Meet Brian Persico | Furniture Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brian Persico and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brian, what inspires you?
My greatest inspiration comes from handmade vernacular tools and objects, especially those made in places/times when these pieces were used every day and often as a means for survival. I am also committed to using only natural materials and the wood I use is often from less than 20 miles of my home. Beyond the wood, metal hardware and more tangible materials; my finishes and glues are also made with natural ingredients – many of them recreated according to recipes I’ve discovered from times before most of the toxic chemicals available today were available, some even as far back as the 16th Century.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I design and make furniture and a small line of functional objects from my studio in the Catskills. Inspired by natural materials and informed by craft throughout history, each piece is carefully made by hand – I strive to create simple and functional work that will last. How I began professionally: I used to build models for fellow industrial design and architecture students as a side-hustle when I was in college and then started my own business when I graduated, for the first few years that looked like building custom pieces- a lot of built-ins for other peoples businesses while I slowly designed my own line on the side. Im grateful that my designs took off and became 100% of my business over the past years.
Everything I design has to be light and strong and sit well in an environment, combining simple function with beauty is a constant inspiration and a challenge. I’m completely obsessive when it comes to researching my ideas and craft- I actually began making archery bows before getting into much of my furniture, and I still make them from time to time as so much of their craft and material properties have become invaluable to my furniture making. Via bow-making I was exposed to unusual materials such as horn, bone and sinew which I now also use in my furniture. My Windham series, for example, utilizes tiny pins carved from antler which I gather in the woods around my home

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I actually live about 3hrs north of the city, up in the Catskill mountains. If someone was to visit right now, we are deep in maple syrup season so we’d spend some time collecting buckets and evaporating sap in our sugar shack. Our family loves spending time in there! We cook sausages in the boiling sap and keep a little bar there too. I moved a bed up into the loft this week as my 4-yo daughter and I wanted to do a sleepover up there, we just got some day old chicks that are keeping us company! My favorite times up here are activities like that- fun to be had while producing something useful. I also love visiting friends up here whose work I find so inspiring, Kieran Kinsella is an incredible artist and visiting Gabriella Kiss’s jewelry studio is always a mind-blowing experience.
It would be remiss not to mention that another fav activity here is visiting all the swimming holes in the summer!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My earliest would be my Nonno (grandfather) who got me started in making things by hand and taught me how to use woodworking tools at a very young age. Following that, my parents- my dad inspired me by having his own business and kept space for me in our basement to continue working on ideas and projects, they supported me to pursue industrial design at Pratt and to this day, my dad comes up often to help me with any hands-on project I’m taking on- from making maple syrup to driving all night with me to pick up machines for my shop! Lastly, my wife Hannah who’s been with me the last 10years taking my business to the next level- she handles all sales, co-designs so much of my furniture, manages shipping, my website, and probably lots of things Im forgetting on top of having her own company and very young children at home.

Website: brianpersico.com

Instagram: @brianpersico