Ellen Markel

Ellen Markel was a Western New York craft artist and furniture maker. Her furniture and sculptures highlight an appreciation for classical design principles while also experimenting with non-traditional elements and techniques. Born in 1963, Markel grew up in Buffalo before attending the University of Vermont, where she received her BA in political science. She began her career as a furniture maker shortly after, becoming an apprentice at Bretschneider & Bretschneider in Vermont, where she learned traditional furniture design practices. She worked as an associate at the father-and-son cabinet making shop for the following ten years. Markel and Chris, the younger Bretschneider of the pair, worked and designed collaboratively during those years before ultimately deciding to relocate their business ventures to Buffalo.

In 1999, Markel and Bretschneider founded P.L.U.M. Works, a custom furniture studio in the Allentown neighborhood. During its operation, P.L.U.M. Works specialized in custom wood furniture pieces, as well as commissions of period reproductions. Rather than making exact replicas of traditional designs, the pair would find new and inventive ways to reimagine their pieces, incorporating period elements that complemented the style and aesthetic of each client. Having mastered traditional techniques, both Bretschneider and Markel expressed a desire to experiment in their commissions to push the boundaries of furniture design.

This innovative approach to design is also apparent in Markel’s work as a craft artist. Inspired to create tangible objects that evoke feelings of permanence and longevity, her artistic furniture designs and assemblages are less traditional expressions of her classical design training. Markel has exhibited her work in craft shows and juried exhibitions throughout Vermont. She has also been exhibited in several institutions in Buffalo including Indigo Art Gallery, Bryant Street Studio and Artspace Buffalo. She was featured in the Burchfield Penney’s 1994 and 2000 Craft Art from Western New York biennials (later renamed Art in Craft Media), as well as Art in Craft Media 2015. Through the 2015 exhibition, her work Escritoire Merbromin (2015) was acquired to the Burchfield Penney collection.