Iconic Bench by Laurie Beckerman

Laurie Beckerman

Born in Brooklyn, Laurie Beckerman graduated from New York University with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology. She received a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Pratt Institute, and, after graduation, she designed low-income housing in Brooklyn and Harlem for the Pratt Architectural Collaborative.

Butterfly Chair by Laurie Beckerman

She also worked for Steven Holl Architects, and in the architectural setting-out shop at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine. At the Cathedral, she drafted templates that were used by the stone carvers to create stones for the facade of the Jewish Museum. She spent every lunch time in the stoneyard learning the craft of carving. Her passion and respect for material deepened, and her desire to become a furniture designer began when she carved her first table out of stone.

 Luminous Table by Laurie Beckerman

Qualities that she strives to express are: simplicity, strength, beauty, elegance, lightness, spaciousness, perfect proportion and playfulness. The most important thing is to give pleasure that’s why she places a high value on comfort, touch, furniture that invite and make people feel good.

Whistle Lamp by Laurie Beckerman

According to Laurie, designing is essentially an exercise in the act of creation. The impulse, or inspiration comes from within, but then it’s up to the artist to translate it to the best of their ability into something the senses can relate to. The joy and surprise of creating depends on the way the design evolves from this little scratch of a sketch and then becomes this full-grown material object. This is probably one of her motivations for making things, just for the sheer pleasure of seeing something as an idea and then grow into something tangible, and when the vision matches the reality, it’s really amazing to see upon completion. 

more. http://www.lauriebeckerman.com/