My way of doing business has evolved in a non-traditional manner. Unlike most businesses, I didn’t set up a showroom. I simply took the lead from the designers I’d connected with to make them custom carpets - always with my eye towards offering innovation in pattern and materials. For example, seeing the beauty of a Berber rug, Groundplans became the first to place it in a contemporary American home.

Next, spying a high luster Oushak rug - made of pure mohair with a traditional Persian pattern I queried, ‘Why pattern, let us make the luster shine through!” . The Persian rug dealer looked back as if I were crazy. I finally talked them into trying. We made an Oushak rug without a Persian pattern - soon receiving several orders and before we knew it, it took off when other manufacturers and carpet dealers jumped in. Now a mohair area rug without a pattern is seen to be commonplace.

My mission has seemingly become to constantly push the boundaries of flooring ideas to create pieces that envelop the floor while elevating the materials to engage with the whole interior and the people who live with it. The examples are not only the luxurious Oushak and Berber rugs I just mentioned but is also bringing to the contemporary market trompe l’oeil in the 1980’s - Rocks at Ise and Autumn Leaves.

Along those lines, I took a beauty of a constellation and imbedded it with sparkling fiber optic lights. Soon I was collaborating with Swarovski Crystal to place their small crystals into the lower looped pile for a sparkle that could be walked on.

This digging below the surface became quite literal when I hand carved and felted into a cut + looped pile rug - enriching it with a depth and mid-century sense of abstraction that Starwood Hotels picked up on for their Spa Suites.

Another international project with Starwood W hotels involved bringing Gel Tiles to the surface, quite literally - step on them and the colors move underfoot. We placed them in all their elevators worldwide.

When I was asked by the same architects to oversee the production of a carpet for a communal sitting area in Korea, instead of simply working with the architect’s 2 color Western influenced grid pattern, I felt inspired to bring to the design some of the local Korean imagery. Looking through my design library and archives, I was able to find a traditional Korean flower motif to invigorate the boxed voids. While at first the designers were somewhat skeptical, as the concept and design grew and samples were made they all came to love it. What was created as a one-off soon became a hospitality trend - to borrow from and incorporating the beauty of the local culture into the new interior. https://www.groundswellbyjo.com/floored-3#res-suite

Soon after my first collection won accolades from the press, I was the recipient of a groundswell of activity from local designers and architects and so segued part of my business into overseeing their designs. It became inter-productive, efficient and affordable. Low overhead and energy efficient: no storefront or warehousing of unused carpets. Long before it became the trend to be ecologically friendly to our environment.

This side income allowed me to build up my Groundplans collections. Some of my designs I have produced in collaboration with private clients or with select interior designers for their clients. With manufacturing capacities around the world to bring these designs to fruition, we have been able to keep our personal business within the confines of where we live, literally working from home base - since Covid this has become an acceptable way to work. So our pricing stays reasonable without the high markup showrooms have to give.

For several years I found it invigorating to make carpet designs with materials and/or patterns not previously explored. Eventually I segued my skillset into interior design projects, gut renovations, creating this Abode/Blog site as a platform to bring my thoughts as a way to share. More recently my interest has grown to try and bring out the inherent beauty in everyday or discarded objects.

Incorporating found objects into my lighting and jewelry, I try to rescue them from indifference. Both my daughter and I have been elevating them to become a part of our arsenal of ingenuity and rebirth.

Jody’s old/new collection story - COMING FULL CIRCLE

Each piece is worked differently so it becomes a non-repeatable art piece.

I try to imbue each piece I create not only with technical innovations but a sense of playfulness and whimsy. In ding so each becomes a non-repeatable art piece. Whether my works are lighting, jewelry or area rugs seem to reveal the threads of a combined worldwide training in the arts, design and craft - from East to West and back again. My daughter, from her earliest years stood right beside me. She’s not only modeling the jewelry, she created the cuff she’s wearing.

Coming Full Circle