Pirozzolo Company Public Relations

"Boston Voyager" Profiles Pirozzolo Company Client Jeffrey Ornstein, CEO of J/Brice Design International

A sure sign of Boston's cultural evolution is the debut of Voyager Media here.

 

After exceeding a million views with its flagship magazine VoyageLA - the trendy lifestyle media company came East to publish Boston Voyager.

 

Boston Voyager identifies local businesses, entrepreneurs, independent artists, institutions that matter and those who contribute to making our city a world-class destination. Part of their objective is to showcase the leaders in Boston's independent creative community, so we were honored when the editors chose J/Brice Design International as one of its Most Inspiring Stories. 

 

I hope you enjoy the Boston Voyager article about J/Brice Design —beginning, its influence as a hospitality design innovator, and its outlook.

 

 

Boston Voyager wants to introduce you to Jeff Brice Ornstein. So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don't you give us some details about you and your story. I have been a hotel designer all my professional life. I started with the Saunders Family which owned three of the historic properties in Boston, and worked for several other firms before starting JBrice Design. Founded in 1989, we are a global design firm, having directed projects in excess of $5 Billion USD.  Our most recent signature engagements include the fabled HMS Queen Mary, the iconic urban landmark The Helmsley Hotel in New York, The Royal Tulip Alexandria, and the Jeddah Crown Plaza, scheduled to open 2017. J/Brice Design has been a Certified Interior Design Giant since 1993, and Architectural Giant since 1995. We consistently ranked among the leading interior design firms worldwide, specializing in interiors for the hospitality industry. Recently named Top Interior Design Firm of The Year by NEWH, the nation's largest professional hospitality organization, JBrice has also twice been identified as one of the Top Ten Fastest Growing Design Firms nationwide by Interior Design Magazine. We have over 220 hotel and restaurant projects to its credit, as well as a diverse portfolio of corporate and residential interiors. JBrice has also been recognized for its work with distinctions such as Best Upscale Hotel Design of the Year, Hotel of The Year, and Intercontinental Hotel Group Renovation of the Year, Best Luxury Suite, Most Ambient Hotel Lobby, and Best Guestroom. J/Brice is a preferred design group for Hilton Hotels, Marriott International/Starwood Hotels, Intercontinental Hotel Group, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, and Wyndham Worldwide Properties. International credentials include work for TAJ Hotels, Kempinski, Royal Tulip, and boutique properties in Dubai, UAE, Qatar, and The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.I grew up in New York and graduated from Brandeis University with continued studies at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design. I am a guest lecturer throughout the Middle East, Europe and North America, and was the first American named keynote speaker of the Kingdom Hotel Expansion and Investment World Summit in Riyadh, KSA. I have twice been a featured speaker at Concepts Middle East in Doha, Qatar, as well as in Interior Design & Construction India, and many times at Heimtextil, the world's largest international textile trade fair in Frankfurt, Germany.  Other speaking engagements include lectures at HD Expo, HD Boutique, HOTEC USA, Asia and Europe, and Hospitality Match USA, and Europe.  I'm a contributing editor to Hotel Executive Magazine, and am featured in Boutique Design Magazine, Hospitality Design, Lodging and Hospitality, Gulf Interiors, Byouteit Magazine, Hotel Business, The Commercial Observer, Young Hotelier, The Improper Bostonian, and Scene Magazine, who named me one of Boston's 12 Most Influential People.  Academic associations include being on the Board of Advisers at the Prestigious New York School of Interior Design, a Visiting Critic at The Boston Architectural Center and The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). I was called upon by my colleagues to be a Judge for the annual Hotel World Platinum Circle Awards in Las Vegas, and for The Boutique Design Global Hotel Design Awards. We're always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc - but we've spoken with enough people to know that it's not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you? Ouch... 30 years not all smooth! Three recessions in that time taught me a lot about business, people, my abilities (strengths and weaknesses) and priorities in life both personal and professional.  We'd love to hear more about your business. Much of this was included in your earlier questions, but I'm most proud of the character of JBrice. We are known to be exceptionally creative, responsible, and honorable. The average tenure of an employee at JBrice is well over 10 years.., with several over 20! WE take our responsibilities very seriously, and yet we never lose sight of the fact that work should be fun. (We're known to be a little irreverent as well). I am particularly proud of the many creative individuals whom I have played in part in their professional development, advancing the careers of so many who have go one to great things. When we were awarded top interior design firm of the year, dozens came out to celebrate. Many, if not most, expressed sincere thanks for my part in mentoring their careers, it was a magical evening. What were you like growing up? Brash. Funny. Confident. Loyal. Creative. Stubborn. Appealing. Troublemaker. Theatrical. Energetic. I loved having and cultivating new friendships, and adventure, and still do

The New Face of Immigration Needs a Makeover

When politicians say they want to staple H1B visas to foreign students' diplomas when they graduate from American universities, most folks think:

Grads from MIT or Stanford with degrees in science, technology, engineering and math.

But it's not all about STEM when it comes to Boston’s international base of talented and highly qualified professionals.
 
Take Iranian hotel designer Afrooz Sahraei Esfahani who was just named an “Up-and-Coming Designer” by Boutique Design for her work with J/Brice Design International, based in Boston’s Seaport District.

Ironically her culture and national origin—which will get her kicked out—is what makes her so valuable. Afrooze is able to drive business to her employer’s Boston hotel design firm and thus contributes to our economy.

Sadly, her parents and siblings are all here in the US, studying and working here legally — she is the only member of her family who is in danger of being sent out of the country and thus separated from her family. 

Afrooz Sahraei Esfahani and Jeffrey Ornstein 

Her employer has launched a time-consuming and costly legal challenge to get her a green card.  One barrier: the law says J/Brice has to replace Afrooz if the firm can find even a single U.S. citizen with design credentials that remotely match hers. 

On paper that’s one thing but the reality is quite different
 
An accomplished professional in Iran, Afrooz brought her talent to the U.S. in 2013 as a student and earned a Master’s degree in Interior Architecture from Suffolk University last year. The 30 years-old designer also holds a bachelor’s degree in Architectural Technology and Engineering from Azad University in Esfahan, Iran. 

Esfahani puts it this way:  My passion for Architecture was developed partly due to the fact that I was born and grew up in Esfahan, a city with historical architecture dating back 600 years or more. I was fascinated every time I looked at arcs of the Khajoo bridge, by the harmony and details of its design. The beautiful colors of tiles and proportion of dimensions in Naghshe Jahan square made me more interested in architecture. I was craving to learn how these huge buildings were designed and built so I chose architecture for my career.
 
“I’m afraid her degrees and all she has to offer will slip between the chairs of government policy making.” says J/Brice founder and CEO Jeffrey Ornstein.

According to a recent article in The Arlington Advocate by Bram Berkowitz:

The fact that someone as impressive as Sahraei-Esfahani is still not a guarantee to get a visa is worrisome to Ornstein and her attorney Shane Parker, a US immigration law specialist. “I’m afraid her degrees and all she has to offer will slip between the chairs of government policy-making,” said Ornstein.

Added Parker, “There is a lot of talk lately about how the US should be run like a business. If this is the case, shouldn’t we be trying to recruit top talent and individuals?”

Her firm needs people who undertand Middle Eastern esthetics. “J/Brice Design specializes in designing luxury interiors for hotels in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Dubai and North Africa as well as the U.S. This makes Afrooz uniquely qualified to not only serve our clients in that region but to contribute to Boston’s economic growth and workplace diversity,” adds Ornstein whose staff of 15 employees herald from the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Korea, China, Haiti, and Montserrat.
 
Esfahani continues, “I know the culture and customs of the Arabian Peninsula—including the business culture— and, as an Iranian, I have an esthetic and color sense that is unique to the culture and region as well It’s something one can learn about if you come from Wisconsin or Massachusetts but it won’t be steeped in your bones.”
 
Boutique Design magazine (BD) is the authority on the boutique hotel, spa and restaurant industry. 

Afrooz's story runs counter to the  current heavy-handed, get-tough Immigration Policy that especially targets people from the Middle East.

by Dick Pirozzolo

Managing Director 

Pirozzolo Company Public Relations

Boston, Massachusetts