The early furniture designs of John Kelly were influenced by the arts and crafts movement in America, the Bauhaus movement in Europe, and various modern architects. During the first five years, everything that John designed and produced was custom. Regardless of the client or project, what John learned was that all designs begin with an idea. Once you understand the vocabulary for expressing the idea, designing an entire range of furniture becomes a lot like writing a story with different elements and personalities. Individually, each furnishing is just one chapter. Collectively, all of the pieces combine to create a story composed of many characters that depict the idea of the entire range.
When he first began designing furniture while in graduate school a decade ago, John never imagined that what began as a project for school would become his career. He was an architecture student at the University of Pennsylvania, dedicated to exploring the relationship between design and production.
John’s first workshop was located midway between his apartment and the university. He would go to school during the day, and at night he would build things in the shop. All of his design projects for architecture school soon became shop oriented. Eventually, he was studying architecture through furniture, and understanding furniture through architecture.
All John Kelly Furnishings should be cared for by regular waxing, once upon receipt and approximately every six months thereafter. Dust should be thoroughly removed before the application of any wax, with a damp cotton cloth or a commercially available product.
Utilizing a soft, cotton cloth and Gamble & Son’s spray, liquid, or paste wax, apply the wax sparingly to the cloth first, and then to the surface of the furnishing. Allow the wax to set-up and then buff and polish thoroughly, in a circular motion, to ensure all surplus wax is removed.