Furniture designer John Thomas Baker finds a robust market for his products.

You don’t get much more tangible than furniture, but John Thomas Baker has made his teak peak by hanging out a virtual shingle.

Baker’s Bainbridge Island-based company, Thos. Baker LLC, does all of its sales via the Internet, and for its first year, advertised exclusively through “buying” key words from search engine Google.

A search for “teak garden furniture” will pop up a link to the Thos. Baker website under “sponsored links” that appear on the right hand side of search results.

The first few days the site went live in April 2003 were nail-biting.

“I was burning $1,000 a day (in advertising fees), but on day three I had my first order,” Baker said.

By the end of the first full month, the site was pulling in a six-figure revenue with an average transaction at $3,200.

Selling furniture was a change for Baker, a Harvard Business School graduate who came to furniture sales after a long career running high-tech companies selling game software and digital music and video.

Now he uses the “virtual” tools of the trade for marketing and order fulfillment, such that he can work from any location. In the process, he discovered a talent in design he didn’t know he had – furniture design.

“A couple of years ago, I wanted to do something completely different,” Baker said. He toyed with selling fruit trees, but came to teak furniture as a consumer, searching the Internet for pieces to furnish his home when he moved to Bainbridge Island in 2001.

Teak appealed to him as a good investment. And, Baker said, “people use it in ways that are enjoyable and it adds to the enjoyment of life. I like the product because it’s beautiful, feels good and lasts a long time.”

An extremely dense wood, teak’s high oil content makes it more resistant to rotting, warping and shrinking than other woods, hence its use for boat decks. It has been grown on plantations in Southeast Asia for over 150 years.

His best seller last year was a 4-foot round, slated top table with graceful, rounded legs that Baker asked his factory in Indonesia to make.

Next month, he will launch the “Bainbridge” collection that he completely designed himself. The centerpiece is an Adirondack-style chair.

“I went to a trade show in Jakarta (Indonesia) and couldn’t find an Adirondack that I liked,” he said. “It’s an iconic style, but if you dig in (to what’s available)… I couldn’t find anything that worked for me.”

The Adirondack of Baker’s design offers a more sleek, arching back leg for elegance, a back curved for comfort, and narrower slats.

Even the website is very much an expression of Baker’s personal style. It can be navigated in three ways, demonstrating how he himself likes to shop: viewers can browse by piece or by collection, or in settings in which to visualize the furniture in use – dinner for eight, on the veranda, or other scenarios.

All of the website photos were custom shot in Bali and overseen by Baker on location.

Baker’s furniture is made from teak that is kiln-dried to less than 15 percent moisture. In arid climates, the wood is unlikely to dry out more, and in humid climates, little moisture can penetrate the dense grain, contributing to its longevity.

Baker eschews “gray market” wood of dubious origin and quality in favor of teak managed by an Indonesian government-owned private company, PT Perum Perhutani, that regulates supply and harvesting to ensure sustainability of the supply.

The company has just three collections now, designs that Baker describes as “not too trendy,” since he expects the furniture to last a lifetime. Chairs run $199-$299 and dining tables are $499-$1999, which Baker considers well priced.

“(It’s) not very expensive, he said, “given its longevity.”

Being online-only keeps the prices down for his customers who live all over the U.S., he said. While not every homeowner is willing to buy furniture online, he said, “there’s plenty of them and more everyday. Especially for expensive things, I tend to look for a good deal.”

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Peek at teak

Thos. Baker LLC is online at www.thosbaker.com, or call (877) 855-1900.