Atelier George is a French design and production studio for glassware and interior design accessories founded in Paris in 2016 by Eve and Laurent George. Laurent George came from a glassblowing background, having mastered his craft over more than 15 years working with top French crystal manufacturers such as Saint Louis and Lalique. Eve George completed first a Bachelor’s degree in Product Design from the Ecole Boulle—graduating in 2012—and then, in 2014, a Master's in Industrial Design at ENSCI les ateliers, both in Paris. The duo first met in 2012 when they began working together at the CIAV, International Center for Glass Arts, in Meisenthal, France. Their first collaborative project was remarkable: Glass Folds was an ambitious and experimental endeavor to create glass vases out of paper origami molds. The results were published in the Corning Museum Annual Glass Review, launching the Georges’ ongoing cooperation. In 2017, after a brief stint in Paris, Atelier George relocated to new premises in Burgundy and expanded its glassblowing specialization.
Atelier George makes hand-crafted glass lighting objects, tableware, accessories, and glass tiles. The artisanal nature of the production process means that each piece is slightly different from the next, adding an organic touch that sets the studio’s work apart. An interplay between transparency and opacity; subtle, fluid color; and refined forms with the occasional hint of ornamentation define the studio’s aesthetic. Pieces like the Globe Pendant ceiling light from the recent Moire Collection embody Atelier George’s sensibility for understated opulence, while the Moire Collection glasses are evidence of the studio’s innovative flair, with their unusual juxtaposition of colored, opaque glass bases with a fluted, transparent glass cup.
Already, Atelier George has garnered critical acclaim for their elegant creations. In 2017, they were named as finalists in the Grand Prix de la Création prize in Paris in the emerging talent, craft category. In 2018, the studio was a finalist in the Concorso internationale di vetro artistico e di design in Milan as well as winning the Concours Jeune Talent AAF prize for crafts in France. Atelier George is committed to reviving and preserving the artisanal glassblowing tradition, working within the philosophy that each individual piece has its own story—which, for Eve and Laurent George, is what defines it as a high end product.
