Part 1 in our series about Cody High Style, from Guest Blogger Diana Friend, is about clothing and furniture designer, Anne Beard…
2008 Cody High Style entry: Red ottoman with western image appliqué
Anne came to Cody when it was the Western Design Conference and was one of the first artists to compete and win awards in both the fashion and furniture design competitions. Her first win as a fiber artist was for a smoking jacket. She got a kick out of it, but was intrigued with the Western furniture, and began working on designs that showed the other side of her personality.
Anne Beard ~ Lexington, Oregon
“A Day in the Life” ~ $5300
One of a kind, wool gabardine, appliqued coffee table/ottoman accented with deer hide covered legs and decorative nail heads. Appliques feature timeless scenes depicting “A Day in the Life” of every working cowboy.
In 1997, Beard won her first Switchback Ranch Award, which allows the Buffalo Bill Historical Center to purchase pieces for its permanent collection of Western Decorative Art. She is the only artist to have won in both the fashion and furniture divisions.
{Close up of detailed work on Anne Beard’s Ottoman}
Her brother is a custom woodworker and she has always had an appreciation for his “handmanship”. She admires and appreciates the range of western craft and incorporates its spirit into her designs. Her furniture and clothing pieces are one-of-a-kind and suitable for the contemporary western lifestyle.
Anne thinks winning the fashion award helped give her furniture work credibility…
“…and I began thinking about what can I do that would be as good—you know…top myself. So I considered ‘furniture wearing clothes’.
So I did an upholstered ottoman that won the ‘Best Western Spirit Award’.”
Anne got really interested in furniture because you have such a large canvas to work with. She won her second Switchback award in 2002.
Beard’s 25-year career has been influenced growing-up on a Washington mountain ranch and her current residence on Oregon’s high desert. This year’s entry is an over sized tailored ottoman appliquéd with elements of the west with bucking broncos, cowboys, cowgirls, Indians, cattle and horses.
STUNNING!! I found a great videoed interview with Anne HERE if you would like to see more beautiful images of her work… And to contact Anne herself, click HERE.
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Diane Cole Ross became my tour guide of the Furniture Show at the Buffalo Bill Historic Center. As we talked about her beautiful cherry and choke cherry sofa table she created from reclaimed and recycled hardwoods. Price: $6200.
A little background to how we made it to Cody… This summer I ran into Meredith Lockhart of 
