Jonathan Adler

Since receiving his first order for pottery from Barneys New York fifteen years ago, Jonathan Adler’s eponymous company has grown to become
an internationally recognized lifestyle and home furnishings brand offering tabletop, bedding, bath accessories, furniture, rugs, pillows and lighting. Jonathan Adler is known for a design aesthetic which pairs modernist forms with bold colors and groovy graphics. The company motto, “If your heirs won’t fight over it, we won’t make it”, reflects Jonathan’s commitment to impeccable craftsmanship and panache.

Jonathan Adler has seven company-operated stores nationwide as well as a thriving consumer website. Through its wholesale division, the company sells its groovy home decor in over 1,000 locations worldwide. Additionally, Jonathan Adler is one of the country’s leading interior designers, working on luxury residential projects as well as large-scale
commercial projects, including the celebrity hot spot Parker Palm Springs hotel.

Jonathan is the lead judge on the Bravo television series, Top Design.

1966: Born in farm town in New Jersey.

1978: Tries pottery at summer camp while wearing a Rush concert tee.

1979:  Begs parents to buy him a wheel and kiln.

1980-84: Spends entire adolescence in basement of family’s modern house 
throwing pots.

1984-88: Allegedly studies semiotics and art history at Brown but actually spends 
all his time at RISD making pots.

1989: Makes quilted line of pottery inspired by Chanel. Evil professor advises him to 
bag pottery and try a career in law.

1990: Moves to New York and starts working at a talent agency.

1993:Deeply depressed from three long years in the movie business (as anyone 
would be), quits and returns to the studio to recuperate. Tells parents he wants to be 
a potter and vows never to have a real job again. Concerned parents schedule an 
intervention.

1994: Shows pots to Barney’s and gets an order. Realizes he
has to make the pots.

1995: Orders pour in. Time to make the donuts.

1996: Time to make the donuts.

1997: At wit’s end from making the donuts, hooks up with Aid to Artisans, a non-
profit organization which helps artisans in developing countries to make products for 
the American market. Flies to Peru and discovers paradise - a beautiful workshop by 
the sea with parrots and gardens and incredible artisans, creative explosion ensues.

1998:Opens a store in SoHo.

1999: Adopts (with his partner Simon Doonan) a Norwich terrier named Liberace who is the light of their lives.

2000:Millenium madness! Luckily Y2K has no impact on pottery wheels.

2001: Bicoastal! Opens store in Los Angeles. Fervently hopes the cast of Friends 
will stop by. They don’t.

2002:Launches a glamorous new furniture collection and takes on interior design 
projects. Starts fondling swatches as well as clay. Liberace turns three, can now 
legally drink and vote.

2003:Develops raging obsession with waspy country club style - needlepoint, 
chinoiserie and acid green lacquer. Concerned Jewish mother schedules another 
intervention.

2004:Kooky creative odyssey continues. Branches out into new categories - 
bedding, towels, stationery and designs The Parker Palm Springs hotel. Finds it 
increasingly difficult to make time to watch Law and Order.

2005:Opens stores in Miami, Chicago, Madison Avenue and San Francisco
(oodles of frequent flyer miles). Wildly expands furniture line with even more glamorous upholstered groups and casegoods. Writes first design book! Jewish mother proud, but Liberace remains aloof – he is, after all, a Terrier.

2006:Turns 40! Reluctantly relinquishes ingénue status. Suddenly needlepoint 
obsession becomes less ironic & more age appropriate.

2007: Reality TV! Joins the Bravo family as lead judge on Top Design.
Immortalizes the phrase “See you later, Decorator”. Wanders the streets inoutfits borrowed from the TV show hoping to be recognized. Alas.....