Back in 2003, Brian and Jill Faherty founded the esteemed brand Schoolhouse Electric. The company was born after Brian discovered a long-lost collection of cast-iron glass shade molds inside an old storage warehouse in Port Jervis, NY. After carefully restoring the molds, Brian?s vision of well crafted, American-made home goods came to life. The concept […]

Back in 2003, Brian and Jill Faherty founded the esteemed brand Schoolhouse Electric. The company was born after Brian discovered a long-lost collection of cast-iron glass shade molds inside an old storage warehouse in Port Jervis, NY. After carefully restoring the molds, Brian?s vision of well crafted, American-made home goods came to life. The concept behind all products Schoolhouse carries can be summed up in Brian?s articulate explanation: ?We?re rooted in the notion of domestic utility where things are useful, but beautiful.? While the lighting and housewares company is based in Portland, OR, Schoolhouse Electric recently opened its third brick-and-mortar store on the east coast, in Pittsburgh, PA. Now in its 16th year, this design-centric company’s new space is housed in the city?s East Liberty neighborhood in a New Formalism structure named The Detective Building. When Brian learned that this proud structure encompassing an entire city block was being auctioned off by the city, he knew the Schoolhouse universe would begin a new chapter in western Pennsylvania.

Rather than viewing the space as a sin...