Half a dozen buildings rise on Modernica‘s sprawling five-acre compound just south of DTLA proper. Here—in Vernon, California—the family-owned business awaits its 29th birthday. Brothers Frank and Jay Novak founded the furniture brand to honor and foster Southern California design and, along the way, Modernica became synonymous with the fiberglass shell chair—a product that’s still at the heart of what they do today. On the occasion of their limited release with Vans, we visited their furniture factory and stood in awe of the brand’s people-driven processes—all of which is strictly transparent.