Transforming petrified wood into designer furnishings is a passion project for a Boston–area businessman.
By Lannan O’Brien
There are moments when nature makes us step back in wonder, suddenly aware of how small we are in its presence. For many, petrified wood can have this effect.
Jamie O’Brien was on a retreat in Bali, Indonesia, when he first encountered the distinctive material at a local market. It was there that he learned how petrified wood is formed: buried deep under sediment and other debris, the wood is protected from decay by the oxygen and organisms surrounding it. Sediment-rich groundwater flows through the plant material, and over time, it absorbs minerals like silica, calcite, and pyrite, becoming fossilized. Describing his experience at the market, O’Brien says, “They said it was 25 million years old, once alive, and it just really excited me. I bought some pieces and sent them back to my home in Chestnut Hill, near Boston, and the rest is history.”
That experience was the inspiration for Fossiel, O’Brien’s company, which sells high-end furnishings hand-crafted from fossilized wood. Sourcing material from extreme volcanic regions worldwide, primarily Indonesia, O’Brien works directly with master stone masons to design statement pieces, including countertops, dining tables and chairs, bathtubs, and more. Each piece is characterized by the unique markings and patterns that occur in the fossilization process, from subtle variations in light cream and tan to highly contrasted black and white.
The best part? All of this is achieved with zero deforestation since the material is sourced from deposits on private properties. Currently, O’Brien said, most of that property is farmland in Indonesia. “They come across this material when they’re digging and cultivating their soil, and at one point, it was a nuisance to them because there were these big boulder-like pieces of material that were in their way. They didn’t know what to do with it, so they would kind of give it away. Over the years, they realized that it had a market value and, long story short, they had a revenue stream,” he says.
When he started Fossiel, O’Brien spent much of his time on the farms and in the fields, meeting with landowners and searching for petrified wood. Now that the business has grown, he’s built a solid base of contacts and dedicates more time to design work at the factory he works with in Indonesia, deciding which pieces will be transformed into a coffee table, chair, or patio set. “Of course, I have a good collaboration with the guys working over there,” he says.
In his professional life, O’Brien wears many hats. It’s been that way since he was 18 when he opted to enter the workforce rather than finish high school. Over the first 11 years of his career, he worked for two different “Fortune 500-type companies” and worked his way up to management positions. “Then I understood that corporate America is not my world,” he says. He started The O’Brien Group, a company that acquires properties in the Boston area and Costa Rica for rehabilitation.
His main business, however, is a different industry entirely: Universal Green Commodities is a boutique trading firm in renewable fuels, which converts renewable resources (such as waste vegetable oil cooking grease from restaurants) into renewable diesel fuel that is blended into home heating oil, airplane fuel, and more.
While he considers real estate his hobby and finds a sense of peace in work that benefits the environment, O’Brien admits, “Fossiel is my heart business. It’s my creative business.”
Fossiel has one design showroom at Boston Park Plaza, which O’Brien considers the flagship location, and two industrial-style locations in Costa Rica. In addition to their showroom pieces, the company completes custom work for clients. O’Brien describes the majority of his customers as “the industry folk” — interior designers, architects, builders, and engineers who act as his salespeople.
When asked if there is a “wow” factor for those unfamiliar with petrified wood, O’Brien says customers’ reactions are his favorite part of the business. “This material is very humbling, and that’s one of the reasons I got into it. I see that every day when people come into the showrooms, sometimes for the first time, the second, or the tenth time,” he says.
O’Brien is among many who believe that petrified wood has metaphysical properties, including its grounding effects. Referring to his early days in the business, he says, “I’d come home from a long day and put my glass of wine on my side table [a stump of petrified wood] and have a sense of connection to the table next to me. It was very special and something that was very clear.”
