James Michael Howard

Southern Home (SH): What was your aha moment when you knew you were destined to design?

I grew up in Jacksonville, Florida, and always dreamed of moving to New York. I didn’t have a particular agenda, but I did have an interest in things related to architecture, furniture, and art. Despite my not-so-wonderful grades, I ended up in school at Parsons. I can remember my aha moment clearly. One of my professors, who was young but very wise, was explaining the difference between the English, French, and Italian Rococo periods, how the furniture shapes and legs, while related, were in fact quite different. It was in that moment when I thought, wow, this is pretty darn cool. From then on, the