Blog

Back by popular demand, we were excited to once again host one of our favorite annual events, the Jamie Stern Rug Design Contest. From September 1^st to October 1^st, interior designers and architects from all over the United States and Canada were encouraged to create an original design and submit it for the chance to have their work transformed into a beautiful wool area rug by our Rugs & Carpets division. From each of four regions (Northeast, Southeast, Midwest and West), a Grand Prize Winner and two runners-up would be selected by our all-new panel of esteemed judges from the interior design community.

Caroline Kepley is the co-founder and lead designer of Comma, an industrial design firm with a central focus on interior projects. Drawing inspiration from a self-described transient upbringing in which change was the only constant, she places great value on the power of evolving environments and projects with a true sense of freshness.

Reverie for Jamie Stern represents Kepley’s first collection of natural fiber rugs. The three designs – Visage, Celine and Terre – are born out of her love for novelty, a fascination with human connection and a constant search for beauty. Her commitment to crafting distinct experiences, evoking emotions and inspiring connections through design is as present and undeniable in this collection as it is in the rest of her work.

Read our interview with Caroline Kepley below to learn more about her creative process, the inspirations behind the Reverie Collection and the designer herself!

Kenzie Leon Perry is the founder and Creative Director of the Miami-based Ze Haus Design Studio. A native of The Magic City, Perry seeks to create art and designs inspired by its black and Afro-Caribbean culture and historic neighborhoods like Coconut Grove. A lifelong love of nature also informs his work with coconut trees, palms and flowering tropical plants serving as frequent motifs.

Paradiso represents Perry’s first foray into designing a collection of area rugs. While each of the three designs - Mira, Palmetto and Laurel - is bold and distinctive, an emphasis on handmade production techniques, all-natural fibers and an undeniable sense of Miami flair seamlessly ties this singular collection together.

Read our interview with Kenzie Leon Perry below to learn more about his inspirations, creative process and the designer himself!

Located on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin, the Moody Center is a new 15,000+ seat venue that hosts a variety of sports, entertainment and family events. The stadium is home to both the women’s and men’s basketball teams and attracts top acts from every popular genre of music.

Mitra Moshari is the founder and principal of the Brooklyn-based interior design firm, Moshari Studio. Growing up on three continents, the Swiss-born Persian designer developed a love for vibrant, diverse approaches to art, architecture and design.

As we head into 2023, we wanted to take a moment to look back at the past year and all of our exciting endeavors. We were fortunate enough to work on many inspired projects, collaborate with some amazingly talented architects and designers and introduce a great deal of new products that we are truly proud of.

Below are just a few of the highlights from the past twelve months.

2021 was an exciting year for everyone at Jamie Stern Furniture, Carpet & Leather. In many ways, it was our best year ever. We launched a number of incredible new products, collaborated with some wonderfully talented designers on unforgettable collections, and contributed to countless amazing projects in the hospitality, corporate and residential markets.

At Jamie Stern, we strive to facilitate the design process by enabling absolute creative freedom and viewing all of our clients as true collaborators. Whether they are interested in standard or custom products, specifying furniture, carpet or leather or are coming to us with a large or small project, we pride ourselves on working closely with designers and architects to ensure that specifying their design materials is not only seamless and efficient, but also engaging and fun!

On March 12^th, everyone at Jamie Stern Furniture, Carpet & Leather began working remotely due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. On March 13^th, we began brainstorming ways to maintain some semblance of normalcy, continue building relationships with our partners in the interior design community and most importantly, have a little fun!