Green Leap Jessica Alpern Brown

Jessica Alpern Brown

Jessica Alpern Brown’s primary work as a paper cutter now informs her multidisciplinary art and design practice and exploration of interior design products. Her current work features a variety of materials from found objects and organic matter to resin and acrylic, including her Contour Discs which premiered with our Monmade x CDCP Collection. We look forward to debuting Light Line Pendants, a dynamic and colorful collection of modern lighting.

Green Leap Participant

New Products Coming Soon
Debuting with Monmade — April 2023

Jessica’s inherently sustainable mindset informs her newest Light Lines Pendants in development through our Green Leap program. The colorful creations maximize material use and minimize waste by using cut-offs from her Contour Discs.

“When envisioning my light fixtures, I aim to perfect a “Matryoshka Doll” design model that uses a series of shapes of decreasing size placed one inside another. This method will allow me to obtain several products from each sheet of material while eliminating waste. The design will also allow for a no-adhesive assembly by incorporating a clip-style locking feature.”

– Jessica Alpern Brown

Jessica initially designed these lamps using off-the-shelf light cage hardware and acrylic spacers (as shown here). To further address their overall function, aesthetics, and sustainability, Jessica is refining Light Lines to include her custom-manufactured acrylic cages and spacers. The finalized products will debut in April at our premiere Green Leap design industry event.

Green Leap Event Details

Products in Our Catalog

Available now, Contour Discs explore moiré patterns and effects. When layered in varied and dynamic arrangements, the overlapping textures of these discs, coupled interplay of light, create a sense of movement and depth.

View More

sustainablyMonmade Insights 

Through our assessment of her studio and processes, Jessica Alpern Brown achieves five of Monmade’s six dimensions of sustainability: environment, climate, human health, social equity, and eco-labeling.

  • Woman- and veteran-owned business
  • Sourcing new and reclaimed materials regionally and domestically from Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Utah.
  • Laser-cut designs in acrylic require no framing or adhesives for assembly. Light Lines products utilize plastic cups reclaimed from catering companies.
  • Lighting products are either UL-Certified or use UL-listed components. Producer uses domestic third-party manufacturing for the UL Certification and assembly of her lights, including support partners in Derry, PA and Denver, CO.
  • Producer offsets her studio’s energy usage with a wind power generator and rainwater collection.
  • Producer’s primary manufacturing facility is a shared maker space, Protohaven, which is in proximity to producer’s studio, located within an LMI area, and currently working on increasing environmental initiatives.
  • Producer collects and reuses her smallest cut-out pieces in a jewelry series called Remnants. Larger cut-offs from her Contour Discs are used in Light Lines products. When she cannot repurpose materials, she donates them to the Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse.

Learn more about Monmade’s holistic approach to sustainability.