Barlas Baylar for New York

For the People and the Republic

More famous for his broadly recognized designs that blend natural and organic elements with the aesthetic sensibilities of modern art, Barlas Baylar is also deeply committed to his adopted hometown of New York City as a philanthropist recognized by many non-profit community organizations dedicated to housing, job training, and other support services for homeless people with HIV/AIDS.  He has also been long involved in local economic development issues as a furniture maker with a Williamsburg, Brooklyn workshop employing almost two dozen craftsmen, in addition to support personnel for his offices at Hudson Furniture in MePa, the Meat Packing district on the west side of lower Manhattan.

With a family background in the manufacturing of machinery, Baylar is personally steeped in such matters of business and community.  He is also a passionate conservationist, taking special care to ensure that his works utilize only certifiably sustainable materials, such as dead or dying lumber domestically sourced from wind or storm-damaged arbor.  Not just a detached admirer of nature from afar, Baylar even goes so far as to obtain the official permission of embassies and consulates where necessary matters of foreign import are concerned.  He is proud that his own company is the only legal repository for petrified wood in all of New York City.

New York, New York is often referred to as The Capital of the World, and it is fitting that Baylar’s concern extends even to faraway places like Sereoplipi in northern Kenya.  Harshly arid, its people have struggled to eke out a living from the land, and a desire to see their children properly educated is the basis of the Thorn Tree Project, to which charity Baylar is a generous contributor of not only money but also some of his very designs – intellectual property for residual passive income that will keep on paying through the years.  Closer to home, Baylar has donated completely finished works from his popular collection of upscale furniture to help with fundraising efforts at Housing Works.  His efforts on their behalf has helped raise their profile and lent them increased exposure to the public eye and consciousness.  The East Williamsburg Valley Industrial Development Corporation is grateful for the skilled, well-paid employment opportunities his busy woodworking workshop offers to many local residents.  His efforts to help fight gentrification in the area by preserving its industrial character have won him high praise from the organization, praise that is echoed by all the many community groups to which Baylar has been a generous benefactor.