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Resume: Jim Williamson

How the proprietor of ID Collection became a "style bastard."
By D Magazine |
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Photo courtesy of Jim Williamson

Bio


You may know Jim Williamson from your visits to his showroom, ID Collection. Maybe you’ve read his musings—which appear pretty much every Friday—on all things sociological, societal, and scatological on the D Home blog. Perhaps you follow his personal blog, stylebastard.com. You’ve surely seen him out on the town. Long story short: Always grab the empty seat next to Jim. Yes, he’s stylish and thoughtful. But more importantly, he’s super funny.


Experience



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Photo courtesy of Jim Williamson
Born in Cordele, Georgia, a town of 10,000.
“I’m the youngest of four kids—two older sisters and one older brother. I’m the oldest baby in the world. My mother, Miss Marilyn, was the director of nursing at the hospital—busy woman, kind of strict. She was just tired when I came along. My dad, William Overton Williamson—W.O.W.—was pretty cool. Everyone liked him. He was strict as well, but he was very funny. ”


Young Jim discovers a love for kickball and music.
“I started band in fourth or fifth grade. I played the baritone.”


Attends Crisp County Junior High and Crisp County High School.
“Junior high was like acne—gross. That’s when the bangs happened. In high school, I played in the band. I took some art classes. I dated. I still remember the smell of Jovan Musk when I went out on a date. I was a rule follower, but we would sneak out to the DQ, go across the tracks, get some rum, and go driving up and down the street.”


After high school graduation, heads to Georgia Southern University.
“I majored in business with an emphasis on advertising. I always grew up remembering all the words to commercials. It seemed like a natural extension. I was also the ultimate band nerd. I had my can of hairspray, my horn, and my rifle. You could not stop me. Then I joined a fraternity and quit band. My mom thought it was a business fraternity.”


Graduates from college, packs up his car, and moves to Atlanta.
“I worked part-time at Shop N Chek. I did marketing research—scheduled secret shoppers. I stayed there for a few months.”


Goes to work for PYA.
“I sold frozen foods to institutions like hospitals, nursing homes, and prisons. That was pretty awful. I had this thing about nursing homes. I didn’t like them—the smells and all.”


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Photo courtesy of Jim Williamson


Heads to Houston, Texas.
“I took a job with Hasbro, and I had the Kmart account for this region. I worked there for a couple of years. It was lots of travel.”


Enters the salon world.
“My friend who works at Aveda told me about a job opening at a salon. I went in and interviewed to be the front-desk manager at Michaelyndon. I’d never worked at a salon before, and I hadn’t come out yet. I had all these hairdressers saying, ‘Ooooooh!’ Later, a makeup artist there, Cynthia Christ, left to open Sensia, and I became her salon manager. I got free highlights, and I learned that I work well with sensitive people.”


Rediscovers a knack for home design.
“I was always rearranging my room as a child—my mother said she always felt like my room was the most comfortable in the house. I helped Cynthia decorate her house, and I just realized it was time for a change. There was only so much growth I could have at the salon. So I wanted to make something happen.”


Begins work for Houston antiques purveyor Lynette Proler.
“She was my Miranda Priestly. She’d come in wearing a big fur coat, throw it at me, go in the back, and ask me to bring her some tea on a silver tray. She had all these beautiful antiques. She asked me to go to the Decorative Center and come back with fabrics. So I went over to Boyd-Levinson and found some. She looked at them and said, ‘You have the gift.’ She fired me eventually.”


Enrolls in design and architecture courses at the University of Houston.
“I was going all in. I took adult classes after work for a year.”


Works at George Cameron Nash.
“I started working in the sample department. I learned a lot from George—how to hang art, put things together. He has a very clean eye for details.”


Moves over to Walter Lee Culp.
“I liked working there. I ended up meeting my best friend, Brian Beatty, there. I learned the whole process—ordering fabrics, measuring, repeats, and the ugly side of decorating.”


Moves to Dallas.
“My partner at the time got a job in Dallas. I interviewed with Boyd-Levinson. I was used to Houston and Memorial, and I missed that whole vibe. It took me a little while to get used to Dallas.”


Gets an unexpected business proposition, and ID Collection is born.
“Ken Boyd passed away. We came to work, and it was all very weird. There were two investors here, and they told Joe [Demoruelle], Bonnie [Martin], and me that we could buy it. So, that’s when we signed on the dotted line. I was scared! We worked really, really hard. We had to move showrooms, and we changed the name. We didn’t want it associated with one individual. We secured the lines and added new ones. We have almost 25,000 square feet here and a Houston location.”


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Photo courtesy of Jim Williamson
Meets partner Ken Maxwell.
“Brooke [Hortenstine] set me up on a blind date. There was no immediate connection. He was kind of name-droppy. Now it’s four years later.”


Plans for the future.
“It will be design related—but maybe something more boutique. I’ll definitely do more writing. I’m just really proud that we’re still here. We divide responsibilities well.”


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Photo courtesy of Jim Williamson


Fun Fact


“My first job was working for my dad at his five-and-dime store. I was 10 years old, and I would make bows for the Easter and Christmas baskets. He used to make me work on displays to keep me occupied.”


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