Icon - Arrow LeftAn icon we use to indicate a rightwards action. Icon - Arrow RightAn icon we use to indicate a leftwards action. Icon - External LinkAn icon we use to indicate a button link is external. Icon - MessageThe icon we use to represent an email action. Icon - Down ChevronUsed to indicate a dropdown. Icon - CloseUsed to indicate a close action. Icon - Dropdown ArrowUsed to indicate a dropdown. Icon - Location PinUsed to showcase a location on a map. Icon - Zoom OutUsed to indicate a zoom out action on a map. Icon - Zoom InUsed to indicate a zoom in action on a map. Icon - SearchUsed to indicate a search action. Icon - EmailUsed to indicate an emai action. Icon - FacebookFacebooks brand mark for use in social sharing icons. flipboard Icon - InstagramInstagrams brand mark for use in social sharing icons. Icon - PinterestPinterests brand mark for use in social sharing icons. Icon - TwitterTwitters brand mark for use in social sharing icons. Icon - Check MarkA check mark for checkbox buttons.
You are reading

Live/Work in Echo Park: A Designer at Home

Search

Live/Work in Echo Park: A Designer at Home

September 7, 2012

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.

LiveWork in Echo Park A Designer at Home portrait 3

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.

LiveWork in Echo Park A Designer at Home portrait 4

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.

LiveWork in Echo Park A Designer at Home portrait 5

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.

LiveWork in Echo Park A Designer at Home portrait 6

Above: A set of drawers from a metal-working shop; "I've been lugging these around for years," Ravenhill says.

LiveWork in Echo Park A Designer at Home portrait 7

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.

LiveWork in Echo Park A Designer at Home portrait 8

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.

LiveWork in Echo Park A Designer at Home portrait 9

Above: Marjory ( a consultant for an NGO) also makes hand-lettered signs. This one is headed to a storefront in Los Feliz.

LiveWork in Echo Park A Designer at Home portrait 10

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.

LiveWork in Echo Park A Designer at Home portrait 11

Above: A large spool of cloth-covered electrical wire that Ravenhill uses on all his lamps.

LiveWork in Echo Park A Designer at Home portrait 12

Above: Ravenhill's cord chandelier with a surf board stored above.

LiveWork in Echo Park A Designer at Home portrait 13

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.

(Visited 115 times, 1 visits today)
You need to login or register to view and manage your bookmarks.

Have a Question or Comment About This Post?

Join the conversation

v5.0