2014 CH+D Award Winner: Jemy Massie and Emily Ellis, Emerging Designers (Interior Design)
Author:Lindsey ShookTheir design partnership started when Jemy Massie and Emily Ellis were young moms trying to map out their professional futures. “We actually considered nursing school,” says Ellis. “But we decided to do something unconventional.”
In 2006, the two attended an open house at the Academy of Art in San Francisco. On a whim, they both signed up for the Interior Architecture and Design program. While in school, the duo were inseparable. Their classmates nicknamed them Jemily, a moniker that also may have been easier for professors and students to remember, as the two were often mistaken for each other.
After stints with separate firms, Massie and Ellis decided to team up. The name of their
business—Studio Revolution—says it all. The two set out to accomplish no less than a design coup. “We call our look ‘hipsticated,’” says Massie of their “gritty, dramatic, not-too-pretty” work.To wit: The pair used a Craftsman tool chest as
a combination dresser and changing table for a baby’s nursery. At the forthcoming Genray Hair Salon in Oakland, the designers are opting for a luxe gold-and-black color scheme, with gold chains and a giant capiz light fixture.
Though few at school could tell them apart, the women say their distinct personalities give life to their designs. “Jemy prefers structure and monochromatic design. I am in love with color and need to be edited,” says Ellis. “We are
actually polar opposites.”
