Ed Marin, the longtime creative force behind Soicher Marin and a fixture of the home furnishings industry for more than four decades, passed away peacefully on the morning of September 5, 2026, following an extraordinary nearly four-year battle with cancer. He was 68.

To those who knew him through the home furnishings and design world, Ed was far more than a businessman. He was a tastemaker in the truest sense of the word—a man with an extraordinary eye for art, design and fashion, an instinct for what was coming next, and the confidence to trust that instinct.

When a magazine editor once asked him about the trends he was seeing, Ed jokingly replied, “I don’t follow trends. I tell people what to buy.” It was funny, audacious and, to those who knew him, quintessentially Ed. He got away with a cheeky comment like that because he earned the trust of his customers. People wanted what he had to sell.

Ed joined his family's business in 1980, beginning a career that would span more than 45 years. He worked throughout the company before succeeding his father as CEO in 1995, becoming the second generation of the Marin family to lead the business founded in 1959.

Under Ed's leadership, Soicher Marin evolved into one of the home furnishings industry's most distinctive sources for art. He possessed an almost uncanny ability to find beauty where others might overlook it—to discover artists, recognize forgotten imagery, build licensing relationships and bring art to the marketplace that others simply could not have imagined.

He was intensely creative, endlessly curious and possessed of exquisite taste. Art, fashion, music, food and travel were not separate interests for Ed; they were all part of the same creative life.

From his customers’ perspective, Ed's presence was most deeply felt at High Point Market.

Beginning in 1980, Ed attended Market twice a year, every year. Until his cancer diagnosis in October of 2022, he missed only two: one for the birth of his second son, Alex, in April of 1989, and another when the April 2020 Market was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Market was not merely a place where Ed conducted business. It was part of the rhythm of his life.

For more than four decades, he was a familiar face in High Point—a friend to customers, artists, licensees and colleagues throughout the industry. He loved the people who made up the industry, and he treasured the relationships built over decades of showing up, season after season.

His greatest business achievement, however, may have been less about what he built than what he ensured would endure.

Ed guided Soicher Marin through multiple recessions, the aftermath of September 11^th, the 2008 financial crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic and the countless challenges that accompany more than four decades in a family business. He knew that longevity required resilience—the ability to weather storms, adapt and continue moving forward.

In the latter chapter of his career, teaching that resilience became his most important work.

Alex joined the family business in 2010, followed by Nick in 2018. As his sons grew into their roles within the company, Ed increasingly devoted himself to preparing the third generation of the Marin family to one day lead it. Alex was named President in 2021 and assumed responsibility for the company’s day-to-day leadership, with Ed remaining a trusted advisor and creative force. In 2025, Alex and Nick took ownership of Soicher Marin, with Nick serving as Vice President and Alex now serving as President and CEO.

For Ed, seeing his sons take ownership of the company his father had founded was among the proudest moments of his life. It was the culmination of a succession plan that he had spent years deliberately preparing for and an expression of the confidence he had in his sons and in the future of Soicher Marin.

As he would tell his sons near the end of his life, “I have completed the work that the company needs of me. You guys may not like it, but you are ready to do this without me.”

Ed approached his illness with the same resilience with which he approached his life.

Diagnosed with Stage IV metastatic lung cancer in October 2022 and initially given approximately three months to live, Ed instead lived for nearly four more years. Through what his family describes as the grace of God and the miracles of modern medicine, those years became an unexpected gift—more time with his wife, his sons and their wives, his grandchildren, his friends and the company he loved.

Ed was a man of deep and abiding faith. He was also a Renaissance man: charming, funny, generous and intensely creative, with an unmistakable sense of style and an enduring curiosity about the world around him.

Outside the gallery, he loved art, music, travel, food and fine wine. Paris held a particularly special place in his heart. He was an avid guitar player and someone for whom creativity extended far beyond his professional life.

But above everything else was his family.

Ed was a devoted husband, father and grandfather. He is survived by his wife, Barbara; his three sons, Madisson, Alex and Nick; and eight grandchildren. Among his greatest joys was simply having everyone together around a table. With spouses and grandchildren, a full family meal could mean 16 people gathered in one place—and there were few things that made him happier.

In accordance with Jewish tradition, Ed was laid to rest within 48 hours of his passing in Sarasota, Florida, surrounded by close friends and family.

For the home furnishings industry, his passing marks the loss of one of its great characters—a man who spent more than 45 years bringing his taste, imagination, humor and unmistakable point of view to an industry he genuinely loved.

For his family, his legacy is more intimate: a husband, father and grandfather who taught them to love deeply, to remain faithful, to recognize beauty, to trust their instincts and, when the storms inevitably arrive, how to weather them.

And for Soicher Marin, the work continues.

Just as Ed once succeeded his own father, the company now passes fully into the hands of the third generation he spent so many years preparing to lead it.

Ed left this earth knowing that company was in good hands, and he was certain of its future success.

Memorial contributions in Ed Marin's honor may be made to Tidewell Hospice or Chabad of St. Petersburg.

For friends and colleagues from the home furnishings community who knew Ed and would like to honor his memory, the Marin family will host an intimate gathering in his honor at the upcoming High Point Market on Saturday, October 17 at 3pm in the Soicher Marin Showroom.

Please RSVP to marketing@smflorida.com