Spotlight on BusinessJ. Seitz & Company

Design is a broadly and frequently used term. But genius and passion make it real. And you know it when you see it. J. Seitz & Company in New Preston, CT exemplifies design delivered with genius and passion. Established 32 years ago by Joanna and Bill Seitz in a remarkable space, once a service station and in the 1940’s, a Chevy dealership, J. Seitz provides a shopping experience with surprises at every turn. And that’s design delivered.

These surprises in home furnishings, clothing and jewelry are all guided by three design principles – natural materials, handcrafting and sustainable fashion. Design sensitivities and business skills developed by Joanna, and now daughter Amanda, as mother daughter Fashion Merchandising Management graduates of the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan. J. Seitz has been furnishing homes for decades in Litchfield County and afar. The winter issue of New England Home features a recent design project. Joanna brought a strong background in retail, design and publishing to J. Seitz & Company when it opened in 1986.

Moving onto publishing as Fashion/Style Editor of Connecticut magazine, she honed her skills in sensing changing lifestyles and storytelling. When her passion for retail resurfaced, New Preston was shifting into a community of full and part-time homes. Joanna opened J. Seitz & Company to immediate success. Nearly every local and national design and lifestyle publication have told the remarkable story of J. Seitz & Company. Over decades with her leadership and demonstrated success, New Preston has evolved into a destination design center. It has built a strong a following reaching beyond the local area into New York and the afluent communities of southern Connecticut. New Preston has boomed along with J. Seitz & Company—better said, because of J.Seitz & Company