The design team of Godley-Schwan began in 1984 when Lyn Godley and her husband, Lloyd Schwan (1955-2001), began selling a small collection of costume jewelry. Between 1984 and 1998, the company would expand to include product design, furniture, lighting, and interior design; both residential and commercial. Clients have included the MoMA Design Store, the Geoffrey Beene flagship store, Neiman Marcus, Barney’s NY, DC Comics, Entertainment TV, and Sony. Smaller tabletop products have been shown at the New York Gift Fair where Godley-Schwan won awards for Excellence in Design in 1988, 1989 and again in 1995. Their furniture and lighting has been exhibited at the ICFF as well as Salone de Mobiliin Milan, Italy where in 1989 they were the first contemporary American design company to exhibit their work at Salone. Upon their return from Milan, Lyn Godley organized the “Furniture NY” organization in order to promote American design abroad and serve as a networking resource for New York based designers. In 1990 Godley-Scwan was nominated for the NY State Governor’s Award for Achievement in Exporting.

In 1998 the Crinkle Lamp was accepted into the permanent collection at the Modern Museum of Art.  Godley-Schwan designs are also in the permanent collection of the Museum of Art & Design and the Denver Art Museum. Their work has been exhibited and published in over 14 countries around the world, and now can be found at numerous 20th Century Design auctions.

A retrospective of the work of Godley-Schwan opened in the fall of 2004 at The Design Center in Philadelphia. An accompanying exhibit catalog, Playing the Field: the art + design of Godley-Schwan, tells the story of the history of the design team. For information on the ebook format, contact Lyn Godley Studio.