Liberty Road

Written by The Liberty Road Team

This May, we had the chance to listen to interior designer and new author Raili Clasen at our Newport Beach dinner, and she lit up the room. Nada joked that everyone who came was there for Raili, not Liberty Road. If that's the truth, we'll take it, as this woman is impressive (and so creative). After a successful run in surf industry sales, Raili pivoted in her late forties to become an interior designer—a hugely known one, at that. But her career shift was never in her plans. "It's always been a part of me," she told Nada about interior design. "I just didn't know it."

Didn't know it yet, that is. As Raili tells us, it took some deep listening to herself to lean into her creativity, build her design firm, and get to where she is today—which is, at 60, right where she wants to be.

Chatting with Raili Clasen

First and foremost, tell us what you do because you have many creative things going on.

I'm an interior designer with a boutique design studio in Newport Beach. However, we really have most of our jobs outside of Newport Beach. We have a few here [in Los Angeles]. I started this all in my late forties, and my book, Surf Style at Home, which I had been working on for two years, just came out. Someone asked me yesterday about mood boarding and putting stuff out there. I said, 'I think I did that, but I didn't write it down.' I always knew in my heart I wanted to do something creative, own my own business, and eventually write a book—and that was the cherry on top!

Tell us a little about what you did before entering interior design.

The short story is that I was in the surf industry, in sales. I know that sounds so different, but my job today, on top of doing interior design, is selling. I sell ideas. I sell us. Clients work with us for years, so I've got to sell that we're good to work with. We have a very organized and professional team that also lets loose with really good design. So, in the surf industry, I logged onto the creatives at Quicksilver and Paul Frank. Even though I was in the sales department, I kind of hung out with those guys. I was like, I'm going to their party!

When you were in the surf industry, you were there. That was your career. It's not like you were itching to get out.

That was my career. I was all in the surface industry at Raisins, a swimmer company, then Quicksilver for probably nine years, and then I went over to Paul Frank.

So then, how did this whole thing go down? Were you having a glass of wine at your house and saying, 'I got to do something different in my late forties. What happened?

It is a very young industry, and I love that. It's so fun. But I was also like, what else is there? I left that industry, and I started my own hip housewares line with my best friend called Alice Supply Co., which was really the catalyst. And my husband and I bought a house that was completely sliding down the hill. I got someone to help me with the interior design, and she got engaged and moved to England two weeks in. So I'm like, I'm doing it! I got a West Elm catalog and a Restoration Hardware catalog, and I'll figured I’d go to the flea market, and this will all be easy. So, I knew nothing. Zero. And it was the best thing I ever did. And then it got into a couple of magazines.

Wait, I've redone a house, and I know lots of people have redone a house, and they're not in any magazines. How did that happen?

Well, the catalyst with Alice Supply Co. was that it got tons of press. Our little line got into Arc Digest, Elle Décor, and Oprah's Top 10 list. It was very cool. The sales were tough because we couldn't figure out the manufacturing part of it. So all those editors were asking, after we launched, what does your house look like? And I was like, 'You don't want my house, trust me.' But then, after I did the house, I said, 'You guys might want to take a look at this.' So that's how I got that first piece of press.

You had this creative itch that you were exercising in your own house design and in the houseware product design. This was very Raili.

One hundred percent, now that I look back. It's very clear to me that I've always loved interior design. I used to redo my room every freaking six months. It's always been a part of me. I just didn't know it. Then I had the opportunity with this house. Also, home tours are a big high school fundraiser, which my house was on. So I thought, I'm gonna give it a go. I'm gonna put some business cards out and see what happens. And that's really how it started. I got a lot of little jobs, and then they got bigger and bigger.

As you said at dinner, you created these cards and put them out and thought, What the heck? I have nothing to lose. Call me. I'm available. But you talked about having to take some free jobs. How does that feel when you're pushing 50, to be financially going backward?

I did very well in the surf industry. That is a big stress that I tell people about: Having financial security, be it a husband who can support you, or a second job, is a big part because you need to make a living. When you start out in interior design, you do not. It's small potatoes. So I'm a good saver, and my husband was well employed so that part of the stress wasn't at the top of the heap.

When you were in sales, you had guardrails and support around you. That is all very different from being an entrepreneur and having ownership over the whole process. What's been the hardest part of that, and what have you enjoyed?

First of all, my biggest joy was that first [big job]. I got a lot of little jobs, but I got one big job. One person took a big old leap of faith and said, 'You're doing my awesome, brand new house.' And I was like, Are you kidding me? I felt like the biggest fraud. But that was so exciting to me, and after that, I felt I would be an interior designer. That was what I was going to do—and it just went from there. It was all word of mouth back then. My first eight projects were all moms at my kid's school. That is terrifying because you're like one of these ladies; everybody likes to chat. So I was very nervous around that time, but as you grow older, you also have more confidence. And I thought, if it doesn't work out, I'll find something else because I am doing this my way. I wouldn't have said that to myself in my early thirties and forties. I would not have had the confidence to do that. That's why it was a gift doing this later: I knew I was only doing this my way. If people want to hire me, that's awesome. If they don't, then I'll find something else. I'll have a good cry, and then I'll move on.

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Raili Clasen is an interior designer and author. You can learn more at railicadesign. This conversation is part of Nada’s original chat with Raili for “The Liberty Road Podcast.” To listen to it all, click here.