Richard Allen Brustlin
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Richard Allen Brustlin, 85, died Tuesday, November 3rd, 2020.
We say goodbye to our dear friend and brother as he leaves us to celebrate a life fully lived and beautifully crafted. That was his gift: seeing beauty and turning wood, iron, and leaf into pieces of art, first with frames that now hang in museums around the world and then with furniture that take us through European history. He was a master finisher and guilder who inspired with layers of color and depth of tone brought to life with a light hand and a sharp eye.
Richard was born March 10, 1935 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and with his family moved west, first to Colorado, and then to Los Angeles, where he went to high school and then college at Occidental.
The Army took him to Hawaii for a couple of years where he started painting and exploring possibilities in design, landing at the end of his stint in San Francisco. That is where he began a framing company as he pursued a Masters in Fine Art at the University of California, Berkeley. This was the beginning of Brustlin Workshop and forty plus years of design and handcrafted production.
That was his world, filled with dreams, love, friends, and family and endless energy to help everyone he met see a more beautiful world with wit, candor, and humor. Richard will be missed.
Richard was predeceased by his parents Harry and Laura Brustlin and a brother John. He leaves his Brother Bob and Sister Karen and many friends around the world.
The family would like to thank everyone who helped us care for Richard over the last five years.