Manlius — Aminy I. Audi, Chairman and CEO of L. & J.G. Stickley, Inc. has recently been inducted into the American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame.
The ceremony took place on Oct. 18 at the Grandover Resort and Conference Center in Jamestown, North Carolina during the International Home Furnishings Market. The theme of the evening was “Experience the Power” and the host was Jayne Seymour, award winning actress, author, artist and designer.
The Hall of Fame is the furniture industry’s most prestigious organization of visionary leaders. This year five inductees were chosen by a seven-member selection committee based on four foundations: enduring excellence; innovation and creativity; superior accomplishments; and philanthropic generosity
An accomplished leader, Audi has grown Stickley by leveraging the company’s revered brand name, modernizing operations and sparking a resurgence of interest in high-end Arts & Crafts styling. A workplace innovator, she and her family established an employee wellness initiative, which includes a registered nurse onsite and one of the industry’s first smoking cessation programs.
An active mentor, philanthropist and industry champion, Audi has received the Legacy Award and the Woman of the Year in Manufacturing Award from WithIt (Women in the Home Industries Today), and the Laurel Award for excellence from the International Furnishings and Design Association’s New York Chapter. Other honors include the Small Business Administration Entrepreneurial Success Award, the American Red Cross Women Who Mean Business Award and the Syracuse Post Standard Woman of Achievement in Business Award. She has served on the boards of the American Home furnishings Alliance, Fine Furnishings International and the American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame Foundation.
Early in her career, Audi was a freelance writer and reporter for “The Voice of America.” She served as a non-governmental delegate to the United Nations Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993 and to the U.N. Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. She participated in the 1996 Women Leaders Summit and has served as a trustee for the State University of New York. She received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Colgate University in 2006.
continued — During her acceptance speech, Audi said, “There is truly no greater or more profound honor that can be bestowed on an individual than to be recognized by one’s own colleagues and peers.” She thanked the industry for honoring her late husband, Alfred, by inducting him into the Furniture Hall of Fame in 2008.
She went on to say, “none of our accomplishments would have been possible had it not been for a very supportive community and our world class Stickley team. They have our utmost respect, gratitude and love.”
In 1974 Alfred and Aminy Audi purchased an ailing Stickley company with fewer than 25 employees and annual sales under $250,000. In 1989, the Audis successfully reissued the historic Mission collection, originally made popular by Gustav and Leopold Stickley and made Stickley a household name once again. Now celebrating its 115th year as a manufacturer of premium solid wood furniture and fine upholstery, the company employs more than 1,200 people from 37 nationalities. Stickley has three manufacturing plants, 12 company-owned retail stores and a strong network of independent dealers.
Audi personifies her personal and business philosophy: Live with integrity, work hard, and be passionate, positive and persistent.
