Light + Ladder is a design studio creating thoughtfully made ceramic vessels and objects for the home. We believe in surrounding one’s environment with objects and materials that carry resonance. Our work is made with intention, from the design process to the materials and the craftspeople who bring it to life. Rooted in a philosophy of “own less, own well,” the brand focuses on small-batch, handmade pieces made in the US. Light + Ladder creates handmade sculptural ceramic vases, planters, and home accessories made in brass, wood, and concrete.
We aim to bring a connection to the natural world into everyday living. Learn more about our studio.
Our porcelain and stoneware ceramics feature precise architectural lines that trace soft curves, resulting in distinctive sculptural forms for functional everyday vessels. Designed with intentional, timeless aesthetics. Unlike mass-produced ceramics, our pieces are made in small batches by skilled craftspeople, resulting in handcrafted warmth.
Learn more about our process, or shop all pieces.
Light + Ladder is rooted in conscious consumerism: choosing fewer, higher-quality objects that are made ethically, designed to last, and bring genuine joy to daily life. Rather than accumulating many disposable items, we believe in investing in beautiful, functional pieces made by skilled craftspeople that will remain in your home for years to come.
Read more about our founder and philosophy.
The timeless quality of our sculptural, minimalist ceramics complements modern, contemporary, Scandinavian, Japanese-inspired (wabi-sabi), and organic modern interiors. Our versatile color palette and clean lines create an intentional presence and work in a variety of interior design styles, both minimalist and more layered, eclectic environments.
Light + Ladder offers thoughtfully designed, sustainably made gifts for the home. Our handcrafted ceramic objects make ideal design gifts for housewarmings, weddings, anniversaries, and anyone who appreciates modern, well-made home decor. Each piece balances functional usefulness with sculptural beauty, making it a meaningful and lasting gift.
Shop all pieces to find the right one.
Light + Ladder is always open to thoughtful wholesale opportunities, partnerships, and collaborations that inspire an expanded audience aligned with our design ethos.
For wholesale inquiries, retail partnerships, press, or collaborative projects, please reach out through our contact page with your proposal, and our team will follow up about possible partnership opportunities. We look forward to connecting with you.
You can also learn more about past and ongoing collaborations. We look forward to connecting with you.
Our design studio is based in Brooklyn, New York and open for visits by appointment only. We encourage you to support the boutiques, lifestyle shops, showrooms located around the country that physically carry Light + Ladder. We have annual pop-ups and sample sales which are announced via our email list that you can sign up for here.
Find a retailer near you on our stockists page.
Our pieces have been featured in Vogue, Dwell, Surface Magazine, and T Magazine. We’re proud to be sold at Design Within Reach, Cooper Hewitt, Saks Fifth Avenue, Esqueleto, Food52, and Revolve. These partnerships reflect our commitment to making artistic, ethical design widely accessible.
Read more in our journal, or visit our stockists page to find us near you.
Farrah Sit is the founder and designer behind Light + Ladder. After studying Industrial Design at RISD and working at Calvin Klein Home, she left the corporate world to create handmade, ethical design as a conscious alternative to disposable consumerism.
In 2011, she created the Spora planter, the first Light + Ladder piece, out of necessity for her plant-filled Brooklyn apartment.
She continues to design for Light + Ladder while also creating high-end lighting and furniture under her eponymous line, Farrah Sit, a line that resonates with Light + Ladder through materiality and form.
Learn more about Farrah and the founding story.
Our products are handmade in several carefully selected locations around the US, chosen for their commitment to quality craftsmanship and sustainability.
Our main ceramic facility in Vermont is led by a fellow RISD graduate.
Our wood hooks come from a 100+ year old company in Maine.
Cast stone items are made in New York City.
Our sculptural plant stand is made in New York City.
Learn more about our process and the people behind our work.
Sustainability is central to our mission and is considered at every stage of the product life cycle.
Our Vermont studio uses 100% carbon-free energy and custom-mixes clay in-house to reduce shipping.
Any excess clay is recycled in the studio, minimizing waste.
Our focus on timeless design and high-quality materials means our pieces are made to last for years, countering disposable consumerism.
Read more about our ethos and commitment to conscious design.
Our vases range from small accent pieces, approximately 4 to 6 inches tall, such as our Cova and Rhea vases, to large statement vessels such as the Kala Large, up to 14 to 16 inches tall.
Each product listing includes specific dimensions in both inches and centimeters, including height, width, and opening diameter.
Feel free to contact us for recommendations for vessels to complement your intended space and floral arrangements.
Our planters are available in multiple sizes to accommodate different plant types.
Our standard Vayu planter accommodates a 4 to 6 inch houseplant.
Our Large Vayu floor planter has a 9 inch opening and can support a variety of larger plants such as monstera, fig trees, and small citrus trees.
The XL Vayu planter supports large trees such as olive trees.
Each planter listing includes interior and exterior dimensions.
Refer to the opening diameter to help you select the right size for your plant.
Feel free to contact us for recommendations to complement your intended space and plant selection.
Consider the type of arrangements and foliage you aesthetically prefer.
The Cova and Rhea are favorites among florists, as they hold beautifully large and full bouquets.
Slender vases such as Kala and Tava create dramatic vertical statements for taller arrangements and branches.
Echo and Lekythos bud vases create minimalist drama for a single stem.
Wider opening and rounder vases such as Vaso and Amphora visually support fuller bouquets.
We also encourage exploring our vase collection not only based on function but also with style in mind, as our vases are designed to stand alone as sculptural objects with or without foliage.
We offer several light and white tones to complement different aesthetics.
Snow, our porcelain white, has subtle ivory undertones that create a soft, warm presence, perfect for contemporary and modern interiors.
Salt, used in our Cubic collection, is an optic white that appears brighter and crisper.
Our photography is stylized, and lighting conditions in your home will influence how each color appears.
Sand is a warm beige tone with quiet versatility, working especially well in eclectic, bohemian, or darker interiors.
Designed to layer and be collected over time.
For a curated look, vary scale and shapes while mixing and matching tonal hues.
Generally, groupings that vary in height create the most visually pleasing compositions.
Tried and true combinations include Eris and Rhea, Kala Large and Vaso, Eris and Saturn Bowl, Tava and Kala, and Cubic Amphora and Kylikes Bowl.
Together, these pieces create visual harmony.
We appreciate our customers’ thoughtful approach to selecting the right piece and are happy to offer personalized recommendations.
Whether you have questions about color palette, lighting, existing pieces, or function and style, we’d love to hear from you.
Yes, our vases are fully glazed on the interior and are watertight, making them suitable for fresh flowers and water.
The glazing process ensures no water seepage.
Simply add water and arrange your flowers as you would with any ceramic vase.
Styling your ceramic vase with seasonal flowers creates a natural, intentional look that evolves throughout the year.
Here are popular design-forward pairings.
The Kala Vase and XL Kala Vase pair well with tulips, sweet peas, cosmos, and sculptural branches such as quince or cherry blossoms.
The Rhea Vase suits fuller florals including tulips, zinnias, dahlias, hellebores, and amaryllis.
The Vaso and Eris Vase complement expressive blooms such as ranunculus, poppies, anemones, garden roses, peonies, and dahlias.
In addition to traditional vase styling, we encourage exploring Ikebana, the Japanese art of floral arrangement focused on balance, restraint, and negative space.
Shallow forms such as Kylikes or Echo bowls can be used to support pared-down compositions using fewer stems.
Our vases are designed with a cohesive aesthetic that allows them to be grouped together beautifully. Varying heights, shapes, and tones within the same color family creates visual interest and a curated, intentional composition. Many customers create groupings of 3-5 vases for mantels, shelves, or dining tables.
Our minimalist aesthetic works well in various interior styles—modern, Scandinavian, Japanese-inspired, organic modern, and contemporary spaces. Group multiple vases or planters of varying heights for visual impact, or let a single sculptural piece stand alone as a statement. Our neutral color palette complements both bold and subtle interiors. Consider pairing ceramic pieces with natural materials like wood, linen, and stone for a cohesive, grounded aesthetic.
For more styling inspiration, visit our journal, or browse our vases and planters.
Our planters are available in two styles. Some include drainage holes and some do not. Each product listing clearly indicates whether drainage is included. Both types are designed for successful plant care with the proper approach. For more detail, see our guide on Drainage vs No Drainage.
We recommend two planting methods.
At Light + Ladder, we love to use plants with graceful negative space in order to create visually balanced and sculptural compositions with our planters. Alocasias are a favorite for their elegant form, unique philodendron species are selected for their expressive leaf shape, Cacti for their mineral-toned coloration and structural presence, while Chain of Hearts adds softness through its trailing drape. For a more functional selection, these are also among the best indoor plants for improving air quality, including ZZ plants, snake plants, pothos, rubber plants, and peace lilies. Need help finding the right fit? Visit our guide titled Which Plants Fit My Pot?.
Plant health depends on several factors beyond the planter, including light exposure, watering frequency, humidity, and plant type. For planters without drainage, overwatering is the most common issue. Use the drainage layer method and monitor soil moisture regularly, checking by touch or with a moisture meter, to match the needs of your specific plant. Some plants prefer drier soil, while others require consistent moisture. If your plant needs moist conditions, consider keeping it in a nursery pot with drainage inside the planter, or choose a Light + Ladder planter with a drainage hole. Always research your plant’s light and water requirements to ensure your space is suitable.
Our planters are designed primarily for indoor use. While the ceramic material itself can withstand outdoor conditions, we recommend placing planters in covered, protected areas if used outdoors. Freezing temperatures can cause trapped moisture to freeze and expand, which may crack the ceramic. Rain can lead to excess watering, and strong winds increase the risk of planters tipping over and breaking. For seasonal care tips, see our guide on Caring For Your Pots.
Our wall hooks can typically support 50 plus pounds when properly installed using anchors appropriate for the wall material. The hook’s minimal 1 inch projection reduces leverage at the wall, allowing for a higher load capacity despite its compact profile. Its angled form directs weight back into the wall rather than outward, helping prevent slipping or shifting. Always follow the included installation instructions and use anchors suited to your wall type (drywall, plaster, brick, etc.). Hooks may be installed directly into solid wood without anchors.
For detailed installation guidance, visit our Installing Parallax Hooks guide.
Our core collection is made from a custom-formulated ceramic clay, alongside responsibly sourced wood and cast concrete.
We prioritize earthen materials for their durability, sustainability, and timeless aesthetic.
Learn more about our process.
Our ceramics are offered in a curated palette of whites, clay tones, soft grays, and earth hues, designed to highlight the natural character of the material.
Color is achieved by tinting pigments directly into the clay rather than applying surface finishes, allowing the form and material to take center stage.
Matte brass, wood, and concrete finishes complement the palette, creating a cohesive, understated material language.
Our ceramics are designed to let the material itself remain visible and expressive, celebrating depth and variation.
Colors such as Hematite, Stone, and Blush are created by mixing pigments directly into the clay body rather than applying a surface glaze.
This allows color to exist through the full depth of the clay rather than as a surface treatment.
Subtle tonal shifts may emerge as pigment moves through the liquid clay.
Sand takes this material expression further.
It is custom mixed using varying sediment densities that naturally settle and disperse at different rates, creating organic variations in tone and color.
These nuances are intentional, as the color adds depth and texture to our subtle hues and matte surfaces.
Light + Ladder ceramics are fired to high temperatures, resulting in a dense material well suited for everyday use. Higher firing temperatures reduce porosity, making the pieces stronger and less prone to damage over time. Porcelain, in particular, is made from a finer clay body that becomes exceptionally dense when fired, often to the point of being naturally water-resistant without relying on surface coatings.
If you reflect on ancient artifacts and heirlooms that endure the test of time, many of them are ceramic. Our pieces are designed to last for years with proper care — in line with our ethos of conscious consumption, the care you give an object only increases its longevity.
That said, like any material, ceramics can crack or break if dropped. Handle with intention and they'll reward you with years of use. See our guide on Caring for Your Ceramics.
Each piece is priced to reflect the true cost and variation of time involved in our small-batch production methods by artisans.
The Cubic and Echo collections are hand built one by one.
Each face of a shape within the vase is intricately cut from a slab, slowly dried flat, and assembled together.
This process requires a higher level of skill and significantly more hours.
Our core collection is slip cast from a mold that allows us to replicate these forms in an efficient manner, achieving uniformity in shape and size.
Every piece undergoes careful inspection before shipping.
We check for structural integrity, glaze quality, proper firing, and aesthetic consistency with our design standards.
Things happen in the kiln. It’s inevitable.
The handmade aspect of our production methods leads to aesthetic variations, warping, slumping, smudging, and fissures.
These pieces are not sold at full price and are offered at a discount on our Wabi Sabi listing, where everything is still fully functional for its intended purpose.
Wabi Sabi is the Japanese philosophy of accepting imperfections and making the most of life.
To care for your Light + Ladder ceramics, wash with mild soap and warm water as needed. When cleaning vases, remove all florals and standing water, then wash the interior to clear any residue. For stubborn stains or buildup, soak the piece in hot water with soap before gently scrubbing. The fully glazed interior allows for the use of household cleaning solutions if necessary.
For more detailed care instructions, visit our ceramic care guide.
Please check product listings to see if they are stocked items or custom orders. Please email us if you have a specific deadline or if you have a question about lead times. Most orders ship within 3 to 5 business days. Because many pieces are handmade to order or in small batches, some items may have longer lead times (up to 2 to 3 weeks). Once shipped, delivery typically takes 3 to 7 business days within the continental US. You will be notified via email at every stage of your order’s processing.
Yes, we offer shipping worldwide to all customers. If you have a specific question about your location or are having difficulty placing your order, please contact our customer service team at orders@lightandladder.com.
We want you to love your Light + Ladder pieces. Please refer to our Returns & Exchanges page for detailed information on our return window, conditions, and process. Due to the handmade nature of our products, we carefully inspect each piece before shipping, but we understand that sometimes a piece may not work in your space.
For information about custom colors or sizes please contact us at info@lightandladder.com. We are always inspired by our customers' ideas and recommendations, and welcome all inquiries. We will work explore if your request is possible.
Visit our contact page to send a message or find email addresses specific to your request. Feel free to message the phone number provided for a more immediate response.