Department of Environmental Design, where he remained chairman and adjunct professor for six years while he continued his professional design business.
1987: Milo Baughman was inducted into the Furniture Designer’s Hall of Fame in 1987.
2003: He remained in Utah where he maintained a professional design studio until his death on July 23, 2003.