A COLLABORATION OF MIDWEST PROPORATIONS
A look behind the curtain at Prospect Refuge Studio x Hennepin Made's interactive new collection.
Editor: Mathew W Swenson
Photography: Caylon Hackwith
“A light doesn’t just come out of the box and go up on the wall and then it’s done. You’ve got to wrestle with it a little bit,” says Sass. Arrange and rearrange the cords, move the glass forms around, interact with the fixture, change it.”
When two Minneapolis creative powerhouses—Jackson Schwartz of HENNEPIN MADE and Victoria Sass, founder of Prospect Refuge —join forces, you can expect something extraordinary. Their latest project, the ONTOLOGIA lighting collection, doesn’t just catch your eye; it sparks conversation.
The handblown glass globes, suspended in sculptural arrangements of cords, metal, and mahogany spheres, immediately draw attention. But the real magic of this collaboration lies beyond aesthetics. For Sass, this isn’t just about creating beautiful lighting; it’s about fostering a relationship between people and the spaces they inhabit. Her first venture into lighting design aimed to evoke a deeper connection, where each piece of the Ontologia series forms a two-way dialogue with its environment and the people who live within it.Thanks to Hennepin Mades craftsmanship, the collection brings Sass's vision to life. Each light has its own personality, mood, and story to tell—transforming them into more than functional objects, but into art pieces that engage, interact, and evolve with their surroundings.
Sass believes that it’s the pieces that challenge us and evoke the “full spectrum” of emotions that truly stand the test of time. By fostering an emotional connection to objects, she aims to discourage disposability.