Coil + Drift creates furniture and lighting grounded in human connection.

Our Values

  • Honesty

    Understand and communicate our truth. Express whoever we are today and want to be tomorrow. Take the time to know what this is.

  • Order

    Provide a structure so that energy can flow through a space and so that tasks can flow from beginning to completion. Be clear and organized with space and personality.

  • Exploration

    Throw ourselves into otherness and the unknown just to see what happens. Be aware of what happens. Don't shy away from the unknown out of fear.

  • Gathering

    We are better together than apart. We can help each other and we can make each other laugh. We can accomplish, we can affirm.

  • Intuition

    Gauge our perspectives before judgments step in. Allow space for the unexpected. Do a quick scan of our spine and then decide.

  • Nature

    Keep our feet grounded in the earth. Honor the land. Connect with animals as often as we can.

our studio

Coil + Drift creates objects that are vividly three-dimensional and material forward.  They won the coveted ICFF Editors’ Award for Best New Designer when they debuted their first collection in 2016.  They were included on Sight Unseen’s 2018 American Design Hot List.

In 2022 Coil + Drift opened their their new 3,000 square foot studio in the majestic Catskill Mountains. Located 2 hours north of New York City, the space includes an office, showroom, and state of the art production facility. All of Coil + Drift’s lighting fixtures are now produced in the studio by their in-house production team.

Coil + Drift is proudly queer owned and operated.

John Sorensen-Jolink

Designer / Owner

John has been exploring creativity and use of space since he was young, studying everything from the violin to photography and eventually dance, for which he received his undergraduate degree at the conservatory at New York University's Tisch School (BFA, summa cum laude).  He went on to work extensively as a contemporary dancer and choreographer, performing with choreographers and directors such as Robert Wilson, Lucinda Childs, Doug Elkins, and Twyla Tharp. 

John began designing physical objects while honing his woodworking skills with the brilliant craftspeople at Makeville Studios in Brooklyn, NY.  He created Coil + Drift in 2016 in an effort bring together and distill his creative practices, focusing on creating tangible objects. In 2017, John was featured in a documentary short with Mercedes-Benz for NBC Out that beautifully captures his creative practice.

Miranda Wagner

Head of Fabrication

When she joined Coil + Drift, Miranda had 5 years of fabrication experience in art and design with a focus on metal, textiles, and digital modeling. She received her undergraduate degree in Sculpture + Extended Media from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2017. In and out of the studio, Miranda's multidisciplinary practice draws inspiration from naturalists, feminists and storytellers. She is an advocate for a free and independent press, and in her spare time works with a local youth-led newspaper. As a life-long student of craft she is forever searching for the balance between form and function.

Haley Birt

Associate Fabricator + Packager

Prior to moving to the Catskills from Rhode Island in early 2022, Haley had been a long time employee at REI where she gained extensive expertise in the instruction and use of outdoor recreational gear. She spent a significant amount of time improving the practices of their shipping department, and now she is using similar creative strategies to lead the packaging department at Coil + Drift. Outside of the studio she wears many hats. She is a professional photographer, a certified mobility specialist, a naturalist, and a lifelong curiosity chaser. In her spare time, Haley can often be found researching her latest interest or wandering the woods with her camera.