VastuNY

Originally from New York City, Jason Claire graduated from Duke University with a double major in Design and Art History. After spending seven years in healthcare consulting, he received his MBA from Georgetown University where he focused on entrepreneurship. Soon after he realized that he wanted to start his own business focusing on a lifelong passion for design. In 2002, he joined forces with business partner Eric Kole to form Vastu. Vastu is the culmination of Jason's interests in art, design, architecture, and business.

Jason has designed the interiors for numerous clients in Washington, DC and its suburbs including modern reinterpretations of turn-of-the-Century Victorians, open floor plan lofts, and large suburban homes. His style is comfortable, modern. Jason is a firm believer that furniture should be more than just clean-lined and good looking, it should also be comfortable and practical. He leans toward warm, monochromatic palettes with pops of color in original art and accessories.

Eric Kole studied Economics and Consumer Design at Cornell University, specifically how our designed surroundings affect our behaviors and relationships. He then completely ignored his education and spent what seemed like a lifetime working his way up the corporate ladder of software sales. Unable to satisfy his creative needs in either a cubicle or a corner office, he started Vastu with the goal of bringing to Washington a warm, comfortable modern design aesthetic and a lot of great furniture, art and accessories previously unavailable in the area.

Eric never wants to go back to corporate life and does his best to keep Vastu a fun and exciting place to shop, work and design. He strives to create great spaces by considering form, function, spatial relationships and client's personalities. His work has been featured in Home & Design, Travel & Leisure, The New York Times, The Washington Post, DC Modern Luxury and many others. He has also appeared as a guest designer on Trading Spaces, Curb Appeal and Garage Takeover.

Sarita knew her passion was interior design from a very young age, but she considered it a dream job -  not a potential career.  Sarita’s professional career began at a government contracting company.  It was the monotony of this job, and desire to express her creativity, that moved Sarita to try and make her dream job a reality.  She enrolled in an interior design program and landed a position as the Design Assistant at a remodeling firm.  After experiencing both the structural and furnishings side of interior design, Sarita knew that her passion was in furnishings and decorating.

Sarita began searching for a new opportunity that would allow her to focus on furnishings and decoration while still pursuing her education in Interior Design.  That search led her to Vastu, where she was taken under the wings of owners/designers, Eric Kole & Jason Claire.  Today, Sarita is a successful interior designer and has designed numerous spaces for clients in the greater Washington, DC metropolitan area.