Green Leap Brian Ferrell Designs

Brian Ferrell Designs

Artist Brian Ferrell channels his deep experience in multiple craft forms for his studio practice, typically making sculptural furniture and vessels. An experimenter at heart, he draws inspiration from architecture and nature, working skillfully with mixed materials, including wood, metal, and clay. During Monmade’s Green Leap program, he developed Bloom Pendants, which utilize repurposed material sheets from fellow cohort participant Reimagined Recycling.

Green Leap Participant

New Products Developed with Monmade

Brian Ferrell Designs Bloom Pendants recall the seasons and the elegant opening of a flower bud. The materials reflect the natural world and also human impact on it. Brian utilizes sheets of pressed plastics from Reimagined Recycling, finding a new use for materials that otherwise often pollute the environment. He formed the plastic sheets and laminated reclaimed maple plywood to create the large biophilic-inspired pendants.

Featured Product Specifications

Bloom Pendants marry Reimagined Recycling’s Confetti Mix Material Sheets with Brian’s contemporary reclaimed wood forms.The pendants are currently available in two options, Winter and Spring. The Winter version offers a closed pendant design. While the Spring version is more open.

sustainablyMonmade Insights

Through our assessment of his studio and processes, Brian Ferrell Designs achieves four of Monmade’s six dimensions of sustainability: environment, climate, human health, and eco-labeling.

Producer utilizes his studio facility in Pittsburgh and at Seton Hill University, where he is a professor. The Seton Hill Arts complex is a state-of-the-art facility designed and built with environmental responsibility as a top priority. The facility boasts high ceilings, increased ventilation, connection to the outdoors, operable windows, large openings to filter the air, increased water and air filtration systems, and advanced tools and machinery.
Bloom Pendants utilize recycled materials, including plastic sheets from Reimagined Recycling; wood components are laminated reclaimed maple plywood.
Lighting products are either UL-Certified or use UL-listed components. Producer usesdomestic third-party manufacturing for the UL Certification and assembly of his lights, including a manufacturing support partner in Derry, PA.
Lighting product hardware components feature a low-VOC powder-coated finish, and no adhesives are used for connections and/or during hardware assembly.

Learn more about Monmade’s holistic approach to sustainability.

Monmade’s holistic approach to sustainability is described by our Dimensions of Sustainability. Rooted in our team’s knowledge of responsible manufacturing processes for small businesses, our six defined dimensions inform our assessments of artisan producers and their products. Our producers and their products achieve a dimension when they meet one or more of that dimension’s defined criteria.

Environment

Using sustainable materials including recycled, reclaimed, or bio-based materials, prioritizing sustainable vendors and local sourcing, minimizing environmental impact of facility and/or manufacturing waste, publicizing sustainability practices, planning for responsible growth

Climate

Manufacturing at and/or within 100 miles of primary business location, using renewable energy sources, reducing energy consumption, reducing water consumption, measuring carbon footprint, seeking reduction of use of non-renewable resources

Human Health

Products contributing to safe indoor and/or outdoor air quality, using low-to-zero VOC adhesives/sealants/finishes/paints, products comply with specific industry standards including UL and ADA, providing adequate safety and personal protection equipment for employees, safely using/storing/disposing of materials and/or finishes, using and/or encouraging green cleaning methods for products, recommending responsible installation and/or maintenance of products

Social Equity

Business is women and/or minority owned, workforce is more than 50% women and/or minorities, located in an LMI area, hiring local workforce, contributing portion of profits to charitable organizations, practicing public stewardship, offering employee benefits, providing wage transparency

Circular Economy

Designing products for zero-impact, reuse, and the elimination of waste throughout the entire life-cycle of the product. A circular system often includes (but not limited to) using sustainable materials (e.g. bio-based, reclaimed), safe and efficient manufacturing, durability, using sustainable packaging materials, and a plan for end-of-life

Eco-Labels

Indicates when producers/products/ product components are independently certified/verified for their environmental attribute claims by a third-party organization; certifications/ verifications can be for single attribute claims such as FSC or multiple attribute claims such as EPD, HPD, and life-cycle analysis

See Our Eco-label Reference List