Jules Seltzer Associates: L.A.'s source for modern furniture

By SHARON KNOLLE

"We pride ourselves on being on the leading edge of recognizing good design and ways to get good design for customers," says Grant Seltzer, son of the founder, and today, Jules Seltzer Associates' Chief Strategy Officer.

In business since 1937, the company specializes in classic contemporary home and office furniture from Herman Miller and Knoll. Through Herman Miller, Jules Seltzer Associates is licensed to sell modern reissues of furniture designed by Charles and Ray Eames, Isamu Noguchi and Mies van der Rohe, continuing a 68-year old tradition of displaying the very best in Modern design.

"You might be able to sit down on it or use it as a coffee table, but it's still a piece of art," notes Seltzer of his store's signature modernist pieces. He adds that, "A lot of this furniture is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York."

In addition to the showroom and classic modernist furniture, a large percentage of the firm's business is contract services, which includes furnishing corporate and public settings. "We do project management, specifications and budgeting for corporations around the country," Seltzer explains. The store's contract services team is deeply entrenched in all aspects of the business from manufacturing to ergonomics. Past clients include Paramount, the Getty Center and Seven Jeans for All Mankind, for whom they are customizing workstations.

Jules Seltzer Associates has design experts on staff, but does not offer design services per se. "We deal with designers and architects, which is probably one-third of our business, and we don't want to compete with them. That's how a lot of our business comes in. They come into the showroom and we tell them how we can work, budget wise," says the exec. Great design and strict budgets can go together with Seltzer Associates' value-added advice.

"Because we know our product, because we've taken the time to select our products and we've narrowed it down, that's a service," says Seltzer. "We can offer the best products, the best design, and the best product for the money."

Date in print: September 16, 2005