Jennifer Gracie // Behind the Scenes at a Legacy Family Business, Finding Inspiration All Around You, and Embracing an Unpredictable Style

Jennifer Gracie // Behind the Scenes at a Legacy Family Business, Finding Inspiration All Around You, and Embracing an Unpredictable Style

Author: Ariel Okin September 25, 2024 Duration: 40:41

We’re thrilled to kick off Season Three with the fifth-generation creative leader of an incredible 125 year-old family business: Jennifer Gracie. Gracie creates some of the most beautiful and beloved custom hand-painted wallpapers in the world, utilized by many esteemed designers and celebrities around the globe.

Founded in 1928 in New York City, James Gracie originally sold custom lamps and home furnishings, until the 1920s, when the company began to offer Chinese and Japanese furniture, screens, and porcelain. Soon after, Gracie became the first company to import hand painted wallpapers to the United States since the 1700’s. Today, the studio has showrooms in New York, Los Angeles, and Dallas, and several exclusive collaborations with luxury companies such as Aerin, Estee Lauder, Stubbs and Wooton, and more.

Our guest this week is Gracie's Creative Director, Jennifer, who oversees the company’s day-to-day operations, social media, new collections, inspirations for custom projects and more. Alongside her brother and company president, Mike, and Jenn’s son and Sales Director, Zach Shea, they continue to carry out Charles R. Gracie’s legacy and maintain the family’s generations-long commitment to exceptional design. 

“The Art of Gracie”, available now from Rizzoli, is a glorious celebration of America’s most storied hand painted wallpaper company, featuring dozens of rooms by today’s top interior designers.

Follow Gracie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/graciestudio/

Pick up your own copy of “The Art of Gracie” plus learn more about the upcoming book tour: https://graciestudio.com/the-art-of-gracie-book


Behind every beautiful room is a story, and Talk Shop with Ariel Okin: A Fenimore Lane Production uncovers them. Hosted by Ariel Okin, a House Beautiful Next Wave Designer and founder of Fenimore Lane, this podcast moves beyond glossy magazine spreads to explore the real, human elements of design. Ariel, who also writes for publications like Vogue and Architectural Digest, brings her insider’s perspective to conversations with leading interior designers, shopkeepers, and artisans from around the world. Each episode feels like an intimate chat between colleagues, where you’ll hear about the practicalities of running a creative business, the unexpected sources where professionals find inspiration, and the personal journeys that shape a distinctive aesthetic. Rather than just discussing trends, these dialogues get into the nuts and bolts-how a favorite fabric source was discovered, the challenges of launching a brand, or the philosophy behind a curated shop. It’s for anyone curious about the layers of thought and effort that create a lived-in, beautiful space. Listening to this podcast offers a masterclass in taste and entrepreneurship, straight from the voices defining the field today.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 58

Talk Shop with Ariel Okin: A Fenimore Lane Production
Podcast Episodes
Season Three Coming Next Week - Wednesday, September 25th! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06
Join me, Ariel Okin, interior designer, editor and writer, as I kick off season three of my design podcast, Talk Shop. Each week, I welcome the foremost tastemakers from around the globe to chat about how they built thei…