Joni Vanderslice is the president of the J. Banks Design Group and when we have news of new product launches, philanthropic efforts or design products she has realized, we file the posts under this tag.

Joni Vanderslice

One look at the posts filed under this tag and it’s clear that Joni Vanderslice has a dynamic presence in the design industry. She has launched an array of new products with a list of lauded manufacturers during the past several years that include EJ Victor, Stanford Furniture, New Ravenna, Paragon Art and Kravet. She has participated on panels and held educational seminars at the Atlanta Decorative Arts Center (ADAC); and spoke at What’s New What’s Next at 200 Lex in New York City.

Joni won the 2018 Impact Innovator award at the NEXT Conference in Austin, Texas, for J. Banks’ efforts to improve the lives of orphans in Tanzania, Africa, through the Valentine Project. In 2015, she and her husband opened an orphanage in Tanzania called the Valentine Children’s Home that serves dozens of children, many of who have lost both parents.

“I would say I’ve gotten more out of it than we’ve given,” she said about receiving the 2018 Impact Innovator Award. “You gain so much from these experiences. It’s very much an integral part of our business, giving back. That’s been part of our mission statement from the beginning, but this is taking it to a different level.”

Joni started her South-Carolina-based interior design firm over 30 years ago, which has grown to employ 50 associates, and includes a retail business on Hilton Head Island and numerous licensing lines.