(MONEY Magazine) – At the vanguard of U.S. collectible design are the studio furnituremakers -- a coterie of 75 or so significant, mostly young artists. Although the movement came of age in the prosperous '80s, demand is still strong. ''Studio furniture has been more affordable than other parts of the art market,'' says Patricia Conway, dean of the Graduate School of Fine Arts at the University of Pennsylvania. At Philadelphia's Snyderman Gallery (215-238-9576), for example, pieces range from $2,500 to $20,000. And at the Gallery of Functional Art in Santa Monica, Calif. (310-450-2827), limited-edition chairs go for $250 to $15,000. Some studio artists, like Richard Scott Newman, produce classically inspired pieces; others, such as artist emeritus Wendell Castle, are known for organic forms. Edward Zucca's pieces suggest stories, like the carved-cedar-and-pine ''Aliens Take Home a Souvenir'' (above). ''This is functional art, so it must be well-made to survive,'' says Lorry Dudley of Manhattan's Peter Joseph Gallery (212-751-5500). In 1984, Zucca's work cost about $5,500. Today, prices for his pieces have tripled. Also in the early '80s, Judy Kensley McKie's stylized-animal tables sold for about $5,000. Her prices have since quadrupled. ''This began as a ! homespun field,'' says Bebe Pritam Johnson of Pritam & Eames Gallery in East Hampton, N.Y., ''but it could end up as a millionaires' club.'' If you can't afford big names, Conway suggests you buy from a younger furnituremaker who has studied with a master whose work you admire.