Web Exclusive: Q&A with Jamie Stern

Hotel Business caught up with Jamie Stern, CEO, Jamie Stern Furniture, Carpet, Leather & Fabric, to talk about the 40th anniversary of his company, the latest hospitality design trends and working with family.

Your company is celebrating its 40th year in business. Why did you first start the company? What are your thoughts on reaching this milestone?

I started my career as a rep for other manufacturers, and I always had an entrepreneurial drive to start my own business. When I began my company, I wanted to do things differently than everyone else—I wanted to be a true design partner to the firms I did business with. Jamie Stern Furniture, Carpet, Leather & Fabric is the culmination of the vision for the company that I put in place decades ago: a multi-product company offering both standard and custom, combined with the finest dedicated sales force in the industry.

I really became intrigued with the manufacturing aspects of my business, and I wanted to create a manufacturing platform for interior designers that was efficient, affordable and would satisfy their creative instincts.

When I started, I kept hearing from everyone, “Don’t start a multi-line rep group at age 22, go work for a company.” Then they said, “Don’t leave the rep group to start furniture”—and then carpet, then leather. As we grew, they said, “Don’t invest in your own sales force, it’s too expensive.” More recently we heard, “Don’t start fabric, the business is too complicated.” We proved the doubters wrong at every turn. It took a while to all come together, but the fact that it has, is so gratifying. The business model is working beautifully.

Over the years you have seen a lot of trends come and go in design. What are some of the hot trends you are seeing now, especially when it comes to the hospitality space?

There are several trends happening as we speak and one if the blending of residential-looking product in hospitality settings. The look demands durability and function.

The other trend is sustainability, which is a passion of mine. There is a tremendous amount of greenwashing going on in the industry, but natural fiber rugs, leather and natural fiber textiles are as sustainable as you can get, and we naturally fall into that space. We’re not perfect as we do offer some synthetic textiles—the go-to for the hospitality market—but natural, durable, cleanable and sustainable fibers remain our passion.

Overall, the trend we are noticing is not as much about what designers are specifying, but why. Designers are prioritizing sustainable materials with a luxe feel and they don’t want to sacrifice style for substance. Furniture and furnishings need to look beautiful and perform well—it’s not either/or anymore. We have always sourced responsibly for leathers and carpet fibers. For example, our Verona Leather collection is created of large, fully biodegradable European hides that are a biproduct of the beef industry. With our most recent introductions, including the Material Matters textile collection, we’re telling the story of why we source the way we do: because choosing natural fibers creates a better-performing, longer-lasting product that also looks beautiful. We all understand that our design choices resonate beyond the projects at hand, and we’re noticing that designers are increasingly prioritizing this combination of beautiful-meets-responsible.

Material Matters textile collection

How do you track what the next trend will be?

Rather than tracking trends or trying to predict what our clients will like, we work closely with them to create solutions to their design challenges—and when we notice that several designers are facing similar dilemmas, we identify how to rise to shared challenges. Sometimes when a designer’s vision seems to match an industry-wide need, we work with them to create signature collections. For example, we recently launched The Infinity Collection by Rachel H. Grochowski, a long-time client and founder of RHG Architecture + Design in New Jersey.

The Infinity Collection by Rachel H. Grochowski

We also hold annual Rug Design and Furniture Design contests, which give designers opportunities to bring their dream products to life. The designs they submit give us a great idea of what is popular around the country. And, since the contests are open to anyone, they also give us a great idea of what younger designers as well as established firms are looking for. The contests are a great way to identify new talent and start long-lasting business relationships. Sometimes we go on to collaborate with winning designers on signature collections—which was the case with the Paradiso Collection, which we created with Kenzie Leon Perry, the founder/creative director of Miami-based Ze House Design.

We recently opened a new, collaborative design space in our New York showroom, which serves as an idea incubator where we work closely with designers to create product specific to their projects. We can’t predict where the next great design idea or trend will come from, but we can say with confidence that we will be there to help designers bring their visions to life.

You established Jamie Stern Fabrics in 2022. Why did you add that area to your company offerings?

We’ve both spent our entire career with textiles and that is how we started out way back when. Of course, it made sense to add textiles to our product line as a perfect synergism to our furniture company. Designing the textile line has been really gratifying as it returns us to our roots.

Beginning with a soft launch in 2020, The Jamie Stern Fabric division has grown to more than 400 SKUs ranging from performance fabrics to more decorative fabrics that emphasize the use of natural, sustainable fibers. Each fabric is appropriate for hospitality, corporate and residential projects.

My wife Jeannene Doub is the head of the Fabric Division. After a lifetime involved in textiles and design, she decided the timing was perfect to introduce fabric to the Jamie Stern package. We used the isolation of the pandemic to design and curate our initial introduction of the fabric division, which we have refined as the division has grown. To meet our standards, every textile has to be both beautiful and usable.

The expansion of the division is an exciting strategic opportunity to enhance Jamie Stern Furniture, Carpet, Leather & Fabric’s signature role as a creative partner to interior designers, to bring unparalleled options for upholstery to market and further expand designers’ choices for uniquely designed products. Designers can partner with us to create one-of-a-kind pieces, from frame to fabric to fabrication, for contract, hospitality and residential projects.

After having worked with a number of established fabric companies throughout her career, Jeannene is excited to be able to contribute from the ground up in creating a fabric source that’s synergistic with our other divisions. Because this division started with a blank canvas, we’re energized by the endless possibilities of color, weave and pattern.

Your daughter Hayley is the COO of the company. How does it feel to have the next generation be a part of the company? What perspective does she bring?

The best part is working together and sharing the day and the enthusiasm of growing the company. It’s not perfect, but we have been doing it for 10 years with very little conflict. It is a labor of love literally.

As we look ahead to the company’s next four decades, our primary focus is to ensure a successful transition and set the stage for another 40 years of success. Though she grew up in the company, Hayley brings a fresh perspective, a collaborative attitude and a healthy mix of friendly competition and teamwork. Our combined passion and energy for the business makes it incredibly motivating and fulfilling to see the company evolve. When working within a family business Hayley often jokes that it is not for the weak—it requires a ton of patience, flexibility, and finding just the right method of conflict resolution.

I’m so proud to work with every member of our family to inspire, lead and grow Jamie Stern Furniture, Fabric, Carpet and Leather for the next generation of our family, and for the next generation of designers.