Modern Lighting Design & Friendly Cali Vibes: Brendan Ravenhill Studio

published Feb 6, 2016

We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.

Name: Brendan Ravenhill Studio
Location: Frogtown — Los Angeles, California
Years lived in: 1.5 years; Rented

A large Quonset hut on a lot adjacent to the Los Angeles River is the home of the incredible Brendan Ravenhill Studio. Brendan and his team build incredible lighting fixtures, furniture, and home accessories that are quickly gaining accolades all over the place. The team of about 10 builds everything right on-location and even photographs it in their homemade photo studio.

(Image credit: Bethany Nauert)

Brendan’s objective in designing this studio was to create a community space that allows functionality while bringing everyone together.”The people make the space, and as a result it’s the large tables we work around,” he says, referring to the house-made table—the most significant element in their studio. When he designed the workspace, he felt that the most essential part was an inviting and functional kitchen and dining table. “We eat every lunch together and our culture is built over that shared meal.”

Over the last few years, I have photographed several projects in Los Angeles, and I seem to find Brendan’s lighting fixtures in almost all of them. Whether it’s one of his iconic pivot lamps or just a simple wall sconce, his pieces are well-loved and admired all over our city (and beyond). Meanwhile, the city of LA itself lends its influence to his studio: “Sunshine and avocados. There is something inherently optimistic about LA and I am greatly inspired by the Mid-century designers who tried to create a city and culture here that met their utopian ideals: indoor/outdoor living, natural light-filled spaces, simple use of materials, lack of embellishment. I like to imagine that some of that hope, wonder, and curiosity carry over into our work as well.”