WHERE THE VISION BEGAN
Elysian Collective was born out of a desire to build connections with people, community, and artist partners. Visionaries and co-founders, Jamie and Michael, dreamt of Elysian Collective, and brought their brand to life to showcase discoveries to their audience at home from their extensive traveling. The two Interior Designers instantly developed a bond when they met over a decade ago while working in New York City. A connection deepened over their mutual love of hospitality, their impeccable design sense, and a strong desire to explore the world. Over the years, their journey as friends found them traveling together to places rich in tradition, craft, and design, including Turkey, Mexico, and Japan, where the two were energized and fascinated with the vast depth of talent to explore in each place. The seeds were being planted for Elysian Collective as they uncovered more and more discoveries, and inevitably led them to begin conversations of teaming up, which magically began while strolling through the Bamboo Forest in Kyoto, Japan.
MEET THE FOUNDERS
JAMIE WILLIAMS, Co-founder and President
With over a decade of industry experience combined with her natural eye for design, Williams seeks to always challenge perceptions. She focuses on creating environments and spaces that are not only beautiful and polished but are rich sensory experiences. Whether it’s through the unusual way materials are combined, how colors, pattern, and textures are juxtaposed, or the distinct mood they evoke. It all culminates into a sense of discovery for the details and stories that connect us to our surroundings, which is the basis of her design approach.
Williams graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Retail Merchandising and a special focus on Textiles & Apparel. Through an experience working in store design at Neiman Marcus, she explored her passion for design, which immediately led her to move to the design capital of New York City to complete a degree in Interior Design at The Fashion Institute of Technology.
Williams embarked on her career in luxury hospitality design, working at top firms with projects around the world, including the Rosewood London hotel and Wolfgang Puck’s CUT in Dubai and Spago Singapore restaurants while with Tonychi and Associates. During her time as Senior Interior Designer with Tara Bernerd in London, Williams led the design for the Belmond Hotel in Maroma, Mexico, and collaborated closely with local artists and craftspeople in Guadalajara. This unique opportunity deepened her appreciation for regional materials and the ancestral techniques that have been passed down in families for generations, and sparked her desire to pursue building Elysian Collective.
"Design is far more than our physical surroundings; it is the thread that connects us to people, communities, nature, and the world at large."
Today, Williams aims to highlight these traditions by collaborating with talented makers and bringing new narrative focus to their creations. As a creative entrepreneur and the President of Elysian Collective, Williams is dedicated to the ethical treatment of artists and hopes to provide a platform which supports their work and livelihood. She believes that the objects we select for our spaces not only enrich our lives, but also those of the makers.
MICHAEL BROWN, Co-founder and Head Of Brand Experience
Michael Brown is driven by the experience between people and their environments. With an unerring eye for details beneath the surface, she possesses an innate sensibility for design that feels at once elevated and deeply meaningful.
Brown began her career in luxury hospitality design at Wilson Associates. She graduated from Louisiana State University’s CIDA-accredited interior design program, and moved to New York City upon graduation. Her time at the firm proved invaluable, where she built a dynamic portfolio of work focused on hotels, restaurants, lifestyle, and branding projects. Her experience with the hospitality industry's most notable flags and boutique hotels is inspired through a creative process focused on the tailored design and delivery of luxury products. Working on-site for projects in Asia and the Middle East instilled an appreciation for the precision and production involved beyond her concepts for spaces and products. She has added many tools to her arsenal since through travel, art, food & beverage design and branding.
“I believe in a hands-on approach, and find joy in the hunt: for the elements to come together to tell the most perfect story. I also love to interact with people, listen, and learn from them."
Brown went on to lead high-profile projects as Senior Interior Designer at several top firms, including Gensler, Studio 11, and HKS in Dallas, Texas. From there, she further developed a keen spatial sensitivity centered on elegant spaces tailored to guest experiences.
In her 15 years in the hospitality design industry, Brown has always tapped into her empathetic nature to develop strong connections between people and her work. As Co-founder and Head of Brand Experience at Elysian Collective, she brings the same intuitive focus to building meaningful collaborations with new artists and makers, uncovering truly unique objects, and elaborating on the rich stories behind our ever-evolving offerings.
Jamie and Michael remain constantly on the hunt for intriguing ideas that are of the utmost quality and craftsmanship. The relationships that our team builds with our partners at Elysian Collective are at the core of our vision. They are looking to collaborate with innovative artists and designers, respecting the past throughout the process, who share our same values.
If you are interested in collaboration or design services, reach out to Jamie and Michael, they'd love to hear from you! Contact our team at design@elysian-collective.com
