Today we’d like to introduce you to Arielle Assouline-Lichten.
Hi Arielle, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
For as long as I can remember, I have been someone who loves to create. As a kid, I would sit for hours, immersed in my room, working on projects and figuring out how to transform my ideas into tangible realities. Later, as I embarked on shaping my career, it was only natural that I gravitated toward the design arts.
I obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Critical Theory and Visual Media from New York University, followed by a Master of Architecture from Harvard University. After completing my education, I ventured into the professional realm, working with internationally acclaimed firms such as BIG, Kengo Kuma & Associates, and Snøhetta. These experiences took me to various cities around the world, from Copenhagen to Paris, Tokyo and New York, broadening my horizons and enriching my understanding of design.
After doing design services in architecture and design for a few years, I began to feel stuck. The client-driven nature of the work left me yearning for a more personal connection to my creativity. Seeking a medium that would enable me to better express my artistic identity, I turned to furniture design. At the furniture scale, I felt I could really convey my own unique voice and vision. The process of crafting my initial pieces and seeing them come to life really brought me immense satisfaction and fulfillment.
In 2016, I founded my design studio, Slash Objects. This incredibly rewarding endeavor has allowed me to delve deeper into the realm of design as I continue to explore the intricate relationship between material and form.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I don’t think navigating a creative field is ever an easy thing. The world often presents obstacles that push against you, and you really need a lot of resolves to keep pushing back again and again. I’ve learned every lesson the hard way, and I’m sure I’ll continue to do so. As an entrepreneur, I understand that growth stems from embracing these challenges and continually learning from them. While setbacks may not always be easy to accept, I recognize their transformative potential.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Through my design studio Slash Objects, I create high-end products and furniture using recycled and long-lasting materials. My work is really rooted in a fascination with materials and how they are brought together. My designs are handmade in New York using the highest quality materials and I work with expert local fabricators to bring them to life. I really aim to create objects that can be disassembled, repaired and restored, ensuring their longevity for future generations to enjoy—the materials I carefully select are enduring and age with grace.
My artistic vision really extends beyond mere aesthetics—I’m passionate about design as a way to transform the human experience of the world. Through tactile stories, I strive to redefine our perception of resources and create a sense of intrigue in our material world. Each of my pieces calls into question the production of goods through a minimalist approach that exposes the tension between the natural world and man-made processes.
My new collection, “Unbroken” centers around transience, ephemerality, and the acceptance of imperfection. Fractured pieces of marble and onyx are transformed into furniture and lighting that plays on the acceptance of imperfection. Using found pieces of stone slabs, I devised a system to design around each of the materials’ constraints in order to produce a new reality. Using custom hardware in aluminum to bind elements, stone is utilized in a way to highlight existing fractures. In refusing to erase these edges, the work maintains a trace of its past and reminds the viewer that materials transcend time and experiences.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I have always been driven by a desire to create and bring my ideas to life. As a kid, I was always immersed in creative projects—I was captivated by the process of cutting, rearranging, and configuring elements. I was quite shy but also very independent. I insisted on dressing myself from a young age and could be really stubborn about what I would wear. It was always so important to me to be able to express myself freely.
I grew up in Philadelphia because my parents moved there in the 1970s kind of on a whim—my mother was born in Denmark and my father is French Moroccan; they met in Switzerland and had planned to take a road trip across the US, but never made it out West. Philadelphia became our home base, but we would explore other countries and cultures as often as possible. I think more than anything, it was this early exposure to travel that shaped me.
Contact Info:
- Website: slashobjects.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slashobjects/?hl=en
Image Credits
Zack DeZon Cody Guilfoyle
