WOMEN WHO INSPIRE: JENN GRACIE OF GRACIE STUDIOS

Jenn Gracie oversees the day to day operations of Gracie Studios as the Creative Director. Jenn and her brother Mike carry on the legacy of their great grandfather Charles R. Gracie, who founded Gracie Studios in 1898. Four generations later (her son Zach has joined the business) it’s as important today as it was over 120 years ago to continue the tradition of producing exquisite custom hand painted wallpaper along with selling Chinese and Japanese antiques and lacquer furniture. Tradition and family history are celebrated through Gracie Studio and for this, I find Jenn to be an inspiration!

Social Media, specifically Instagram, has been such an amazing tool for the design community offering a larger outreach to a new audience of design lovers. I’ve also found it a nice way to “meet” fellow design professionals all across the country and world. I’d like to introduce you to one such colleague who has turned into a dear friend, Jenn Gracie. I was “introduced” to Jenn via Instagram through a mutual friend. We started communicating through direct messages and the rest is history. I made a special trip to the D&D Building to meet Jenn and her brother Mike in person when I traveled to NYC for a design conference. Who knew so much talking could be done in such little time?!! We certainly did and it was as if we had known each other for years. Fast Forward 2 years and Jenn is now married and living in California running the Gracie Studio Showroom in the La Cienega design district. I can’t wait to visit her out there!

Q & A with Jenn Gracie

Kristen: What’s unique about the product/service you provide? 

Jenn: Everything about our hand painted wallpapers is unique! I love the infinite level of customization we can provide, and it is wonderful to work with clients to make sure they love every element of the design. As long as we are hand painting every panel of wallpaper, why should any one room be the same as another? From color to scale to design elements, the only limit is the client’s imagination. 

Kristen: If you had to start over from scratch, knowing what you know now, what would you do differently? 

Jenn: I would learn to delegate more. It’s a talent I have never perfected.

Kristen: What’s the most important business or other discovery you’ve made in the past year?

Jenn: Zoom. :) What would any of us have done without ways to stay connected in this crazy year?! 

Kristen: What’s one of the toughest decisions you’ve had to make and how did it impact your life? 

Jenn: When my daughter was born, she was very ill, and doctors could not figure out why. She was getting progressively worse by the day. When she was ten days old, on Friday the 13th, they told me they could try exploratory surgery to attempt to figure out what was wrong, but that she was so weak the surgery was risky. It seemed worth the risk, since it seemed she might not survive the weekend if we did nothing. They were able to figure out what was wrong, and she started to immediately improve. She is a healthy, wonderful 22-year-old now and working in Boston at her first job out of college! 

Kristen: What accomplishment are you most proud of, and why? 

Jenn: Like any Mom, I am just so proud of my son and daughter. They are such different, interesting, funny and talented people. They bring so much happiness to my life and I can’t imagine how much less rich my life would be without them. Also, I have perfected my shortbread cookie recipe. So important. ;) 

Kristen: What is currently the biggest challenge to your success and how are you handling it? 

Jenn: We are so busy, and it’s hard to keep up with demand. People from all over the world contact me daily and it’s impossible to keep up with e-mails. I miss the days of snail mail when people did not expect answers within 5 minutes! I’m still trying to figure out the best way to handle it. I answer as much as possible each day and then try to relax each night. It’s more of a challenge to create a healthy work/life balance now more than ever. Especially since so many of us are working remotely at least part of the time, it can be too tempting to check our phones and e-mail outside of work hours, so I try to put my phone away as soon as my husband and I start getting ready for dinner. 

Kristen: How did mentors influence your life? 

Jenn: I have never had a mentor, but I think my family, kids and dogs have taught me so much about art, culture (I have to credit family and not my dogs for those aspects), kindness, caring, patience, love and adventure. If it’s not too late for me to have a mentor, I am accepting applications. 

Kristen: What’s your favorite way to spend your free time? 

Jenn: My favorite thing to do is scuba dive. There is nothing I have ever experienced like it. It is the most inspiring and peaceful feeling to be under the waves. It’s better than meditating for me. I also love watercolor painting, baking, hiking, fishing and traveling. 

Kristen: What mantra do you live by? 

Jenn: Try to find the humor and beauty in every day. It’s always there.