A Roster of Stellar Honorees Will Be Celebrated at NYSID Gala 2024
Planning for NYSID Gala 2024 is well underway and it promises to be a memorable one. NYSID is pleased 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.
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.
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.
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.