Plycraft

Paul Goldman founded Plycraft in 1953 in Lawrence, Massachusetts. The company initially produced plywood boats, then switched to furniture. A notable early project was to produce the 1955 Herman Miller ‘Pretzel’ Chair by George Nelson and John F. Pile. The chair required specialist plywood production, which was outsourced to Plycraft.

Unfortunately, the Pretzel chair wasn’t a commercial success as it cost over 3 times the price of an average chair and its slender form made it fragile. Herman Miller stopped selling the chair in 1958. Plycraft had invested considerably in the production, so Nelson suggested the company redesign the chair to resolve the issues and sell it as a Plycraft product.

Goldman hired Norman Cherner for the re-design who solved the fragility issue by adding a single piece seat/backrest in an elegant hourglass form. After submitting his design, Cherner was told that the project was being scrapped.

Six months later Cherner saw the redesigned chair on a showroom floor with the name ‘Bernardo’ as the designer. Cherner sued Plycraft and it was revealed that Paul Goldman had invented the fictitious name and used Cherner’s design. Cherner was awarded royalties on all sales of the chair.

One of Plycraft’s most successful collaborations was with George Mulhauser, the creator of the iconic Herman Miller ‘Coconut’ chair. Mulhauser designed a highly successful range of chairs for furniture brand Directional Industries under the name ‘Mr Chair’. The designs required advanced plywood construction which Plycraft could produce.

Some Plycraft labels include a reference to a designer called Lou App. Paul Goldman clarified in a 1985 newspaper article that this was a pseudonym he created for his Plycraft designs. "I used to design under the name Paul Laup, Paul spelled backwards, but people would call me Mr. Lou App by mistake so I just went with that".

In summary, Plycraft's contribution to mid-century modern furniture is significant. The company’s innovative use of plywood and collaboration with leading industrial designers remain celebrated and are a tribute to Paul Goldman's pioneering (and occasionally unethical) spirit.