Just bought a pair of Kent Coffey dressers "The Escort" series. (the name kills me) Nicely made, oak or birch, dovetailed joints and a zillion glue-blocks everywhere.
I know it's not anything that will make me a millionaire, but I'm curious if anyone has any other information about the maker. All I've found so far is that they were the furniture equivalent of Toyota, but with more design flair.
Also- for the woodworkers - The previous owner said these are birch, but I've only ever seen birch to be closed grained. The dressers are very open and oak-ey. Am I mistaken or is he?
I had a
Kent Coffey tall chest and matching vanity/chair set. If I remember correctly, they were a light wood like pecan or ash and finished with that "wheat" finish like Heywood Wakefield pieces. I would put them on par quality-wise with Drexel or Baker. I paid 88 bucks for the chest and 115 for the vanity at auction. I sold them for 420 and 450, respectively. Tennessee sticks in my head for some reason, but they may be out of North Carolina.
North Carolina
KC was based in NC, eventually bought out by Singer Sewing, and then promptly sued for asbestos related health issues.
I did some more looking last night. Nothing special other than the vernacular "danish modern" style and an hilarious run of names for the collections:
Goldenaire
Escort
Perspecta
The Crusader
Beaumont
The Sequence
Tableau
The Wharton
Auburn
Bordeaux
Kentara
The Malvern
Kent Coffey The foreteller
I just purchased a 6 piece set for 250.00 used of course. I didnt know anything about the brand just liked the way it looked. As I was waiting to get it loaded up people were stopoping asking me how much I paid and telling me I got a steal. One lady was mad because she didnt see it first and told me I would be able to re-sale it for 3 times that much. It is beautiful and I intend to keep it. I was in the right place at the right time.
I always thought
Birch had a fairly open grain (and I've always thought of oak as having a tight grain). Certainly, IKEA's birch veneer has an open grain, and I have a birch LCM with really open and wild grain on the veneer.
The link below shows some of the range.
http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/birch.htm
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