Pearlwood Design is a furniture and cabinet company, and has been in Tucson since 1981. Located within the historic Iron Horse neighborhood near the 4th Avenue Arts District, Pearlwood shares a 14,000 square foot, very well equipped cooperative mill with two other well-established designer/craftsmen and frequently collaborates and shares ideas with them on many projects.
Lee Bauerlein is the sole owner of Pearlwood. He came to Tucson in 1979 to fulfill his long-time interest in
furniture building. Prior to that, he operated a graphic design business in Southern California. While working in graphic design, Lee always yearned to design and produce something that would retain a more lasting use and value than printed media, and he feels that furniture design is a three-dimensional transition from his graphic design background. For the past 28 years, Lee has designed and produced over 2,500 different pieces of custom furniture, and includes many of those designs in building kitchens, built-ins, media centers and offices.
Lee and the craftsman he employs utilize many different varieties of wood. He also enjoys, and is well-established in the use of mesquite. He is frequently called upon to produce innovative custom pieces. He does this by drawing new ideas from his large portfolio of previous designs, and he especially welcomes collaborative input from other designers or directly from his clients. However, he believes working directly with his clients is the best way to ensure a connection between the people he is design/building for and the finished work.
furniture building. Prior to that, he operated a graphic design business in Southern California. While working in graphic design, Lee always yearned to design and produce something that would retain a more lasting use and value than printed media, and he feels that furniture design is a three-dimensional transition from his graphic design background. For the past 28 years, Lee has designed and produced over 2,500 different pieces of custom furniture, and includes many of those designs in building kitchens, built-ins, media centers and offices.