Brian Foster and Ernie Sesskin design furniture that’s made to last, out of materials that have stood the test of time. They see possibility in industrial and architectural salvage, and are intrigued by the challenge of incorporating these old elements to create home furnishings that are useful and relevant. On any given day their pick-up is filled with lumber from Amish barns, steel parts from retired machinery, and glass from turn of the century factory windows.
It takes a trained eye (not to mention up-to-date-tetanus) to find the best jewels in the junkyard. Their training equals experience in interior and garden design, product development, and the antiques biz, coupled with an education in art history and design. As Brian and Ernie sift through stuff, they begin to reinvent. A thick marble paving stone is paired with an old machine base to become a kitchen island, an old wood-slat conveyor belt gets a second chance as a sturdy oak floor runner and a pair of paint-encrusted carpenter’s wooden sawhorses becomes the base for a glass-top desk.
“We’re very turned on by all things industrial,” says Brian. “Objects that were made for function rather than style and form have an inherent authenticity, there’s nothing more satisfying than repurposing them into something that’s relevant for contemporary use”. Age and patina add a layer of history to the finished designs, something that’s difficult to fake with new materials.
A couple of years ago Brian and Ernie turned an old warehouse, a former commercial bakery in the historic Germantown section of Philadelphia, into a working showroom. They design prototypes here, and also invite clients -- retailers, restaurant owners, and designers -- to “play,” mixing and matching table tops with bases and fittings to create new pieces. Using the core Groundwork collection of tables, benches, and shelving structures as a starting point, they’ll tweak designs and come up with new ones as requested.
One of a kinds, limited editions, and basic collection pieces are all manufactured with integrity. Amish woodworkers and metal smiths out in rural Pennsylvania build each piece using many of the same techniques that have worked well in the past. “We’ve worked with some of our Amish craftspeople for almost twenty years now” says Ernie, “our relationships are one of my favorite aspects of our business”.
