Smiley Coffee
Designer | Eve Juskaite at Studio Environmental LLC
Location | New York, New York USA
Launch Date | July 20th, 2025
The space houses Smiley Coffee, a specialty café inspired by the architecture of 19th-century Parisian newspaper kiosks, alongside Smiley 1972, a fashion label reinterpreting classic tailoring and heritage sportswear. Both exist under the same roof—not only physically but philosophically—united by a shared narrative of storytelling, memory, and quiet elegance.
The concept draws inspiration from Franklin Loufrani, the originator of the Smiley, whose personal rituals and archive of photographs, handwritten café orders, and 1970s ephemera helped shape the vision. His European sensibilities—from interiors to music and packaging—influence the experience, from the texture of a glass espresso cup to the presentation of garments and coffee.
Designed by Eve Juskaite at Studio Environmental, the interiors feel both lived-in and carefully composed. Red sapele wood, vintage brass fixtures, and communal seating create a warm atmosphere where coffee, fashion, and design coexist. Details such as Dedar fabric bench cushions, deVOL taps, cracked metro tiles, chartreuse velvet curtains, and vintage French bistro chairs form a layered environment where nostalgia is expressed through materials, objects, and everyday rituals.
The entire space was built primarily from wood—even the countertop, which is unusual for a coffee shop. We wanted the space to evolve over time, allowing the wood to age naturally and make the environment feel even more lived in over the years. Our goal was to create a warm, homey atmosphere that transports visitors to Europe.
Rather than redesigning the space entirely, we chose to work with its existing character by preserving the original tin ceiling, the historic storefront, and the honeycomb floor tiles, simply refreshing them with paint.
The intention was to create an environment that evokes European heritage and the charm of traditional newspaper kiosks, while still honoring the building’s New York origins. To enhance the feeling of a lived-in space, we sourced several vintage pieces, including a cracked Spanish centerpiece vase, a 19th-century glass display for our pastries, and a 1950s valet used to display jackets.
We also paid tribute to European design by installing an Adolf Loos–inspired handle on the storefront entrance. While we did not use any modern light or flag storefront signage fixtures, we carved out smiley and smiley coffee logos from wood, the way it was done for centuries.
The window signage was also hand painted by a local Brooklyn based artist.
