Pillows by Adelene Simple Cloth, one of the firms collaborating on projects with Coffey
When the popular design center Williams & Sherrill abruptly closed last year, Creative Director Jamie Coffey was at a loss. He had been with the firm for 25 years, since joining the shop as the fabric manager in his 20s, and he had dedicated his career to helping the business grow. He gave himself three days to grieve before assessing his vocational path. He wrote in his journal: “What do I want?” “What do I need?” and “What am I good at?”
Coffey decided to build a new business for himself, creating XOJ, a mobile interior design showroom. He knew from experience that many local designers — up-and-coming and established alike — who had relied on Williams & Sherrill as a resource for their projects were left high and dry with the closing, and he realized he could fill that gap. Drawing upon his decades of experience and vast network of industry contacts to create his roster, he decided to forego a bricks-and-mortar location and bring the showroom to the designers, making himself available to meet at project sites, delivering samples and offering virtual meetings. “It would be a disservice not to share the wealth of information I have with others,” Coffey says.
Jamie Coffey, former creative director for Williams & Sherrill, created XOJ as a resource for design professionals.
The firm’s name, XOJ, honors his parents, always his biggest cheerleaders. Inspired by his signature on letters to his guiding light, his late mother, Frances, XOJ represents a diverse group of furniture, upholstery and textile manufacturers, many from the Williams & Sherrill roster, and it’s primarily open to members of the trade. However, Coffey, who developed his own interior design client list through the years at Williams & Sherrill, also offers residential and commercial design services.
Coffey is also busy brokering new projects with manufacturers with whom he’s enjoyed long relationships, including Adelene Simple Cloth in Atlanta and Annie Selke’s Pine Cone Hill division in Massachusetts. Coffey was instrumental in the development of Selke’s first furniture line. “We spark off of each other, and the next thing you know, the house is on fire,” Coffey says, laughing.
