Domestic
Devotionals
Domestic Devotionals is an act of care—of reclaiming, reimagining, and holding onto what might otherwise be lost. This project gives new life to objects that carry weight beyond their function, reshaping salvaged materials into pieces that serve the home in new ways. Some are remnants of the ordinary—discarded wood, chipped metal, forgotten fabrics—while others are fragments of something deeply personal, touched by memory and meaning. The process is slow, intuitive, and reverent. A broken table leg might find new purpose as a picture frame; lamps made from special but cracked family cookware brighten our homes in new ways. These transformations are not about perfection but about presence—an honoring of material histories, a devotion to the objects that shape the spaces we call home.
Tables
This entryway table has had many lives. After an olive tree was uprooted by the severe winds, fires, and mudslides in Santa Barbara in December 2017 / January 2018, this stump was offered to Julian by a couple to create a piece that would rebirth comfort and light back into the home after disaster. The piece lived as a lamp in their home until Julian’s childhood home burned down at the end of 2018. The lamp was gifted back to Julian when they relocated to a new home here in Los Angeles.
After the devastating fires here in Los Angeles in January 2025, Julian worked to add a shelf to the lamp using scrap wood to replace a neighbor’s lost furniture, again giving new life to the materials and environment it now inhabits.
We are living in an ongoing and escalating climate crisis. While there are many factors that have and continue to contribute, our over-consumerism is one that seeps into so many parts of our day to day lives. Julian’s work strives to think critically and thoughtfully about the objects and materials we bring into our home and as a result, our psyches.
This table was built off of a school desk found discarded outside by a client. All by one leg was broken. A client had made a pipe wall hanger that was no longer wanted, and asked if the materials could be combined. The pipes from the wall hanging were repurposed for the new legs of the desk. I’ve included special details found on the desktop, as well as a pen made from the scrapped wood of one of the broken legs.
This table was inspired by the Pizza Saver. Using scrap wood, Julian formed a plate on stakes to stick into a large planter. The result is a living table that can easily be watered and repotted.
Lamps
Julian first became interested in reclaimed lamps after rewiring and mending the ones lighting their grandmother’s home in Long Island. They began experimenting with ways of reusing different broken or otherwise unusable objects and materials. This project has transformed into a recurring workshop called DIY hanging lamp that has been taught at community spaces such as LAPL and Rediscover Center. They’ve also designed curriculum for 6th graders learning how to reclaim electronics and recyclables into unique flashlights.
Lastly, you’ll find a video featuring their first lamp design from 2017. The video features a raining cloud lamp made from polyester fiberfill, plastic recyclables, and reclaimed electronics found at Materials for the Arts in NY.
Propagation Stations
While experimenting with ways to give discarded wood a second life, Julian began to make plant propagation stations. They began designing simple, functional forms that highlight the natural character of salvaged materials while creating a practical tool for plant care. This project has grown into an ongoing exploration of sustainable design, incorporating reclaimed materials into everyday objects.
Other Items
Julian had a chipped glass light fixture, a lazy susan, and some natural clay. From these items, they created a unique art piece to memorialize the flowers given to them for their first drag show performance.
Julian designed and etched an affirmation onto a client’s mirror
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