Designers
For more than seven decades, Brown Jordan has partnered with the most innovative, forward-thinking designers from around the world. Each creator personifies an enriched taste for beauty and an unwavering commitment to iconic outdoor design.
John Caldwell
Richard Frinier
Kevin Diedrick
Kevin Diedrick
As the Director of Design for Brown Jordan, Kevin Diedrick leads in-house Design and Development as well as collaborate with award winning Design partners from around the globe.
Upon joining Brown Jordan in 2017, Kevin brings over 10 years of experience designing and developing products for the Outdoor Furniture market. With a background in Industrial Design, Kevin takes a pragmatic holistic approach to product design, balancing form and function along with material science and manufacturing. Inspired by global travel and traditional craft as well as modern manufacturing and innovation, Kevin’s work interprets familiar forms in a contemporary context.
“Good design is equal parts aesthetics and function, but not one without the other.”
John Caldwell
My first break as a freelance furniture designer was in Los Angeles in the late 1950s for Brown Jordan. Brown Jordan’s first furniture products were Army cots built during World War II. It was after that that they became known as a high quality outdoor furniture company.
Primarily known for contemporary designs by Walter Lamb (who salvaged bronze tubing from sunken battleships off Hawaii for his pieces), Van-Keppel Green, Hall Bradley and myself. Van- Keppel Green’s furniture was used notably in John Entenza's “Arts and Architecture” case study homes. John Entenza also selected one of our early custom desk designs, which he showed in an issue of “Arts and Architecture” magazine. One of my first designs, Mai Tai, for Brown Jordan was produced in 1957; I was 18 and still a student.
Our office has designed outdoor furniture, office furniture and accessories, umbrellas, lighting, and ceiling fans for the United States and world markets. I also have taught and lectured on design for 20 years at various California colleges, including Long Beach State, Pasadena City College and the Art Center College of Design.
We have always been interested in using the latest light-weight, durable, and easy to clean materials for our outdoor lines. Aluminum has probably been my favorite material to work in. The Mai Tai design was one of the first furniture lines to incorporate extruded aluminum and vinyl lacing. We have also worked in teak, all-weather wicker, as well as dye cast aluminum and molded plastics.
Located in South Pasadena, California, we maintain a staff of 6 people.
“By definition, design is never finished. You can always improve a design.”
Richard Frinier
Internationally acclaimed and prolific California-based designer Richard Frinier inspires people to create spaces that bring the quality of indoor living outside and the casual spirit of the outdoors inside. Always looking for what is missing and what can be, his modern to neoclassical designs may be seen in royal palaces, resorts, and private residences around the world. A master of arts and crafts, Richard began his career as a sculptor, artist, and interior furniture and lighting designer. In 1981, he joined Brown Jordan under the tutelage of Mid-Century Modern designer emeritus Hall Bradley where he stayed for over 20 years becoming the brand’s chief creative officer and lead designer realizing many significant and critically-acclaimed material and design innovations upholding the Company’s design legacy and evolving the outdoor furniture industry at large. In 2002, he returned to his own creative practice and continues to design for Brown Jordan today. Richard’s sought after designs are remarkably celebrating 10, 20 and 30 years of continuous production. Editorialized and published extensively, his iconic creations appear in design houses, the stage sets of television and films, and design and trade exhibitions globally. A recipient of over 90 prestigious awards, including induction into the American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame, an ICFA Lifetime Achievement Award, Stars of Design - Pacific Design Center, reddot Design Museum and Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design GoodDesign™ awards and permanent collections, IDSA/IDEA, IIDA/HD, ASID, ISFD-Pinnacle, ICFA-Design Excellence, and Interior Design magazine’s coveted Best-of-Year and Best-of-Decade awards, Richard is among the Top 40 Influencers in the home furnishings industry over the past 40 years as designated by trade editors and professionals.
“My design mantra has always been to be authentic, relevant and memorable to create an emotional connection with others.”
