Sophie Lou Jacobsen
Whether it’s the faceted lip of a cup, the precise taper of a stem or the gentle contour of a bowl, French-American designer, artist and creative director Sophie Lou Jacobsen invites us to appreciate these details through her coveted glass and metal creations.
Sophie Lou Jacobsen’s keen eye for detail can be seen in her delicate-looking drinkware, ornate lighting fixtures and collectable vases and urns. “Not everybody cares about or notices the small things, but my intention is to design things that give people the same kind of joy and appreciation for objects that I have,” she says.
“My intention is to design things that give people the same kind of joy and appreciation for objects that I have.”
At her residence in Manhattan’s Chinatown, which also serves as her studio, a large dining table is laden with beautiful objects including champagne coupes with rippled brims, wine glasses with vine-like stems, swirly metal coasters and tall, sleek pitchers.
One end of the table contains prototypes for the Continental collection – a love letter of sorts to breakfast – released last November. It comprises a jar for preserves, a fruit bowl, tea and espresso cups, and an apple-shaped pot for sugar cubes, all in glass, as well as a silver-plated toast rack.
The broader inspiration for this new collection, as is common for Jacobsen, sits at the intersection of memory and ritual, or more specifically in how her mother used to set the table for the following morning’s breakfast before going to bed each night. Seeing her sister replicate this for her children on a recent family holiday reminded Jacobsen of the pleasure and solace found in this simple act. “I remember how warm and wonderful it was to wake up and see everything in its place – it’s a very comforting thing.”
Jacobsen is equally inspired by her French heritage and often looks to Europe for cultural cues. “There are certain aspects of European life that I really miss when I’m in New York, like spending long hours around a table with your friends and family and appreciating the tiny details, like what you’re eating or the objects you’re using. This idea of finding delight in rituals, moments and objects is built into life in Europe but tends to get lost here in the US, so I think a lot of my work is about trying to channel that.”
Born in Seattle to French parents, Jacobsen had a bicultural upbringing, attending school in the Pacific Northwest while travelling frequently to France. At 16, her family relocated to Paris where she finished high school before moving to London to attend Central Saint Martins. She recalls it being an “extremely formative time”; however, at 28, she crossed the pond once again, moving to New York City.
Jacobsen immersed herself in the city’s design scene, working with Brooklyn-based Ladies & Gentlemen Studio before trying her hand as a freelance designer. It was during this time that she created the collection of glass vessels, which would serve as the impetus for her eponymous studio. “I never planned to start a brand,” she reflects. “But the collection did quite well from a press perspective, and I started getting enquiries from people wanting to purchase the pieces, so I looked into production.”
Bolstered by strong sales during the pandemic and interest from around the world, her business took off. In 2021, motivated by a desire to strengthen her connection to the production process – most of her homewares are produced in China – Jacobsen expanded her practice to include made-to-order collectable objects including vases, urns and pendant lights adorned with intricate glass flowers.
“I felt really detached from the production process,” she reflects. “I wanted to get closer to it and be able to create things on a larger scale and push the creative language more.” She found a Brooklyn-based glassblower who “opened up a whole new avenue for my knowledge and discovery of glass, and it was then that I developed a deeper appreciation for the craft itself”.
This reverence for artisanship and history is fitting for Jacobsen. Visiting archive libraries and decorative arts museums fuels her creativity – she describes her body of work as a “voyage through time” for the many eras it references. The Memphis movement was pivotal in helping her to develop her own design language, as was 1960s Italian design, the Art Nouveau and Art Deco movements, medieval and religious art and the work of Josef Hoffmann and Ettore Sottsass – two designers who collaborated with craftspeople in much the same way Jacobsen does.
Her cult-favourite drinkware will always be a portion of her practice – at the very least, it’s an ongoing ode to her love of “throwing parties” – yet she is constantly seeking new ways to expand her output through creative direction, collaborations and events. She plans to host “a very fun, big party” at the upcoming Salone del Mobile and is set to launch “something big” in late 2026.
For Jacobsen, beauty and integrity prevail in every project. Though most of her pieces she has masterminded are rooted in function, her design rationale is evidently concerned not just with an object’s purpose but with its ability to jog a memory, invite contemplation or, quite simply, to be desired.
