Pulse Requisite: Designer

If we lived in a cottage we would furnish it with custom and production-run "Juice" pieces from Oakland-based Pulse Requisite.

This duo's work feels like it's rooted in an Arts & Crafts aesthetic but has a much lighter heart (and appearance), and makes us think of Little Red Riding Hood -- if she was still with us today, grown-up and unscathed by her run-in with the Big Bad.

Founder Eileen Kennedy trained in art and art history (Skidmore), decided she was interested in functional art, and then trained in furniture design (Parnham College, England). She began designing custom furniture in 2001. Her studio, Pulse Requisite, specializes in "wood furniture design and creation, architectural details, design development and project management." The Juice line, which is for production run pieces, is a partnership with another furniture (and guitar) maker, Jef de Buyzer.

Kennedy and de Buyzer seem to love what they do, which makes sense since they clearly consider their work to be a form of play, with pieces named "Daydream," "Horsy," "Sport," "Lipstick and Sneakers."

Their custom work appears to be a labor of close-listening (to clients) and love (for materials, process, and craft).

Witness Credenza, a cabinet designed to look like a continuation of the floor in the client's home, or Vanity, made from Western Red Cedar and Salvaged Redwood.

We're partial to the casual juju of the Juice line, particularly the eyelet table and chairs, which we think would be supremely inviting in an EIK, cottage or no.

Find Pulse Requisite and Juice here.