This week, at the conclusion of a whirlwind Summit in Mexico City, the DLN presented its annual Design Leadership Award to Jamie Drake. His selection was swiftly and unanimously approved by the DLN Board: Over four decades in the design world, Jamie has not only built a legacy as one of the country’s most talented decorators (and preservationists), but has earned a reputation as a trusted confidant, mentor, advisor, and dear friend.
“He’s a walking encyclopedia of design,” says Jamie’s frequent collaborator and longtime friend, Janice Parker. “There really isn’t a furnishing, a fabric, a piece of art, sculpture, antiques, history that he doesn’t know. And he has this incredible ability to cycle through everything to see how things will work together and also to understand the people that he is designing for.”
With a place on the ELLE Decor A-List and the AD100 Hall of Fame, his fingerprints on New York’s iconic Gracie Mansion, and “a shelf full of awards,” as his partner, Caleb Anderson, quips, it’s no secret that Jamie has a place in the design history books. But talk to anyone who knows him well, and the first word out of their mouth to describe this bastion of style is almost always “kind.”
“Jamie is one of the most talented people I know, but more importantly, he’s kind,” effuses former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, a client and friend of Jamie’s for over three decades.
That’s a characterization echoed by Corey Damen Jenkins, a more recent — though equally adoring — friend. “When I was asked, who do you want to write the foreword for Design Remix, he was the first person that came to mind because I think deep down, I just really want to pattern my own career after his, not just as far as being successful, but also being kind,” says Corey, whose debut book did, indeed, feature a foreword by Jamie.
“He’s always been one of the first people upfront to say ‘I want to support you,’ and I really appreciate that about him,” says AD Editor-in-Chief Amy Astley. “It shows real leadership and sets the tone for others.”
In his own life, Jamie sits on the board of no fewer than five nonprofits: The New York Community Trust, Parsons School of Interior Design, the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club, Alpha Workshops, and the Historic House Trust of New York City. At our Design Leadership Dinner, he announced that he has accepted an invitation to serve as President of the Board of the New York Community Trust, a position in which he will no doubt excel.
For Jamie, philanthropy goes much deeper than writing a check — or even encouraging others to write checks: “He studies and really pays close attention to all the grants that we make,” says Amy Freitag, President of the New York Community Trust. “He really honors our grant makers by giving that care of attention to the work that we do, asks all the right questions, but ultimately, I think serves as one of our favorite board members who really takes time to really understand the work as systemic, as long lasting, that really the difference between charity and philanthropy that we really seek to make long-term sustainable change.”
“Jamie and I have had the honor of working on behalf of the Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club, as chairs of the President’s Dinner,” recalls Corey. “Jamie and Bunny [Williams] have carried the torch for a very long time. I’m the newbie, and he’s been so accommodating in answering all of my questions: How do these funds work and how does this happen and what’s involved with this process? And I think it’s just a small example of the depth of commitment that Jamie has to people in need.”
As a leader, Jamie has served as mentor to many — most notably, of course, his now partner, Caleb, who initially joined Jamie’s firm as an intern.
“I thought it was interesting a few years ago when he expanded from being kind of a one-man band to including Caleb in the name of his firm as his partner,” says Amy Astley. “It’s forward-thinking to think about a young person’s potential and to support them that way.”
“Jamie’s someone who is always thinking of the future and has always been willing to make an investment of his time and himself,” says Caleb. “It is an important thing to do when you’re at this level. And I think it’s so meaningful for people who are able to have that type of experience; it’s something that they take with them for most of their career.”
To Jamie, it’s a way of living. In accepting the DLA award in the glittering ballroom of Mexico City’s Casino Español, he relayed: “Taped to my mirror is a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson that I read every morning: ‘To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived, this is to have succeeded.’”
Jamie, you have succeeded.