David Brunicardi of Element 107: Designer

2006_06_19_$500-elements107.jpg David Brunicardi of Element 107 is a born-and-bred Bay Area jack of all trades (musician, chef, carpenter, cafe owner) who found his way to furniture design via bartending.

Short on funds, Brunicardi designed and built all the furnishings for his first business, a watering hole he owned in the late 80's. He repeated this feat again a few years later when he moved on to cafe ownership. His friends loved his work and urged him into the furniture design trade. And that's how Element 107, his Oakland-based studio, was born.

Brunicardi tries to be green, using materials that are SmartWood-certified like eco-friendly plywood from Ecuador, whenever possible.

His designs feel simple and experimental at the same time. Take Toasty for instance. The simplest of all table or stool forms: a chunk of solid, rustically-shaped tree. We've seen this idea before from other designers. but Brunicardi takes it a step further by scorching the wood black, which gives it an ebony finish and highlights the grain. This is a finishing idea, his site states, he will be extending to other pieces.

One of our favorites is this coffee table, which is made with old, recycled wood mounted on a diagonal, the better to highlight the dramatic, time-accentuated wood grain.

These pieces are good for small spaces because they aim to be versatile. This piece is bench, storage and table all in one. Brunicardi also makes a nightstand that flips over to become a stool.

Brunicardi makes seating, tables, beds, storage pieces, and small housewares. All are characterized by his delight in materials and in careful craftsmanship.

With the exception of the sande line, Brunicardi's work doesn't cohere into complete lines of coordinating pieces, but his style is so clean that most of these pieces would lend themselves nicely to mixing and matching--both within his collection and with yours.

Brunicardi will do custom work and can be contacted through his website. Ready-made pieces are available through Design Public.