Lichen’s Owners Met by Chance But They Sell Furniture With a Purpose
Sometimes, the most important things in life seem to happen by chance. Maybe you found that one nice shirt you can’t live without while mulling around SoHo one aimless afternoon. Or maybe you met your future partner waiting in line at the bank. No one can really say why chance meetings can be so powerful, but that’s certainly the case with with Lichen, a Brooklyn furniture and design shop founded and run by Jared Blake and Edward Be. Those two met selling furniture on Craigslist, hit it off, and haven’t looked back since, eventually opening Lichen in 2017 with the aim of selling furniture and fostering a creative community. Last week, Jared and Ed were kind enough to host us at Lichen to talk fate, furniture, and keeping things fun.
How did you guys meet and come up with the idea to launch your store, Lichen?
Jared: We both met via Craigslist, buying and selling designer furniture as a side means of income to our regular day jobs. After realizing there was potential to scale up the business, we split cost on a storage unit near the Brooklyn Navy Yard for a few months and eventually signed a lease on the current Lichen store front.
Before that, where did each of your individual interests in design, furniture, and art start?
Jared: I spent a number of years in the fashion industry, styling, producing, and things like that. Furniture and design has always been not-so-distant cousins to any editorial I’ve put together. Travel—especially to Denmark—has kind of put it more in my perspective than it has ever been previously. After realizing I could make a couple bucks applying the same interest I had in clothing to furniture, it sort of altered the trajectory of my career and passions.
Ed: There are two pieces that actually got me interested in design as a whole. They are a concrete table from Souda and an Eames DCM chair at the same time, next to each other. It wasn’t until I moved into a smaller apartment that forced me to pare down on excess furniture and belongings that I truly started to appreciate the aesthetic and function of each piece of furniture.
It seems like Lichen is more than just a store. It’s got a positive message to spread throughout North Brooklyn and New York. Can you describe that a bit and say how you’re able to incorporate that into your business?
Ed: Lichen is certainly more than just a store, its a creative outlet for our friends and like-minded individuals to come and express their creativity in new ways. Creatives aren’t always inspired to make a couple bucks for things they’re passionate about, so were happy to be a hub for creative entrepreneurship whenever possible. We create a conversation first and foremost which leads to the sharing of ideas, which in turns lends itself to a product or products that people are willing to pay money for. Our pricing structure is geared towards involving customers and creatives that otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford designer items at the price points of some of our competitors.
What are each of your favorite pieces that have come through the store?
Jared: My friend Abe reached out and asked if we would be interested this chair he and his father restored. It’s really incredible. I’ve never seen anything like it in person. Not all of our items have to come with a sexy name attached. Sometimes a solid, beautiful, well-made item is enough to be worth the money.
Ed: My favorite piece of furniture actually left us a couple of weeks ago. It was two oblong slabs of green marble that we acquired from a construction worker who removed them from a demolition. We set those slabs atop a random table base that we picked up from an office furniture supplier. It’s a bespoke piece. We’ll never see it again. Maybe one day we’ll get to be actual furniture designers, but for now we’re having fun remixing pieces where we can.
What are you plans for the future of Lichen?
Ed: The Lichen store front is just the beginning. We want to be involved in more design based projects and offer our eye and aesthetic to other store fronts, restaurants, and other interiors-related projects. We have a couple in the works in Brooklyn we’re excited to share really soon. You guys should keep an eye out for them! Also an app, but let’s keep that on the hush.
Jared: As we continue to have dialogue with our friends and colleagues the sky is really is really the limit. The next million dollar idea is always only 24 hours away.
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