Authentic Selves: C SUITE NY's Perrin Siegel and Kedra Cornelske on People, Environments, and Relationships
Perrin and Kedra
By Julia Gamolina
Perrin Siegel and Kedra Cornelske are the Founding Partners of C SUITE NY, a women-owned boutique contract furniture company that distributes some of the best design brands from around the world.
Perrin was born and raised in New York. She received a BFA from The School of The Art Institute of Chicago and an MFA from Hunter College and exhibited in galleries in NY and Vienna. Perrin first entered the furniture industry with a retail position and worked her way through sales and sales management roles at a number of companies. She spent 12 years developing DWR’s Contract division into a go-to resource for corporate and hospitality projects.
Kedra has a degree in interior design from Marymount University Tarrytown. She oversaw interior design for two major corporations and worked at dealerships for both Steelcase and Knoll before moving into sales. Kedra's unique perspective and a multifaceted understanding of the design process proved invaluable when she made the move to sales and enabled her to play an integral role in establishing the contract division at DWR.
In their interview with Julia Gamolina, Perrin and Kedra talk about how design has shaped their lives and their new company, advising those just starting their careers to take small steps towards their dreams and maintain great relationships.
JG: Tell me about your foundational years - where did you grow up and what did you like to do as a kid?
PS: I grew up in New York City, my parents grew up in New York City, and my grandparents did, too.
I loved school. School was the main social arena for me since city kids do not have that “go-play-in-the-street” thing that rural and suburban kids have. Outside of school, I spent most of my time drawing or just walking the streets aimlessly with my brothers peering into people’s windows and wondering what their lives were like – pondering what my life could be. I still love the way the thousands of yellow squares of NY windows look at night.
KC: When my parents got married, they moved from Kingston, NY to Toledo, Ohio because my dad got a job with Kroger overseeing operations. His job ended up transferring us a lot and we lived in six states by the time I was sixteen years old. Each state might as well have been a different country because each place had its own culture. I was forced to continuously adapt. I didn’t realize it at the time but moving around taught me two important things — how to make connections quickly and how to read people well, which is helpful when you're in sales.
One note though is that every time we moved, we built a new house. It was the only aspect of moving that I looked forward to. My mom and I would spend endless hours in wallpaper and furniture stores figuring out what we were going to do next. We loved it. To this day every time I go home to see my mom, the furniture is rearranged.
How did you get your start in the field of design?
PS: I did both a BFA and MFA in painting. After graduate school, I had a studio practice that I supported as a bartender in downtown bars. I thought my life’s work would be sitting in a room on my own staring at a blank canvas — I enjoyed that process — but I was unprepared for the industry of art. Along the way I lost some interest in the art world, probably because nightlife gave me more acceptance and community. I enjoyed the theater of nightlife, the vibe of a room, the way an almost transcendent experience could knit together nightly.
I did that for a long time, but there was a moment when I realized it was no longer sustainable. I walked away from both industries and took a sales job in a furniture showroom. Furniture was an intersection between everything I understood formally and experientially — composition, color, texture, and then people and the environments they occupy. It was a fit. And then I met Kedra.
KC: When it came time to go to college, I wanted to go to school to be a photographer, but my dad wouldn't let me because he said there was no money in it. I settled on interior design because I really didn’t know what else to do. To my dad, interior design was more legitimate. By the time I graduated college I was living in Brooklyn and had accepted a full-time position at the architecture firm I was interning for.
One day, not long after graduation, my boss came to me and said I have good news and I have bad news. The bad news is that I have to lay you off. The good news is that I have found you another job and you can start next week at O.L.I, which was a Knoll dealer that has since been rolled into Creative Office Resources. I was devastated because I was no longer going to be an “interior designer,” but I would have done anything to not have to move home. From there I went on to work for an independent rep group, a Steelcase dealer, Random House and Time Warner, where I was overseeing interiors, and then eventually Design Within Reach.
“I think the greatest impact any of us can make is to navigate our lives and careers as our authentic selves. It’s important to embrace others for who they really are.”
Tell me how you came to collaborate with SUITE NY, how C Suite came about, and what you’re focused on these days.
PS: Like every major decision I have ever made, I was struck with an epiphany. There was an actual moment when Kedra and I looked at each other and thought, “NOW!”
Kedra and I had a lot of experience. We had worked together at both a start-up and a conglomerate, and we learned a great deal from both models. Other companies in the segment were making decisions that created an opportunity in the marketplace. We had confidence in each other. There was also a bit of a “now-or-never” because we are not kids anymore.
We had been at 3DaysofDesign a few months prior and ended up hanging out with Maria and Nick the whole time. We had fun together, there was chemistry. It occurred to us that Maria and Nick might have an interest in a partnership, so we took the idea to them, and they did not hesitate. SUITE NY offered us an infrastructure that we could plug into, so we did not have to build it from scratch ourselves. My best decisions are rooted in a cross-check between logic and intuition.
KC: We are now laser focused on connecting American interior designers with some of the most important furniture design from Europe. We are incredibly fortunate to have the assortment that we do because it’s a combination of iconic and future classics, which makes us a valuable resource on every type of project.
The C SUITE NY showroom. Photography by Keith Greenbaum.
Looking back at it all, what have been the biggest challenges? How did you both manage through perceived disappointments or setbacks?
PS: I have never taken setbacks too seriously. I think it may have something to do with having older brothers. I would literally get punched in the face every day as a kid and just get right back up.
I have made more mistakes in work and life than I care to recall, but I have learned from all of them. And other people rarely notice because they are too concerned with their own mistakes. I just try not to feel too mortified, so I do not lose sleep at night. I try not to ruminate.
KC: There were times throughout my career in which I did not know what my next steps were going to be, and it was incredibly scary. I had been unemployed during 9/11 and then again in 2009 and honestly it was a living hell for me.
I was so happy and relieved when I was offered the job at Random House after 9/11 because it opened a lot of doors for me. That job led to overseeing interiors for Time Warner, and I thought, “Ok, this is where I want to be.” But then I got laid off again during the recession in 2009 and the fear returned. Instead of torturing myself in those feelings, I moved to Rome. But I knew it was a temporary escape and eventually returned to NY and accepted a role at DWR.
On reflection, I realize how much I have actually grown and learned throughout my career and that after every job ended something better always came along. I just wish I hadn’t spent so much time worrying about what’s next, because it always works itself out.
“We really believe in the power of design to shape human experience in positive ways. A well-designed room can make people happier, more creative, and more productive.”
What have you also learned in the last six months?
PS: When things go right, just follow that stream. Don’t resist it. Some things are simply fated.
KC: I’ve learned that I’m not at all comfortable being in the public eye [laughs].
What are you most excited about right now?
PS: I have never felt more excited than I am right now – what opportunity will present itself in the coming day? Who will I engage with? What are they working on? Where will it lead?
There is not much practical difference in my day to day from when I was employed, but the way I feel about it is different. I am more deeply invested. I enjoy those interactions more. I am not a mouthpiece for anyone’s story other than my own. Oddly, this makes me feel less self-conscious.
KC: Having the freedom to build a business that is completely our own. It almost feels a little surreal, especially because it happened overnight. We spent so many years building a start-up that we ultimately had no say in at the end so it's incredibly exciting to say the least.
Who are you admiring now and why?
PS: Marie Kristine Schmidt, who is the Chief Brand Officer at Gubi. Marie has done an incredible job of growing that brand in an ambitious but thoughtful way. I respect her work and admire her poise.
KC: I’m super lucky to be surrounded by pretty amazing people from all over the world. From the minute I met her, I’ve admired Jennifer Kolstad, the Global Design and Brand Director at Ford Motors. It's not just her exceptional talent that makes her stand out, but also her genuine kindness and authenticity as a person. When I realized it was time to make a jump from DWR, she was my biggest cheerleader and that will always mean the world to me.
Perrin and Kedra in Milan, 2023. Photo by Matthew Goodrich.
What is the impact you’d like to have on the world? What is your core mission? And, what does success in that look like to you?
PS: We really believe in the power of design to shape human experience in positive ways. A well-designed room can make people happier, more creative, and more productive. I just want to play my small part in this process.
KC: I think the greatest impact any of us can make is to navigate our lives and careers as our authentic selves. It’s important to embrace others for who they really are. Ultimately, I just try to keep it real and be happy. That is success to me.
Finally, what advice do you have for those starting their career? Would your advice be any different for women?
PS: I have a bit of a Yoda complex, which many junior designers out there can confirm. You do not need to know where you are going, just start walking. Also, you can go ahead and have a baby and not leave New York. Do it, have a baby and never leave New York.
KC: The biggest advice I can give is that it’s all about relationships. Every job I’ve ever gotten was through one or two degrees of separation so go out and meet as many people as you can.