The New York School of Interior Design Announces Honorees for Annual Gala 2024
The New York School of Interior Design is pleased to announce its annual Gala. Gala 2024 will take place on Tuesday, March 5, 2024 at a private club in Manhattan. The Gala is NYSID's largest fundraising event of the year. All proceeds will benefit the NYSID Scholarship Funds which help draw and support the most diverse, deserving, and talented students to our school and the interior design industry. NYSID is thrilled to announce the three industry professionals and one firm that will be honored for the impact and excitement of their work, forward-thinking contributions, and bold leadership in the world of design.
The following three incredible design leaders and one enduring firm will be honored at this year’s black-tie event:
Ann Pyne/McMillen, Pyne is president of McMillen Inc., America's longest-lasting interior design firm celebrating its 100th anniversary next year, will receive the Albert Hadley Lifetime Achievement Award.
Nate Berkus, founder of Nate Berkus Associates, will receive the Larry Kravet Design Industry Leadership Award.
Erick Espinoza ’13 (BFA), creative director of Anthony Baratta, LLC, will receive the Rising Star Award, sponsored for the sixth year in a row by The Shade Store.
Awards are presented in these three categories to individuals or companies in residential or commercial design who have made significant contributions to the interior design profession.
David Sprouls, president of NYSID said, “This year's recipients are truly remarkable designers. Their distinct career paths and approach to design make each truly unique. But their brilliant talent, incredible firms, and extraordinary contributions to the field of design, make all three truly inspirational to our students. I could not be more thrilled to celebrate their impact and honor them in a room full of their friends and colleagues.”
This year’s gala will be co-chaired by Chesie Breen, Ingrid Edelman, Alexa Hampton, Young Huh, David Kleinberg, and Betsey Ruprecht. It is expected to bring together over 300 designers, philanthropists, and supporters. Alexa Hampton will emcee the night with her inimitable wit and energy.
“The Gala is NYSID's biggest fundraiser of the year. The money raised for scholarships allows our students to continue to do innovative things in our industry. You should feel great about attending and contributing to their success. There is so much talent and we have to nurture and support the creativity of these students. Hope you will join us in March to celebrate the achievements of our exceptional honorees,” said Ellen Kravet, chairman of the NYSID Board of Trustees.
NYSID expresses our deepest appreciation to The Shade Store for once again sponsoring The Rising Star Award. Many thanks to awards purveyor, Baccarat – the French luxury Maison known for its objects of unparalleled beauty – for providing the stunning Octogone vases for our distinguished honorees.
About this year’s honorees:
Ann Pyne and McMillen Inc.
There are long-lived firms, and then there’s McMillen.
Founded in 1924 by Mrs. Drury McMillen (later, Mrs. Archibald Brown), the New York institution is on the verge of celebrating a full century in business – by any measure, it’s the longest-lasting full-service interior design firm in America. Along the way, McMillen has served as the proving ground for industry icons like Albert Hadley and Mark Hampton, executing high-profile projects for everyone from Doris Duke and Babe Paley to Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. There’s no single explanation as to why so many once-proud firms have fallen by the wayside while this one soldiers on, but having Ann Pyne as the president certainly helps.
Ann Pyne has a master’s degree in Decorative Arts from the Bard Graduate Center, as well as an MFA in Writing and an MA in English and American Literature, both from Columbia University. She then came to McMillen Inc. in 2002. Before that she was a teacher, the author of a book of short stories, and a collector of aesthetic-period furniture and ceramics. Ann finds it rewarding to introduce clients to McMillen's standards of execution and to the tradespeople, artists, and artisans with whom McMillen works. She likes to think that her exposure to other forms of art plays a part in the decoration and design of her interiors, and that her experience as a collector is helpful to clients when they are assessing their needs for furniture and decorative objects.
Nate Berkus
Since starting his interior design firm over 25 years ago, Nate’s design expertise and his philosophy, that your home should tell your story, has extended to television, and a number of thoughtful and accessible home collections. His current home collaborations include a sleep collection with Beautyrest, roller shades for The Shade Store, a furniture line sold at Living Spaces, and a fabric line with Kravet. Nate is also an avid collector of vintage furniture and decorative accessories, and his curated collections are available through his stores on 1stDibs, Chairish, and at Showplace in New York City. NATE HOME, a collection of bedding, bath and organizing essentials, launched in 2023 in partnership with mDesign.
Well known for his travel inspired collections, Nate currently serves as the Travel Ambassador for the Edge class of ship by Celebrity Cruises; and designed the Sunset Bar on Celebrity’s newest ship, Beyond. In 2011, he served as Executive Producer of the Oscar-winning film, The Help. Nate has appeared on countless television shows as well as those of his own: the daily-syndicated The Nate Berkus Show, 2014’s American Dream Builders (NBC), and Nate and Jeremiah By Design (TLC). Nate and his husband Jeremiah Brent competed in HGTV’s popular Rock The Block, and their most recent show, The Nate & Jeremiah Home Project, recently aired its second season on HGTV.
Erick Espinoza
As a first generation American, Erick Espinoza ‘13 (BFA) has always aimed and reached for the stars. With a humble beginning and a burning desire, he grew up in the suburbs of Miami and was accepted into a magnet program for high school. He began painting at a young age and always had an affinity for color and pattern. Studying artists like Matisse, Picasso, Kandinsky, and Cezanne made it easy to understand how color works together to please the eye. Erick was awarded the Albert Hadley Scholarship to attend the New York School of Interior Design and after his sophomore year, when he began interning with the venerable design firm Diamond Baratta Design.
Shortly after his start with the firm, Mr. Diamond retired, Mr. Baratta began his own firm Anthony Baratta, LLC and he was officially hired. Within a few years of working with Mr. Baratta, Erick became Creative Director for the brand, and they have now worked together for 12 years. They have worked on various projects throughout the U.S. and several charity projects such as the Ronald McDonald House, Design on a Dime, Rooms With a View, and the Center for Special Studies. They’ve also licensed with incredible American brands such as Thomasville Furniture and Capel Rugs. Erick has been named one of House Beautiful’s Next Wave Designers by former editor-in-chief Sophie Donelson in November of 2017 and will continue to reach higher still. Quite the American dream.
Previous Gala honorees include preeminent designers Suzanne Tucker, John Edelman, Peti Lau, Jamie Drake, Young Huh, Laura Hodges, Alex Papachristidis, Corey Damen Jenkins, Nina Farmer, Jeffrey Bilhuber, Geoffrey Bradfield, Ellie Cullman, David Kleinberg, Suzanne Rheinstein, Christopher Spitzmiller, and Bunny Williams.