10 to Watch: Majid Jelveh

AIA, LEED AP Founder,
Jones Falls Furniture
www.jonesfallsfurniture.com

The world needs more people like Majid Jelveh.

He made our list because we were inspired by the mission of his new venture, Jones Falls Furniture Company. The Jones Falls is a river that runs through Baltimore, a city still very much in recession when it comes to its artisans and craftsmen. Jelveh set out to put many of them back to work by building the pieces he designs.

“I am trying to create jobs in the U.S. The products are basic, simple and timeless, and they will last for a long time,” he says. By using a combination of high-quality hardwoods and aluminum, all of Jones Falls’ pieces are designed to be fabricated with minimum waste, with all materials produced or harvested within a 500-mile radius of its production shops in Maryland and Michigan.

Product design became Jelveh’s main focus in 2006 when the company he co-founded in Baltimore in 2002 with his wife, Marybeth Shaw, Shaw Jelveh Design, opened an environmental graphics and product design department. They worked out of a rehabilitated row-house in Baltimore before moving back to Jelveh’s old stomping grounds in New York City with their 9-year-old son Aidan in 2011.

Jelveh says all products should be functional, simple, well-made and well-proportioned. He credits his success to his years as an architect and his knowledge of manufacturing, which he gained while working in construction management.

We see his strong, streamlined pieces as the perfect metaphor for his goal of rebuilding a fallen city.