7 Photos
Ashley Stark, creative director of Stark, at the grand opening of The Carpetman by Stark. MEGAN NAFTALI
Robert Gill, the president and owner of The Carpetman. MEGAN NAFTALI
Conor Gill, left, and Colby Gill, vice president of operations at The Carpetman, center right, are sons of Robert Gill, president and owner of The Carpetman. They are pictured with Nikki Distefano, Colby’s girlfriend, center left, and Hal Renaudo, corporate sales manager at Prestige Mills, right. MEGAN NAFTALI
From left, Hilary Cosgriff, designer of Hampton Fabric and Blinds, Elsa Soyars, designer of Elsa Soyars Interiors, and Ashley Stark, the creative director of Stark stand in front of the Stark Collection. MEGAN NAFTALI
Kristina Mirecki, a server with Stone Creek Catering, serves beef carpaccio with parmesan and truffle. MEGAN NAFTALI
From left, Victor Pariz, a sales associate at The Carpetman, Corrine Kolb, the accounts receivable administrator at The Carpetman, and Ann Marie Pomposello, the administrative scheduler at The Carpetman, enjoy hors d’oeuvres and wine at the grand opening. MEGAN NAFTALI
The Barroom Girls, Jessie Haynes and Erin Doherty, perform at the grand opening of The Carpetman by Stark. MEGAN NAFTALI
The perfect carpet can bring a room together, and without one, “a room can feel bare and naked,” according to Ashley Stark, the creative director of Stark, a company that partners with the design industry for luxury carpeting projects.
The partnership between Stark and The Carpetman brought a room of staff and consumers together for the grand opening of The Carpetman by Stark on Saturday, July 16, at the original Carpetman location on Country Road 39A in Southampton.
“I personally have been approaching [Stark] for almost 20 years to become a showroom of theirs and make the product available to the people on the East End without forcing them to drive into the city to choose the product,” said Robert Gill, the president and owner of The Carpetman.
Like many Manhattan residents did, the Starks moved to the East End during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it was then that they approached Gill about opening a showroom, according to Gill.
Stark has 23 showrooms and 12 representative showrooms, now including The Carpetman by Stark, nationally and internationally.
With a showroom of more than 16,000 square feet and more than 10,000 carpet samples, The Carpetman by Stark offers everything from wool and poly nylon carpets to outdoor carpets and even wood, vinyl and rubber flooring. With the new partnership, more options may become available.
“I’m looking to grow and bring more new and exciting products that are resourced all throughout the world,” Gill said. “Anything from China to India to Scotland, any place that is developing new product. We can have the ability based on the strength of Stark and the size that they are. They open up markets that we never had before, that I could never dream of opening up.”
The partnership is like a marriage between two families as both companies are family owned and run. Stark was founded in 1938 by Arthur Stark, and is now run by the third-generation of the Stark family. Ashley Stark, the creative director, and her cousin Chad Stark, the CEO, are Arthur’s grandchildren.
“We really run it like a family business. We take pride in everything, and it’s all personal,” Ashley Stark said. “We all get around and pick the designs together and run the company together. So I think it gives a different touch than some of the other companies.”
The Carpetman has been in the Gill family since 1971. Robert Gill bought the company from his father in 1993, and his son, Colby Gill, is the vice president of operations.
“It’s really important to be family oriented, offering the customer the best product you can at the most reasonable price with the best service,” Gill said. “That comes from being brought up in the business and understanding that everybody is somebody’s family. That’s the way we treat our customers.”
The Carpetman by Stark has fostered professional relationships with interior designers who work on the East End, some of whom were present at the grand opening and are excited for the partnership.
“It’s a great marriage,” said designer Elsa Soyars of Elsa Soyars Interiors, who lives in Southampton. “I think it’s a great move for Stark because The Carpetman is the company [people go to] out here.”
Soyars looks forward to seeing more of Ashley Stark’s collection because the “chic nomad look is something everybody has been loving for the last couple of years,” she said.
Ashley Stark joined the company in 2004 “to add a fresh perspective and bring the next generation’s energy to the company,” according to Stark’s “About Us” webpage. She also brought more femininity to the company as well.
“When I first entered the company, everything was really heavy and masculine, and I kept saying ‘Where are the grays? Where are the lavenders? Where are the colors?’ and it was fun to get everybody to trust me and put in these more feminine colors and see how great they sold,” Stark said.
At the moment, she favors textured carpets and rugs that give a lot of dimension and softness. She also hopes people know that Stark is there for the people of the Hamptons to shop and have easy access to all of their designs.
Family is important to both Stark and The Carpetman, and they want carpet consumers to feel as though they are being taken care of.
“We are a family that is really trying to take care of your family,” Gill said. “We act like one, we think like one and we hope that you will become part of ours.”
