F5: Jackson Schwartz on the Forest, Clouds, Snowy Branches + More

When Jackson Schwartz was a teenager he watched videos of glassblowing and was transfixed by the process. As he worked with glass he became fully immersed in the craft, responding to the material as it changed. It became a meditative practice for him, and it is one that still resonates today.

After studying abroad for several years, Schwartz returned to his roots and settled in the Midwest where he grew up. He envisioned a studio featuring handcrafted glass lighting, and in 2011 he co-founded Minneapolis-based Hennepin Made with Joe Limpert.

Bald man with a beard, wearing a white jacket over a shirt, holding a transparent spherical object with wires. Jackson Schwartz stands against the dark background intently focused.

Jackson Schwartz \\\ Photo: Graham Tolbert

Here a group of artisans produce a range of fixtures from sconces to chandeliers. No matter which basic elements Schwartz uses to form his latest fixture, he innately understands the unlimited possibilities. “I believe I have a unique ability to take materials and activate their narrative power,” he says. “I get the discards, the leftovers, the rejects, and look at them in a different way to see what they can speak to. That is where the potential is.”

The brand is noted for fixtures that merge artistry with functionality, which Schwartz is exploring even more via an emerging art practice embedded within the Hennepin Made manufacturing facility. Everything is made to order, in a hands-on approach that Schwartz fully embraces.

New products take shape in a collaborative process that sparks unparalleled creativity season after season. “My role is twofold,” Schwartz notes. “First, I make sure that we have the right team members doing what they are truly unique at. The other part of my work is to ideate different concepts, connect them to the source of inspiration, and then communicate that to the design team to turn it into reality. The process is iterative, and there is discovery along the way.”

Today, Jackson Schwartz joins us for Friday Five!

1. In the Forest

This is where I grew up. I picked it because I feel much of the way we are is formed by our childhood. Growing up here I was always outside exploring, adventuring, making up stories, and interacting with the systems of the natural world. I think it informs much of my fascination with facets of materiality: texture, color, depth, pattern, and form.

2. Clouds on Water

I live in an incredibly unique part of the world, and I took this photo at our family cabin. Our geological region is full of water, and I didn’t realize this until moving away to Australia for 5 years and then returning. There is something calming about being on the water, it is my place of renewal.

3. Clouds at Home

This photo is taken from my window at home. I find awe in the clouds. They help me imagine and make me feel like there is a sense of something larger than myself. Clouds are the ultimate vessel of light, there is nothing else that compares.

4. Snow Branches

Around two years ago I started a practice of looking for wonder and awe in my immediate surroundings. This photo was taken within one city block of my house on an early morning after a snowfall. The cold is something many people talk about wanting to escape from and for me it is the wonderful time of beauty, clarity, and focus.

5. Ice and Light

I find ice to be such an interesting form for water to take. This is a scene from a frozen lake with the sun dropping in the horizon behind it. The chunk of ice reminds me of glass and is a point of inspiration for my work.