Sculptures For Any Space
Brendan Ravenhill was born in the West African country of Côte d’Ivoire to anthropologist parents. He grew up in Washington, D.C., and spent his summers on the coast of Maine. He studied sculpture at Oberlin College in Ohio, where he immersed himself in art and theory. After that, he decided to pursue a journeyman’s education. He moved to Maine and worked as a lobsterman while learning carpentry, woodworking, welding, and boat building skills.
“We take a narrative-based approach: We conceive lighting and other products that explore material and craft by creating a dialogue with vendors and manufacturers”
Ravenhill’s diverse upbringing and his desire to combine his artistic and practical passions led him to pursue a master’s degree in industrial design from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). He was attracted to industrial design because of the concept of scalability, which allows designers to invest time in perfecting the details of a product and then make it available to a larger audience, similar to the model established by Charles and Ray Eames.
In 2010, Ravenhill moved to Los Angeles, initially planning to stay just a few months but was lured by the city’s creative yet laid-back vibe. He realized that L.A. was a good place to be for someone who wants to design things and actually get them built, as it’s the largest manufacturing city in the U.S. and home to the country’s busiest port.
Specializing in lighting, furniture, and product design, Ravenhill established his own practice, Brendan Ravenhill Studio, out of his home in Echo Park. Notably, his home was the Southhall house, built in 1938 and designed by Rudolph Schindler, an Austrian-born architect who was a maverick of modernism.
Ravenhill and his wife were fortunate to rent a unique architectural gem and have dedicated themselves to restoring and maintaining it. His initial success came from a simple bottle opener design that led to custom furnishings for Osteria La Buca, boosting his local connections and facilitating the production of his early product lines, including a bar stool collection and the Cord lamp, a take on Jean Prouvé’s design.
Ravenhill also contributed to the restoration of the Bethlehem Baptist Church, creating chandeliers inspired by modernist design, which led to the Church collection. As demand for his designs grew, he moved his studio from a Quonset hut in Frogtown to a larger warehouse in Glassell Park, a space that perfectly complements his design philosophy.
Ravenhill emphasizes a narrative-based approach to design, focusing on the dialogue with vendors and crafting high-quality products. Influenced by Shaker furniture and modern designers like the Eames Office, he explores how light transforms spaces. His designs prioritize both form and function, offering adjustable fixtures that enhance mood. Recent collections include Ada sconces, Grain pendants, and Float fixtures, showcasing an integration of materials inspired by his experiences. Ravenhill recently participated in “Pin-Up: A Designed Tribute to Schindler’s L.A.,” where he recreated Schindler’s dining table and displayed his Long Church chandelier. His products are available online.
