In Sophie Lou Jacobsen’s Latest Collection, Murano Traditions and a Spirit of Play

It’s been just under a year since French-American designer Sophie Lou Jacobsen released a new collection. Until recently, Tulipa—a collaboration with heritage wallcovering brand de Gournay that featured floral flourishes atop vases, sconces—and Le Verre—borosilicate drinking glasses with an homage to floral forms—were her latest launches. That all changed on a recent summer night in Brooklyn, when Jacobsen toasted Le Verre Bonbon: a candy-striped set of glassware that begs to be reached for when “easy summer drinking” is the directive. Imperfect candy stripes in hues of terracotta, cornflower, and topaz run down subtly wildflower-inspired silhouettes, signaling the designer’s welcome return to color.

On the heels of the launch, Surface spoke with Jacobsen about color, playfulness, and her studio’s evolving perspective through tableware, lighting, and collectibles. 

What did you have in mind while you were making this collection?  

Le Verre Bonbon is an extension of “Le Verre,” a glass we released last fall as part of the Bouquet Collection. In line with Bouquet, Le Verre was designed as an everyday drinking glass, with subtle floral shapes and in the signature ribbed clear borosilicate glass of the Bouquet collection. With Bonbon, we removed the ribbing on the glass and added colorful stripes. This design is a nod to traditional Murano glassware, and adds elegant playfulness to the glass. The stripes also highlight the subtle curves of the glass, while de-emphasizing the floral element which is so prominent in Bouquet.

Can we talk about the color story of the glasses: topaz, terra cotta, cornflower. What was on your mind when formulating those?

We wanted to reincorporate some color into the collection. Color has been such a huge part of the brand since its inception but has been greatly stripped back over the past few years, notably with the Bouquet collection. For Le Verre Bonbon, we wanted these colors to be more subdued than the bright pinks and greens from earlier styles. This is why we chose this earthy palette of opaque colors.

How does their shape relate to new or evolving ways you’re thinking about form in your glassware practice?

The evolution of Bouquet to Le Verre to Le Verre Bonbon is a perfect example of how each new piece in the Sophie Lou Jacobsen world speaks to the last, but moves forward. If you look at the styles from today and compare with our Archive Collection, one might not see any connection at first. However, if you follow the evolution of the brand and timeline of each new piece as it was introduced, there is a clear thruline. This includes the collectibles and lighting. 

At the end of the day, it is a deeply personal project, and the collection has evolved and grown in the same way that I have over the years. Each new style is an exploration of new forms, ideas, references, and periods of time. But my hope is that they all bare a little detail that is singular to the brand’s language, and ties them all together.