About John Kelly Furniture
John Kelly Furniture & Accessories was established in 1994 by John N. Kelly, a licensed architect. Kelly began designing and producing handcrafted furniture as early as 1987 while still a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied architecture with a focus on the relationship between design and production.
“The great thing about designing furniture is that it is exclusively for humans; we sleep in beds, work at desks, sit in chairs, eat from tables…”
John N. Kelly
Kelly’s early influences included the Arts and Crafts movement, Bauhaus, and modernist architects like Frank Lloyd Wright, Charles Eames, and Le Corbusier. He approaches furniture design much like storytelling, where individual pieces function as chapters contributing to a cohesive narrative.
Our Collections
- J1 Series (1992) — frame, container, and surface design with distinctive mortise-and-tenon joinery
- K2 Series (1994) — outdoor furnishings made from solid teak
- N(nu) Series (1996) — walnut furnishings with glass and stainless steel details
- Zeta Series (2000) — oak furnishings emphasizing transparency and opacity
- Tau Series (2002) — bamboo furnishings celebrating sustainable materials
- Alpha Series (2004) — cherry furnishings inspired by Danish modern design
- Kisho Series (2005) — limited-edition pieces developed with Japanese manufacturer Hinoki Kogei
- Tranquility Series — fine furnishings for calm, considered spaces
- Rho Series — our most recent collection
Furniture Care
Our furniture is made from natural wood that continues to behave organically. Movement, hairline cracks, and color variations are normal characteristics of real wood, not manufacturing defects.
Each piece features an ultraviolet matte lacquer finish applied in multiple layers: six coats of sealer, three coats of matte lacquer, and one hand-rubbed coat of paste wax by Gamble & Sons — creating a sturdy, non-toxic finish that develops a natural patina over time.
Recommended care: keep furniture in a room between 62–66°F with consistent humidity, away from direct heat or sunlight; use a humidifier in dry environments. Wax upon receipt and approximately every six months: dust with a damp cotton cloth, apply Gamble & Son’s wax sparingly with a soft cloth, let sit 10–15 minutes, then buff thoroughly in circular motions. Minor marks can be treated with Gamble & Son’s paste wax and #0000 super fine steel wool applied along the wood grain, followed by the same buffing process.