We've been tracking furniture and lighting designer Brendan Ravenhil's upward trajectory for a while now. He and his wife, Marjory, recently moved into a midcentury modern house in Echo Park, where they share a studio. We recently asked for a tour of the new digs, and they kindly obliged. Come along.
Photography by Mimi GIboin for Remodelista.
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Remodelista: Tell us about your new space.
Brendan Ravenhill: The light is amazing; there's a big bay window with great views. It's a calming space to create in. The sun chases me out of the studio in the afternoons, but it encourages a migratory pattern of sorts. I love having different hours and working late at night. It's magical living in LA if you work at home and don't have to commute.
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Above: Ravenhill's work table with an Angle Stool, one of his own designs.
RM: Is the work table your own design?
BR: In my last year at RISD, i designed a table made from a piece of sugar pine from the Manning Rare Woods Collection. It's kind of a big deal. You have to apply to earn the privilege of working with wood from the collection. The table top is a 16-foot-long piece of sugar pine without a single knot and with more than 300 growth rings; the table's height is adjustable, as I like standing to work. The window lines up perfectly with the table. Complete accident.
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Above: A vintage Jielde lamp illuminates the work table.
BH: I bought this from a friend who collects Jielde lamps. He knew I liked them, so he gave me a great deal. It's a total inspiration.
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Above: A set of drawers from a metal-working shop; "I've been lugging these around for years," Ravenhill says.
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Above: A view into the studio.
RM: What's on the wall behind the table?
BH: The gray and yellow hanging piece is a wooden pattern mold; I collect forms that remind me of masks. I grew up in a house full of African art and masks (my father was a curator of African art at the Smithsonian), so this speaks to me.
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Above: A view into Marjory's work space, with a sign from a hair salon found on the streets of Brooklyn.
RM: How do you and Marjory share the space?
BH: We had separate work spaces in our old house, so this is the first time we have shared a space. We can close it up, so it's like having two separate studios if we need to.
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Above: Marjory ( a consultant for an NGO) also makes hand-lettered signs. This one is headed to a storefront in Los Feliz.
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Above: Ravenhill's work tools.
RM: Do you just work on design here?
BH: I do some fabrication. We do our own prototypes for the lights, and when the design is done, we shop it out for manufacturing.
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Above: A large spool of cloth-covered electrical wire that Ravenhill uses on all his lamps.
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Above: Ravenhill's cord chandelier with a surf board stored above.
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Above: Ravenhill's latest lighting design: the Hood Sconce, made from white oak with a bent white matte polystyrene shade.
For more on Ravenhill, check out his site: Brendan Ravenhill, or see Brendan Ravenhill in Los Angeles.