MEET THE MAKER: SOPHIE LOU JACOBSEN

Poetry in Object

French-American artist, designer, and creative director Sophie Lou Jacobsen launched her eponymous homewares, lighting, and collectibles studio in New York City in 2019 with a clear mission: to encourage a thoughtful reconnection with the romantic through the physical object.

Jacobsen's offerings range from intricate hand-blown glassware – delicate flutes, tumblers, and vases – to elaborate sculptural light fixtures, alongside a curated selection of metal objects with a subtle post-modern edge, such as her signature spiral coasters. Each piece is crafted to be more than functional; they're designed to inspire daily rituals and invite quiet moments of appreciation.

We at fête were drawn to her work because of the embodied poetry it brings into everyday life. Designed to elevate daily rituals, her objects transform even the most monotonous moments into occasions for reverie, whether through a hand-blown glass that catches the light just so, or a sculptural object that invites the eye to linger. Jacobsen was a natural fit for us: her designs embody our belief in fewer, better things, chosen not just for beauty, but for the way they enhance how we live, gather, and experience home.

See: Jacobsen's Spiral Coasters, Cosmo Coupes, Petal Plates, and Squiggle Tray (photos by Jen Steele).

Sophie Lou Jacobsen approaches her work with a focus on the emotional power of objects, creating pieces that “blur the boundaries between functional objects and decorative art.” She believes that objects carry an innate energy capable of shaping our lives, and seeks to infuse daily rituals with poetry, pause, and reflection through her designs.

Jacobsen’s aesthetic is defined by a sophisticated blend of post-modern and romantic sensibilities. She cites design masters such as Ettore Sottsass, Carlo Scarpa, and Josef Hoffmann as major influences, while also drawing inspiration from historical home relics, antique decorative arts, and the tactile qualities of everyday objects across cultures. This layering of references gives her work an almost anthropological depth, where each curve, texture, or color choice feels deliberate yet effortless.

Left: A mosaic of antique home objects, historical decorative relics, and designs by Jacobsen's credited influences. Right: A SLJ tablescape (photo by William Jess Laird).

In a recent interview with Coveteur for their "Anatomy of a Nook" series, Jacobsen described her interior design style as “eclectic, slow, layered, and textured” – an ethos that naturally extends to her product designs. Her collections balance understated elegance with subtle ornateness, sophisticated forms with playful proportions, and precision with hand-crafted irregularities. Soft pastels, translucent glass tones, and muted metallics dominate her palette, creating objects that feel simultaneously contemporary and timeless.

What sets Jacobsen apart is her ability to bridge eras. Her designs nod to historical forms – from Venetian glass techniques to mid-century silhouettes – while reinterpreting them with modern scale, proportion, and lightness. The result is a collection that feels both nostalgic and forward-looking, encouraging owners to slow down, notice details, and integrate beauty into everyday life.

Left: the Borosilicate Angel Flute, Cosmo Coupe, and Trumpet Aperitif glasses (photo by Pauline Chardin). Right: the Borosilicate Coco Cups.

Sophie Lou Jacobsen works closely with New York–based master glassblowers throughout every stage of her design process, an ongoing collaboration that is especially central to her collectible and lighting pieces. This hands-on approach allows her to develop each form in conversation with the material itself, refining proportions, color, and balance through attentive iteration. Over time, the process has given Jacobsen a deep fluency in working with delicate glass mediums as well as metal and silver, materials that demand both technical precision and restraint.

Her borosilicate tabletop glassware is a clear expression of this sensitivity. Many of the forms reference familiar silhouettes – Parisian bistro glasses, antique vessels, floral curves, and historic decorative objects – yet they are reinterpreted with a lightness and clarity that feels distinctly modern. The result is work that sits comfortably between past and present, decorative and functional, playful and exacting. Even at its most sculptural, each object remains grounded in use, designed to live naturally within daily routines.

The breadth and refinement of Jacobsen’s collections have established her as one of the most closely watched voices in contemporary functional design. Her work has been widely recognized by leading design publications and institutions, including The Wall Street Journal, Wallpaper*, Architectural Digest, Vogue, and Elle Decor. She has received multiple Wallpaper* Design Awards between 2019 and 2025, and was honored with a GQ Home Award in both 2022 and 2024, further cementing her reputation for bringing a fresh perspective to objects for the home.

Alongside her studio practice, Jacobsen frequently collaborates with a select group of artists, designers, and creative studios, extending her visual language into new contexts while maintaining the same attention to detail and material integrity. Past collaborations have included projects with In Common With, SERIOUSANDLY, La Romaine Editions, Object & Thing, de Gournay, Quarters, Brian Roettinger, Field Studies Flora, and others, partnerships that reflect her interest in dialogue, craft, and the shared process of creating. Across these projects, the throughline remains consistent: objects created with care, meant to be lived with, handled often, and appreciated over time.

A stack of Small Petal Plates (photo by Marco Galloway) and the Wave Pitchers, all available in multiple colorways.

At fête, we’ve found ourselves returning to Sophie Lou Jacobsen’s pieces again and again, not just for their beauty, but for the way they seem to invite use. Our team has their own favorites: Anna loves to host with the Cosmo Coupes when mixing cocktails for friends, while Kim has been using the Small Petal Plates constantly since starting her at-home gardening practice, serving her first fresh salads on these softly scalloped vessels. Lately, we’ve also been reaching for the bestselling Wave Pitcher, especially with spring gatherings in mind – the soft, pastel colorway options feel right at home on outdoor tablescapes, whether filled with water, wine, or freshly cut stems. These are the kinds of objects that naturally find their way onto the table, again and again, becoming part of the moments when people come together. It’s exactly why Jacobsen’s work feels so at home on fête, and why we return to her collections whenever we think about the pieces that make people want to stay for one more drink.

Enjoy,

Team fête