Adrian Pearsall
Founder, President and Designer
Craft Associates Inc.
Thank you for showing your interest in the life and designs of Adrian Pearsall, a leader in early modern furniture design. Over the past few years, there has been renewed interest in Adrian Pearsall's designs and on an almost daily basis we are contacted about the origin of a piece of furniture that a consumer may own or want to purchase. Adrian Pearsall was prolific with his designs and even at the height of production, allowed for custom work, making it very difficult to archive all of the interesting designs that were distributed throughout the world. We have worked hard to catalog and identify as much as possible, all of Adrian Pearsall's designs throughout his career. Just imagine taking fifty years of work and trying to catalog it.
In order to protect the discriminating collector, we now certify the authenticity of Adrian Pearsall and Craft Associates & Comfort Designs furniture as a paid service. No other entity or person has the authority or permission from the Pearsall family to certify and/or authenticate original furniture designed and or manufactured by Craft Associates Inc. or Comfort Designs Inc. The fee we are charging for this service is used for the legal protection of Adrian Pearsall’s designs and intellectual property. This process will also protect the consumer and current owners assuring you that you own authentic Adrian Pearsall designs. We encourage all fans of Adrian Pearsall designs to express your discontent to any and all sellers who misrepresent their products as authentic or authorized in any way as Adrian Pearsall /Craft Associates/Comfort Designs furniture.
Be aware that there are several websites including but not limited to "AdrianPearsallStore.com" who offer a service claiming to authenticate Adrian Pearsall's work. If you want the assurance that you have or are considering the purchase of an Adrian Pearsall design, please know that our service is the only legitimate and authorized authority. The certification process is fairly simple. The Pearsall family has a full catalog of Adrian Pearsall’s designs to reference. For a fee of $150.00, your submission will be researched. If the item you submitted is in the catalog, we will make a copy of the catalog sheet and email it to you along with a signed and dated Certificate of Authenticity. If the item is not in the catalog, we will not attribute it to another manufacturer or designer. We will however, try to furnish copies of catalog sheets of similarly designed pieces that may have led a person to think they have an Adrian Pearsall piece. In addition, links will be provided to online videos, web casts and interviews about Adrian Pearsall. Most of our reports will contain at least 160 pages of information and photographs that you will be able to download to your own computer and make unlimited copies. At least four photographs should be submitted for each piece from underneath, above, front and back. We may need to ask for additional photos. If you are considering purchasing a piece of furniture, ask your dealer to provide certification by submitting a certification request with us. If they are honest and legitimate, they should have no problem honoring your request. We will invoice through PayPal after we have provided you with our report. Requests for certification should be emailed to jpearsall1482@gmail.com DO NOT submit a request asking "Is this a Real Adrian Pearsall design?" Each request requires time and proof from our resources and compensation is expected no matter the determination.There are so many unsubstantiated claims from furniture sellers these days that what they are selling was designed by Adrian Pearsall or manufactured by Craft Associates. I can no longer identify items for buyers free of charge. As a potential buyer, you should first ask the seller to substantiate their claim that what they are selling is indeed designed by Adrian Pearsall. They can do this by asking me to certify the item. The fee to the seller is $150 if I am able to certify it and $50 if I am not able to. If the seller refuses to have it certified you can still purchase the item(s) at your own risk.
Adrian James Pearsall is a Sotheby’s International Realty real estate agent licensed in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. His knowledge of and direct involvement with mid-century design and mid-century furniture has opened doors to mid-century homes offered for sale around the world through the Sotheby’s International Realty network. If you have an interest in selling your mid-century home or would like to acquire one, Jim’s connections are unrivaled and he can refer you to the best agents who are experts in mid-century homes in your area. If you own mid-century furniture that you would like to sell, the Sotheby’s auction house has identified furniture as its fastest growing category of sales. Jim can help you with getting started with your collection and achieve your auction goals. You may reach Jim at 215-962-3523 or email: adrian.pearsall@sothebysrealty.com
Inquires regarding this website may be addressed to: jpearsall1482@gmail.com
Adrian Pearsall Certification
Certification is performed by Adrian “James” Pearsall, son of Adrian M. Pearsall (deceased) and Doris K. Pearsall (deceased). Jim Pearsall was employed by Craft Associates (founded and owned by Adrian Pearsall) beginning at age twelve, during his summer vacation from school. Mr. Pearsall travelled extensively with his parents to furniture markets throughout the United States, including New York City, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, High Point, NC and Los Angeles. After graduation from Cornell University and a career in the hospitality business, Jim joined Comfort Designs Furniture (founded by John Graham and in partnership with Adrian Pearsall) as their manufacturer’s representative for South Florida and Bermuda. Mr. Pearsall has full access to complete sets of catalogs dating from the first designs and manufactured in 1950 in the basement of his parent’s home through the last pieces manufactured at Comfort Designs. Mr. Pearsall can be relied upon to give an honest and accurate account of your furniture submissions thought to be original Adrian Pearsall designs and confirm authentication with photocopies taken from the existing catalogs. Valuation is NOT part of this service. The ultimate goal of this service is to assist and protect the collector from fraudulent representation of furniture, artwork and intellectual property for sale by individuals, manufacturers, designers as well as dealers who claim to sell furniture designed or inspired by Adrian Pearsall or manufactured by his companies.
Fees
The certification fee is $150.00. This fee applies to individual, unrelated items. For example, if you submit a photograph of a sofa sectional and want to know if the cocktail table that you have is also authentic, the fee is an additional $150.00
Payment
Payment is expected when service is rendered via delivery of the documents to a drop box account provided by the service. Invoices are issued via PayPal and can be paid with a variety of major credit cards via PayPal. Clients will be sent a link to the drop box containing all of the related documents to your submission(s). Clients are urged to download all documents to their own computers and print copies for their own use. Drop box accounts will be deleted from our server after six months have passed from initial delivery. Documents are not retrievable and cannot be reprinted without recertification at current pricing.
Submission Process
If you own the furniture, please take photographs of the entire piece from the front, back, sides and underneath. Close-up photographs are rarely useful, but if needed, you will be contacted. If you are requesting a certification for items you have seen online, you may send us a link to that item, but understand that we may require additional photographs. Please include your email address. Submit your certification request to jpearsall1482@gmail.com. Include the photographs and any other details that you think may be helpful in determining the authenticity of the design. Feel free to divide your email into several emails if your email server does not allow you email large files.
CertificationTestimonials
“Thank you for sharing all this with me and helping me authenticate the piece. Your father made beautiful work.” – Erika Q.
This is wonderful! Thank you so much for verifying the authenticity of this piece and for the amazing documentation and backstory. I can't wait to get the restoration underway. I specialize in wood refinishing but I have an extremely talented upholsterer who will be assisting me with this project. I will certainly share the final result with you. (And then it will be my mission to find the 600-DS/Double Sleeper!) - Lindsay P. 01/04/2021
Hello James,
I wanted to thank you for your thorough review and the wealth of information you provided in response to our submission. We are grateful to know more than we ever imagined we could about our piece. Thank you once again for this service and for your dedication to your father's craft, I am appreciative of you!
All the Best,
Amanda J. 02/09/2020
Very helpful - Thank you, sir. I am very proud to be able to place one of your father's designs in my country home. I've wanted this very sofa for nearly two decades when someone bought it up from underneath me at a little vintage shop I frequented. How strange that I just happened upon it in a vacant store window about an hour away from my home, and the person who bought it those years ago was ready to let it go. I'll pay the invoice whenever you send. Thank you and God Bless.
Thanks
Rachel. 12/30/2019
Wow! Thank you so much! Do you need any other pictures or do you feel comfortable with just what I sent? I grew up with the furniture in the home my family brought in 1968...not sure if I had it in my old home before that. I was 4 going on 5 when we moved to the home in which the furniture now is. Again, let me know if you need anything more from me. The $75 is well worth the time you are spending. Thank you!
Best,
Alex I. 11/09/2018
Jim,
THANK YOU for your amazingly prompt response... it is so greatly appreciated.
So, until we acquired this sofa, I knew very little about your father's work; I had heard of him, saw a few pieces come up in auction catalogs, but that was it. I'm more in the fashion and law fields as opposed to other design media. When a prospective interested buyer mentioned that it "looked like a Pearsall" but was a little off, it prompted me to read about your father and review his work. His work, as you know, is breathtaking - there are pieces out there that just make your heart stop for an instant. I am thankful that this sofa landed in our lap - possessing it, restoring it, opened my eyes to his art and other mcm designers. I'm forever changed.
A little history about the sofa - like I said, it was purchased and resided with the original owners since 1960/1961. Their son, Marty, is my husband's long time childhood friend. My husband, Joe, saw this sofa in Marty's home as he played and visited there. He always wanted the piece; in fact, he never forgot about it. When Marty began disposing of his parents' belongings, he offered Joe the sofa and we happily took it. We shopped around for a restorer, undertook the significant expense to have it brought back to prime. It was heartbreak when we realized that it was much too large for a small apt and a narrow footprint townhome.
Regardless, it made Joe so happy to have it returned to him in a fully restored, exceptionally gorgeous condition. He felt like he had done the piece and designer (whoever it might have been) justice. It made him remember the days when he saw it in Marty's parents' home.
Thank you and your family for the memories and the enduring beauty... that's priceless to us. We'll make sure the piece goes to someone who appreciates it as Joe always did as a child.
Yours,
Charmaine 09/17/2017
Hi James,
Thank you for the certificate and the information. Fascinating to see how the style of the rocker developed, and to have an approximate date it was made. We feel fortunate that an item of furniture that we just fell in love with from moment we saw it one late evening in 1990’s is from the catalogue of such a distinguished mid-century modern furniture designer. My partner grew up in Michigan, is an artist and has a small collection of “licensed” Eames chairs. We are both happy that what we have always referred to as our "Danish Rocker" more than holds its own with the Eames pieces in our lounge. And of course it is a lot more comfortable.
Sarah P. 08/18/2017
“Hey Jim, I just sent payment…thank you for taking the time to do this. I have been on the search for a piece by your father for a while and feel fortunate to find one. I’m going to have it reupholstered and I’m trying to stay true to the original. If you’re ever in the D/FW area feel free to swing by and see it. Thanks – Rick & Amber D. 05/16/2022