Nancy Epstein

Nancy Epstein

Founder and Chairman of the Board

Nancy Epstein has one goal: to make the world a better place, one tile at a time. Nancy began her career in the luxury stone and tile industry in 1987. After designing custom cabinets for her young son's bedroom, the cabinet maker was so impressed with the results that he asked Nancy to come work for him in his Tenafly, New Jersey showroom. Nancy quickly recognized that the cabinetry showroom could do more business if they would offer more products for the bath and kitchen, such as tile and stone. She took over the business and soon Artistic Tile was born.

By 1993, she had established an import and wholesale distribution company to service her showroom. Today, Artistic Tile has become one of the largest wholesale distributors of luxury tile and stone with nine showrooms nationwide and product distributed through more than 200 luxury tile and stone showrooms across the United States. In 2011 Artistic Tile acquired the esteemed Waterfall Bathroom Furniture line of sustainable bath vanities.

The firm's 110,000 square foot corporate headquarters in Secaucus, New Jersey is comprised of a state-of-the-art production facility, warehouse, training center, customer service center, design studio, and in November 2014 was expanded to include an additional 25,000 square foot slab gallery.

Nancy makes numerous product development trips throughout the world including Tunisia, Mexico, Italy, France, Spain, China, Vietnam, Turkey, India, and Israel. Nancy's designs have been featured in top shelter media outlets and consistently win “Best of” awards.

A graduate of Syracuse University, Nancy and her husband Larry have three sons and nine adored grandchildren. Nancy sits on the board of directors of the JCC on the Palisades and IMPACT-se, an organization whose mission is to expose intolerance in school textbooks in the Middle East while advocating for positive change. She is an active supporter of the Jewish Federation of Miami, Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF), the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the Israel American Council (IAC), the Israel Tennis Centers, the Neve Joseph Community Center in Haifa, Israel, and the Rose Epstein School in Holon, Israel, named for her husband’s grandmother.

Joshua Levinson

Joshua Levinson

CEO

Joshua Levinson, CEO, is a proud ambassador for the brand interfacing with both customers and suppliers globally. He finds great excitement in visiting the quarries of the natural stones that Artistic Tile offers, noting that the quarry is the heart and soul of the industry. “To visit a quarry is to truly know and appreciate the stone that is born there,” declares Josh.

Josh oversees the technical and logistical operations of the company. On a daily basis works to insure the timely, safe and successful installation of Artistic Tile’s beautiful product on job sites worldwide. To achieve this outcome, Josh is in direct communication with both the A&D community and tile & stone installers, working on projects both small and large.

Josh is a frequent presenter to the trade and homeowners as well. Years of practical knowledge gained through job site visits, quarry tours, factory inspections, and educational seminars have made him a sought-after resource.

Josh is currently a member of the Natural Stone Institute’s Board of Directors, and serves on its Technical committee. Josh is also a National Tile Contractor’s Association (NTCA) Technical Committee Member, and a voting member of The Tile Council of North America’s “TCNA Handbook for Ceramic, Glass and Stone Tile Installation” committee. The TCNA Handbook Committee standardizes installation specifications for tile to ensure that installers have access to knowledge, guidelines, and techniques that make our products look and perform as perfectly as our clients deserve.

Josh is a graduate of the University of Colorado and is married with three children. In his spare time, he is an avid skier and sports enthusiast.

Lauren Cherkas

Lauren Cherkas

President and Chief Sales Officer

Lauren Cherkas began working at Artistic Tile, while still in college, in the newly established wholesale division. On her third day of employment, her cousin Nancy Epstein offered Lauren a position for life, based upon how impressed she was that Lauren had already developed and was leading a product training course for the warehouse workers after being there just three days herself.

With a career already in the making, Lauren returned to Pennsylvania State University where her petition to create a personalized major was accepted and she began her focus on Management, Marketing, Art History, and Italian. Her Italian studies lead to a semester abroad in Florence, Italy, where she had the pleasure of interacting with Artistic Tile’s suppliers. She traveled extensively throughout Europe and came to appreciate the design inspirations found in cathedrals, gates, ceiling details, and, of course, flooring.

After graduating from college, Lauren launched her full-time career in tile and stone, but switched her concentration from wholesale to the retail segment of Artistic Tile. She started in sales in the White Plains showroom, moved on to management at the flagship showroom, and became the President of the Retail division in 2005. Lauren directs the nine Artistic Tile retail stores.

Lauren is married with two young children, and also has a really cute puppy who loves to use her tile floors to cool off in summer. She enjoys reading, skiing, travel and participating in races in support of a variety of causes. Lauren served on the Board of Directors of the YJCC of Washington Township from 2012-2014 and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey. She is concurrently involved in several committees and organizations aiming to improve living conditions in the Middle East.

Zachary Epstein

Zachary Epstein

President and Chief Product Officer

The youngest of Nancy Epstein’s three sons, it was only natural that Zachary Epstein would step into the family business. Throughout his life he has traveled with Nancy extensively in Europe and the Middle East visiting quarries and ancient ruins, gaining an appreciation for craftsmanship that created beautiful stone mosaics that have weathered thousands of years. He watched in amazement as Nancy turned her global inspiration into innovative designs, often times reinterpreting antiquated patterns with a contemporary eye, that have set new standards in the luxury tile industry.

Throughout his teen years, Zach worked at Artistic Tile. He spent summers in the warehouse and during the school year worked afternoons in the Paramus showroom. Upon graduating college with a degree in Business Administration, Zach assumed a full-time position at Artistic Tile managing assorted aspects of both the retail and wholesale operations. Zach is now President & Chief Product Officer.

A graduate of the University of Hartford, Zach is married and has a daughter and two sons. He is an enthusiastic home cook and can often be found in the kitchen or behind the grill.

Michael Epstein

Michael Epstein

President and Chief Marketing Officer

Michael is a graduate of New York University and began his career in politics, starting with an internship for a New Jersey Congressman in 2004. By 2007 Michael was Deputy District Director, responsible for managing the Congressman’s district schedule, meetings, events and NJ offices.

In November of 2007 Michael joined Obama for America, and by early 2008 he was traveling across the country to produce events for then-Senator Obama.

Michael worked as an advance consultant to the 2008 campaign, as a media logistics coordinator for the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee, and as an advance associate for the White House from early 2009 until early 2012, when he became a full time Advance Lead. In each role, Michael spent a majority of his time away from home, traveling the world to produce a variety of events for President Obama and Vice President Biden.

Attention to detail, sharp aesthetics, and extremely strict quality standards defined the work Michael performed for the White House, just as they are defining characteristics of Artistic Tile in the luxury tile industry.

In the summer of 2012 Michael met his wife on an advance trip to Florida. Michael and Kiera were married in January of 2014 and the couple moved from Washington, DC in March of that year. Michael started as VP of Marketing in April of 2014. Today, Michael and Kiera are parents to three wonderful children, Abraham, Eve, and Samuel, and live in Tenafly, NJ.

Michael Epstein

Joshua Epstein

President

Joshua Epstein is the eldest son of Founder & Chairman Nancy Epstein. Josh grew up immersed in Artistic Tile, traveling extensively with Nancy as she sourced materials and inspiration, exploring factories and quarries around the world, and joining Nancy as she made calls on dealer showrooms and sales reps across North America. Prior to joining Artistic Tile, Josh was an owner and manager at Jet Line Products, a wholesale distributor of swimming pool supplies and equipment with locations across the United States. At Jet Line, Josh’s areas of responsibility were expansive, and included Operations & Infrastructure, HR, Property Administration & Security, Banking & Accounting, IT, Vendor Relations, Purchasing, and Marketing. During his tenure, Jet Line grew from four to nine locations, and last year was acquired by a multinational public company. Josh graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in Business Administration. When not at Artistic Tile, Josh can be found skiing out west, mountain biking, playing tennis, scuba diving, taking long walks on the beach, or heli-skiing. Josh is married and the proud father of three.