Since 2002, the Los Angeles-based SylvanSF has employed painstaking craftsmanship, high-quality base materials, and precious veneers (parchment, lacquers, exotic woods, shagreen) to produce exquisite heirloom furniture. Designed by Sylvan Fiss in collaboration with Jaime Sanchez and Paul Eduard Sweeney Perez, the company’s latest experimentation has been with a much-maligned material: brass. But to see its application here is to be persuaded of the metal’s ravishing potential. As with all their designs, the pieces evoke various eras. The Serpentine chest ($6,600) channels a streamlined Rococo; the Marseille chest ($29,000) looks vaguely Jean Prouvé-ish; and the spectacular sculptural Popova desk ($36,600) telegraphs an affinity for Czech Cubist furniture. All pieces are made of mahogany sheathed in five-millimeter thick brass sheeting. (323.646.4974, www.sylvansf.com)
