Joining creative forces

As kids growing up in Laguna Beach, friends Nick Sheridan, Dan Wacholder and Bret Englander would spend their free time together on projects like making pottery for the Sawdust Festival, remodeling old sailboats and fixing up rundown RVs that they would journey along the West Coast in.

More than a decade later but still inspired by their shared passion for design, the trio — now an architect, engineer and a business analyst — have abandoned separate career paths to reunite in a joint business venture.

Earlier this year, they founded Cerno LLC, a company that aims to “resolve art with science” in various fields of design and with eco-friendliness in mind.

“We believe conflict exists between art and science, which is something we embrace and seek to resolve in every project,” the Cerno team said. “By utilizing state-of-the-art technology to liberate the design and building process, we yield one-of-a-kind objects whose aesthetic content and form finds alignment with function and structure.”

Latin for “resolve,” Cerno offers industrial design and engineering services that cater to projects with unique design requirements. Its other key focus is to develop a high-end portable and intelligent LED lantern, which is expected to hit the market by the third quarter of 2010.

As they work diligently to improve their prototype for the lantern, which incorporates wireless and capacitive touch (the same technology used in Apple’s iPhone and Palm’s Palm Pre), Wacholder said his team aspires to bring this concept and product to the hospitality industry and beyond.

“LEDs — about 80% more energy efficient than standard incandescent bulbs — are the future of lighting,” he said. “Our focus is to explore new forms and create beautiful designs that use this technology.”

The trio was recently asked to develop a large-scale light installation for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, in which they would design, fabricate and install a 150-by-300-foot set of floating Olympic rings that use wireless controlled LEDs.

“Unfortunately, our project was dropped along with several others due to budget issues, but when we presented the prototype on-location, it was beautiful and functioned perfectly,” Englander said. “The experience was an honor and a real eye-opener to the strength of our team and what we can accomplish together.”

He said the company strives to remain environmentally conscious in other areas.

“We use local suppliers and ‘green’ products whenever possible, provided the quality of our work isn’t compromised,” he said.

The group has also launched its own signature furniture line made from stacked Baltic birch plywood, a material Sheridan said he favors due to its durability and organic, grainy appearance.

“Baltic Birch ply is made of 13 high-quality layers, [opposed] to other types of ply which have two high-quality veneer layers but fewer and lower quality pieces in between” he said. “When we lay the pieces together, it’s seamless.”

The process lends a raw finish to the contemporary tables and chairs.

Cerno is at 2139 Laguna Canyon Road, a space it shares with craftsman Greg Daw, who specializes in fine woodworking.

“It’s been a true gift and learning experience working beside him, as he’s offered many words of wisdom along the way,” Englander said.

Call (949) 715-1534 or visit www.cernogroup.com.