Did you know that Adrian Pearsall came to Oklahoma to attend the architecture school at Oklahoma State University?
According to his son, Jim Pearsall, his father originally started his journey to becoming an architect at OSU until World War II broke out and he joined the Navy.
And in a true wartime love-story fashion, Pearsall met his future wife, Dorie, in 1942 aboard a train from Ithaca, NY, to Wilkes-Barre while en route to serve in the US Navy. Pearsall promised Dorie that they would be together following the war and in October 1950, they were married in Forty Fort. Upon his return from the Navy, he continued his studies and graduated with a degree in architectural engineering from the University of Illinois.
But, only two short years after graduating, Pearsall started Craft Associates to build the furniture he became so well known for. Early production began in the basement of Pearsall’s mother-in-law’s duplex. On one side lived Grace Kanarr, Dorie Pearsall’s mother, and on the other, Pearsall, his wife Dorie and their newborn son, Jim.
Pearsall sold pieces from the back of a truck to prominent New York and Philadelphia department stores including Macy’s and Wanamaker’s. Buoyed by this initial success Pearsall’s brother Richard, joined the enterprise. Pearsall spent every possible hour crafting the earliest pieces of wrought iron furniture while Dorie prepared purchase orders, invoices and scheduled appointments and trips to Philadelphia and New York department store buyers. Behind the scenes, Richard handled the finances.
Craft Associates shortly thereafter opened a factory in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, becoming one of the town’s top employers throughout the 1950’s and 1960’s.
Pearsall created a unique American Modern style of furniture. Pearsall’s designs brought high-style to the masses and he is credited with the creation of long and low gondola sofas, free-form walnut and glass tables. He utilized fabrics, materials, bold shapes and color combinations that had never before been seen in the mass market. Craft Associates went on to become one of America’s most prominent furniture designers during the mid-century ‘atomic age’.
Pearsall poured his talents into fully designing his family’s new home in Pennsylvania in 1962. Outfitted with every modern convenience then available, including an indoor pool, floor to ceiling glass, custom fire places and multiple courtyards, the 10,000 square foot ranch is today considered a masterpiece of mid-century modern architecture.
Here is a video interview with Adrain Pearsall’s son Jim, about his father and the legacy of his designs.