Architect Campion Platt & Mirrors Collective
Luxury Custom Mirrors @ 1st Dibs
During the height of the pandemic, work slowed down for Larry Shvets, founder of one of New York’s top glass/mirror fabricators and installers since 2004, who transformed his career from one he loved to one he’s intensely passionate about. He went daily to his empty Brooklyn shop, tinkering with things he could do with what he had, came up with a few unique mirror ideas, and the result was Mirrors Collective: a high-end online custom mirror purveyor. Mirrors Collective’s designs are dictated by the state-of-the-art production technology already existing at its workshop. Shvets came up with the concept in 2019, but the slowdown gave him the time to “crystalize” things, and it launched in January 2021.
So far there are three collections: Wrong Geometries, Bind and Essentials. All of these are designed by Larry and his small team. A new “Collaborations” collection involving Campion Platt will also be available soon on his website at mirrorscollective.com and 1st Dibs.
Media & Designer interest
The new firm has already garnered attention from design media, including Design Milk and Surface Magazine, architects and interior designers have also taken notice. One decorator purchased a piece from the Wrong Geometry collection for the residence of an A-list celebrity whose identity remains a secret. “I don’t even know their name because it was not given to us,” Shvets says, “I just know that the apartment was really high-end, and we had to sign airtight agreements that we wouldn’t take pictures or reveal any information about our product installed.”
Designer Collaborations: Campion Platt
Designer collaborations are in the works at Mirrors Collective. The first is with AD100 designer Campion Platt, who is creating a limited-edition capsule collection exploring sculptural design and reflective surfaces. Utilizing his vast knowledge and passion for luxury aesthetics, Platt aims to design and elevate reflective surfaces that are as much art as they are décor. The Platt pieces, in glimmering sculptural forms, make a bold statement with chunky, geometric shapes. “The Platt Collection marks the beginning of Mirrors Collective’s journey to encourage consumers’ curiosity connected to mirrors, reflective properties and the home,” the designer said in a statement on the project. “The goal is to encourage a shift in the perception of mirrors as simply functional items to beautiful pieces of art, transforming the look, feel and atmosphere of one’s home.” Platt debuted one of the first mirrors “Everglade Safari” to critical acclaim at Iris Dankner’s Holiday House Tabletop Event in Palm Beach, which benefited the Breast Cancer Foundation.
Designer Laurie Sheindlin
Another collaboration is coming this summer with New York-based interior designer Laurie Sheindlin. Laurie first called on Shvets to produce a mirror she designed for a Tribeca residence, “The
Leonard”, and a few weeks later “The Scarsdale” mirror. “She knew what I’m capable of and sent me the design,” he says. The pieces turned out so well, they’ve decided to produce a collection together, which will launch around May.
Goal: Go-to Mirror Producer for Interior Designers
Shvets hopes to establish Mirrors Collective as the go-to source for interior designers, architects, and product designers. “If you need a tool, you think of Home Depot. I would like to have designers think of Mirrors Collective when they need a custom and high-quality decorative mirror. That’s my goal.”
Shapes are important in the glass industry, and the specialized CNC and other machinery at Mirrors Collective, costing over a million dollars, allows Shvets to create shapes in-house, without relying on outside vendors, who are invariably late and always come with problems. “My reputation is quick and best in quality, we can produce mirrors in one or two weeks,” he says. While other companies take seven to ten weeks. “And that’s a big deal because everybody wants everything right away, especially designers.” Mirrors Collective only uses the highest-quality low iron mirrors on the market.
100% Made in Brooklyn, Eco-Friendly
“Everything that we need to produce a mirror we have in-house,” Shvets says. He even designed his own shipping crates. The crates are made of corrugated cardboard and expended polystyrene (EPS), which are both light and recyclable. “We don’t use anything that’s harmful to the environment, as an environmentalist, for me it’s important. We don’t order anything from foreign countries, or use any other suppliers,” he adds, with the exception of Richlite backing, which is made of recycled paper, and therefore also 100% natural eco-friendly material.
Ukraine immigrant; found his calling
In need of a job after immigrating from the Ukraine in 1999, his mother, who had already settled in the U.S., asked around and found him a position at a glass company. He quickly fell in love with the process, and within six months he was the head glazier within the company. “I never thought, of course, that I would do this, ever, and now it’s been 23 years.” By 2004 Shvets founded his own firm, Crystal Glass and Mirror Corporation, in Brooklyn, which makes glass and mirror products for many high-end brands appreciative of his unmatched workmanship. “I take pride in my work; I’m well known for my quality in New York through Crystal Glass. The quality and speed of the work I produce is much higher than any other glass shop in New York.” mirrorscollective.com
