The Studio
Founded in New York, Rosie Li Studio is a design studio and boutique lighting manufacturer formed by designer Rosie Li and engineer Philip Watkins. Together they lead a team of 8.
The studio forgoes traditional lamp design for building systems driven by science and mathematics, constructing fixtures with natural and pared-down forms.
Signature leaf diffusers are fabricated in-house by studio artisans and fixtures are assembled in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Assembly parts are sourced locally and globally from small-batch vendors vetted for quality.
Rosie Li fixtures are placed in private residences, commercial spaces and
high-end hospitality interiors in the US and internationally.
Each piece is made to order.
Rosie Li
Rosie Li is a Chinese-American artist and designer of sculptural lighting and objects. She launched her inaugural Stella Triangle, an Op-Art inspired infinity mirror sconce, with furniture manufacturer Roll & Hill in 2013. Informed by developing designs for mass production, Li opened her atelier in 2015 to focus on iterative lighting series and private commissions.
Li’s on-going series explore underlying links between nature, mathematics and geometry. Expressed through simple geometric modules, her work seeks to quantify natural phenomena by combining and recombining repeated organic forms.
Rosie Li has a BFA in Industrial Design, graduating in 2011 from RISD Furniture Design. She received AD Architectural Digest & MONOQI Design Award in 2014, placement in Sight Unseen The American Design Hot List in 2018, and Maison&Objet’s Rising Talent Award in 2019.
Philip Watkins
A fourth-generation engineer, Philip Watkins
graduated in 2003 with a BS in Mechanical
Engineering from Northeastern University.
After completing Work Study Co-ops ranging MIT Lincoln Lab to lighting artist Jerry Simon, Watkins applied his optic and lens experience to the Brooklyn decorative lighting industry.
With 18 years of experience, from traditional lighting manufacturer Remains Lighting and contemporary furniture manufacturer Roll & Hill, Watkins brings a nuanced approach to balancing industrial process with old-world artisanship.
Photography credit goes to: Black & Steil, Ryan Dausch, Pippa Drummond, Zhu Hai, Meredith Kemp, Justin Kim, Rebecca Anderson,
Christopher Stark, Common Studio, Genevieve Garrupo, Brandon Barré, Felix Forest, Daniel Kukla, Marianna Kadlecova, Trevor Tondro, Nat Rea, Bruce Damonte, Agi Simoes, Reto Guntli, John Daniel Powers and Eric Piasecki