Preppy “Gangstas” Have Arrived in Providence
GoLocal News Editor Kate Nagle
Preppy “Gangstas” Have Arrived in Providence
The brainchild of Jason Cahill, the new showroom — an “atelier” — now located in Wayland Square features uniquely curated interior decorating, furniture sourcing, textiles, upholstery and more, and is cultivating a fast-growing following.
Cahill, who grew up splitting time between New York and North Carolina before moving to Europe after college, spoke with GoLocal about deciding with his husband to move to Providence over Boston, and after launching “Preppygangstas” in Cranston, opting to open up shop in Providence.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“I’ve been through a lot of incarnations, like Madonna,” said Cahill. “I’ve worn a suit, but I was also a club kid, where my nicknames were ‘J. Boy’ and ‘Preppy Gangsta’ — which, I thought if I opened a lifestyle company, why not call it that?”
Cahill in a wide-ranging interview discussed his design background and how he curates his atelier and works with clients to decorate their homes.
“I want it to be a lifestyle brand where everyone can be comfortable,” said Cahill. “Yes, it’s preppy, but it also incorporates skate and punk street style. Just because something’s ‘classic,’ it doesn’t have to look traditional — it’s been proven, everyone’s now doing collaborations with street brands.”
“If you don’t like something, it shouldn’t be in your house,” said Cahill of his approach. “That’s how I decorate. It’s your environment, and you should cultivate it.”
“I was born in New York and when I was around 8, moved to North Carolina,” said Cahill. “From there, I spent every summer in New York and school year in North Carolina; I went to college at UNC Wilmington and then came back to New York. I started working for Christopher Radko, the ornament designer.”
Cahill said he then “got away from the creative field,” got into real estate, moved to Texas, where he was offered a job in Europe, where he then lived for 17 years.
“I was in Prague the last 12 years, doing corporate real estate,” said Cahill, before he found himself pulled back into the design world.
“I got tired of corporate life. Around 2010, I started my own boutique behind the National Museum [in Prague],” said Cahill of ‘working on places that needed to be redone — and then redo them.”
He then moved back to the U.S. to work in North Carolina, and with his husband having a corporate job in the northeast, ultimately chose Providence over Boston to live.
“I had a friend recommend Providence. We came on a Friday night, had dinner, saw three houses the next day, and that was it,” said Cahill of dining at the Garden Grill — and then moving to Rhode Island in January 2019.
“Boston just didn’t feel friendly like Providence did,” said Cahill.
Cahill said he was thinking of getting back into the real estate world when the couple moved to Rhode Island, but when the pandemic hit, he again turned to his design expertise.
“I started thinking of my next step, and [Rhode Island] was a smaller market to break out into home decor,” he said. “I was doing staging for [real estate] listings, and realized I should be doing this full time.”
It was then the “Preppygangstas” atelier was born in Cranston, at a warehouse at 1655 Elmwood Avenue.
“It was successful — but grinding work,” said Cahill, who said after a year, he began looking at places in Wayland Square, and ultimately set up shop at 245 Waterman Street in “Bliss Place.”
“Most of my business comes from high-end manufacturers that don’t have the potential to sell on Overstock — they’ll have a few pieces, but not thousands,” said Cahill, of tapping especially his North Carolina home furnishings connections. “And I know people who buy the samples and I’ll resell them.”
Cahill also features a significant lamp collection and hopes to establish himself as the “go-to” destination in the northeast.
“I have a large selection Robert Abbey lamps — they manufacture for designers like Jonathan Adler and Mary McDonald — I carry all of those, [but] the prices on those are 30% to 40% of what you pay retail,” said Cahill. “There’s one I have right now that retails for $478 that I sell for $145. With the lamps, I’m really trying to develop a following.”
“I have deliberate clients,” said Cahill, who said since coming to Providence, his retail business has grown “ten-fold.”
“The new space changes weekly,” said Cahill, who splits time between his commercial space and working with clients on decorating jobs. “It’s open Wednesdays and Thursdays, between 11-7 roughly, and any other day you can book [an appointment] on website.”
“I’m always bringing in new things,” said Cahill, including everything from a Hologram picture of a Care Bear to a “Supreme” volleyball he got a vintage collector shop.
“I just wanted it,” said Cahill, laughing. “I'm always buying things I’m not scared to keep.”