LSA INTERNATIONAL

This family business makes elegant, inventive glassware, and much more, with a strong focus on traditional craft and sustainability

- Miriam Methuen-Jones

Like so many of the great design houses, LSA International’s origin story is tinged with sadness. Janusz Lubkowski, who would go on to co-found the brand in the 1960s, was just a boy when he, like so many Poles, was displaced during the Second World War. Deported first to Siberia, then moved to Palestine, he finally made it to London with his mother in 1947 when he was 13.

He settled into his new life, growing up through all the changes of the 1950s and 1960s. By the time he met Tony Saunders, his fellow co-founder, he was working as a civil engineer at the architecture practice Building Design Partnership. It was a time of great creative advancement and freedom of expression, and Lubkowski began to feel inspired to move away from his working life.

When Terence Conran opened the first Habitat furniture store in 1964, Lubkowski was not alone in being captivated by its modern homewares. He was particularly drawn to a small selection of enamelware that reminded him of the traditional Polish pots and utensils he’d grown up with. He and his wife Ewa took a suitcase of samples to show Conran; the latter was immediately enamoured and quickly placed an order. With that, LSA International (Lubkowski Saunders & Associates) was born.