Naples designer creates wallpaper seen worldwide

Jaima Emmert vividly remembers her first time in a wallpaper mill. She was a college student at the time, interested in design. The Canadian mill was humming as the large machines produced the sheets, and the walls were full of colorful design samples. “I remember walking in; it was inspiring. I completely fell in love with it,” she says.

Now a Naples resident, Emmert runs Jaima & Co. and Daisy Bennett Designs, creating stylish and vibrant wallpaper seen around the world. It’s a culmination of a career that started right in that wallpaper mill in Toronto.

After graduating from University of Guelph in Ontario, she got her first job at Sunworthy Wallcoverings, eventually creating some of the company’s top designs, then moved to Chicago to serve as the design director for SA Maxwell Co. She eventually ventured out on her own, starting her own brand in 2003 and gaining renown for her mural-like creations. Emmert and her husband moved to Naples in 2009. Her in-laws had a condo in the area, and after spending most of her life in cold weather, she decided to make a change. “We love to ski, but we didn’t want to live in the snow anymore,” she says with a laugh.

Her office is decorated with wallpaper samples and mood boards, drawing inspiration from art, film, fashion and nature. In Florida, she’s become inspired by the native flora, orchids and palm trees that stretch across her designs. She frequently collaborates with interior designers to create more specific patterns for custom jobs in homes. Her favorite part of the job is when it’s all up, and the client can walk into a furnished room framed by a unique wall covering. “They’re happy, I’m happy, because I know we’re making happy homes,” she says.