Dick Idol: A man for all seasons
By Powell Slaughter -- Furniture Today, September 9, 2001
BIG FORK, Mont. — Two miles from the nearest road, Dick Idol lives close to the world he portrays in sculpture and painting — a world of wildlife and nature on a grand scale.
He has spent years hunting and guiding in Alaska, Africa, the American West and other regions where big game roam. He co-founded the wildlife publication North American Whitetail Magazine and works as a writer, editor and public speaker. He still guides and hunts.
Idol is best known for more than 30 bronze sculpture editions, lithograph prints and two of the largest bronze mammal sculptures in the world.
This fall, he'll be at the High Point market, not far from his hometown of Kernersville, N.C., to help introduce the Dick Idol Home Collection at Klaussner.
Klaussner's case goods and upholstery line is part of a series of lifestyle products and apparel designed to appeal to anyone with a love of the outdoors and licensed through Dick Idol Ventures. The company, based in High Point, was established last year.
"We don't feel there's an authentic, comprehensive outdoor brand out there," Idol said. "There are people who address the outdoors, but we don't see anyone who works the entire idea into a lifestyle presentation."
Idol started thinking about licensing in the early '90s.
"I realized that what I did best was art, and with the following I had in the outdoor market, there was a strong brand there," Idol said. "Being able to paint flat imagery and sculpt in three dimensions would be important in developing a lifestyle look that was easily identifiable, but not easily reproduced by anyone else. We're able to produce art and make proprietary product for the licensees."
In developing a furniture collection, he wanted product with broad appeal, both from a price and style perspective.
"Outdoor enthusiasts include some of the wealthiest people, some of the lowest-income, and a lot in between," Idol said. The Klaussner collection targets a large middle segment.
Signature pieces featuring Idol's own designs will spice up a combination of traditional looks, often based on antiques. While Idol gained his reputation as a hunting-oriented artist, the home collection will take a much broader approach to the outdoors. Fabrics, especially, will allow the consumer to tone up or tone down the obvious wildlife and outdoor elements.
"I spent my whole life outdoors, and I understand the outdoor consumer," Idol said. "People who love the outdoors run from bird watchers to hard-core backpackers, hunters and fishermen. We want mainstream appeal, but there's a fine line — if you don't dare to be different enough, you don't stand out."
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