Craeft Design
Craeft design is [re]brand from almost 20 years of practicing architecture and kitchen design, headed by Nic Baker III, an architect trained in Switzerland and the United States.Keep a look out for craeft design’s Fleet of MOBILE SHOWROOMS and modular spaces.
NIC BAKER III
Architect MA BFH,
Associate AIA
Nic is an award-winning designer, University professor of design, and a USAF veteran. He earned a professional degree in Architecture from Virginia Tech (cum laude, 2000) and a Masters in Architecture from the Bern University of Applied Sciences (Switzerland, 2012).
As a bauhaus-trained architect, Nic gravitated toward product design with a focus on authentic expression of materials and the [tectonic] detail. This foray into kitchen architecture proved to be a very important transition into architectural products, with the opening of his own bulthaup studio; merging Nic’s established design-build studio with his beautifully designed showroom in the Gaslamp District of San Diego.
Choosing a calling to higher learning and teaching design opportunities, Nic sold his stake & shares in the bulthaup studio and spent several years crafting his master’s thesis and teaching architecture & design in several Universities in South Korea and the United States. He continues to participate in University design reviews and lectures as an invited professor & design critic the world over.
With a balance of architectural theory and design practice, Nic moved his family to the beautiful Rocky Mountains and has unveiled the fresh brand he calls “craeft.” He believes in using his formal architecture training with his success as an entrepreneur to bring to the high Alpine communities an extensive portfolio of craeft branded products as well as local access to select architectural products from around the world. Nic has lived/worked on several continents, traveled to almost 70 countries and has a strong personal and professional relationship with manufacturers, designers, and craftspeople from around the world; his goal is to bring his local brand and those international products to the end user from design consultation to post- installation (including warranty and service).
Keep a look out for craeft design’s Fleet of MOBILE SHOWROOMS and modular spaces. Nic believes that the lessons learned in product design can be [re]designed back into architecture and his concept is to be able to come to you, the client. craeft design invites you into their vintage airstream mobile studio and their [N]omad’ik tiny-home showroom (coming soon) for an espresso (or tea) and to plan your next design project.
Recognition
2012 Awarded Best Masters Thesis by the Federation of Swiss Architects (BSA/FAS)
2011 & 2010 jaA tRANSfoRMATION exhibition, Bern Kornhaus Museum, Switzerland
2007 DC MODERN LUXURY Magazine | Hot List 2007 - Awarded Top Designer
2006 American Institute of Architects - NoVA Chapter - Kitten Herlong Memorial Award
2006 Virginia Society AIA - Inform Award for Excellence in Residential Design
2000 Virginia Tech, Best Studio Work, WAAC Fall 1999 - Awarded "WAAC Money"
Press
2008 Modern Luxury: Riviera Interiors Magazine
Spring Issue Feature Article: Bulthaup San Diego
2007 HGTV “Small Space, Big Style” 2007
Featured Project: Residential Design “Small Space Big Style” ep. #501
2007 HGTV “What You Get For The Money”
Featured Project: “What You Get for the Money” ep. #404