Exploring Life & Business with Claire Buchanan Gaughan of Floorish

Today we’d like to introduce you to Claire Buchanan Gaughan

Hi Claire, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Hello, I’m Claire Buchanan-Gaughan, the owner of Floorish, a boutique flooring store. I was born in England, but have lived in the area for the past 39 years. In 2008, the previous owner of Carpets West decided to retire after operating in the Palisades for more than 30 years. He entrusted the business into the safe hands of my father, who had 45 years’ experience in the flooring industry. I was fortunate enough to work alongside him learning the business from the ground up and eventually taking over the helm. I found out quickly that the local residents are very supportive of the village retailers, and during the past 17 years, I have successfully catered for the differing purchasing and installation needs of homeowners, contractors, designers, and property developers.

In those 17 years, the market has moved towards a wider range of products, notably hardwood flooring. We pride ourselves on not only keeping current with, but ahead of, market trends. To reflect the broader range of flooring products and custom drapes we offer our clients, we rebranded the store as Floorish.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Shortly after taking over the business in 2008, the US economy took a major nose dive, the worst economic downturn since World War II. The recession was caused by a number of factors including financial market stress, risky borrowing, and a lack of corporate risk management. There were many months when I wondered if we would stay in business but we got through this rough period.

Fast forward to January 7, 2025 when the Palisades fires destroyed not only my store but most of my clients’ homes. It’s difficult to see the future at this time as it’s subject to so many unknowns. Looking at the Palisades I see what looks like a nuclear wasteland, the odd house standing amongst the ashes, and my customers scattered to the winds.

I operated as a bricks and mortar business with no online presence other than general information on the Floorish website. While the vast majority of customers were local residents or interior designers operating out of the Palisades, some jobs were carried out further afield. I do have a couple of installations waiting to be completed in nearby, unaffected properties and, as of a week ago, calls have been coming in from homeowners whose standing properties were damaged by smoke and are looking for flooring replacements. At this time the news is that even people whose homes are standing will not be allowed back for two years because of ground and water contamination. So, for now (and it may be quite a long ‘now’), no store, no neighborhood, no business, no income.

I can imagine developers moving in, buying up, changing the face of the village. I am a renter who had a wonderful landlord, but he instantly received inquiries from property developers and may choose not to rebuild. At best rebuilding will be a slow process. For the residents it will take a minimum of three years before any significant construction is evident and they start looking at their flooring needs. I have been out looking for alternative locations, not in the Palisades of course but as close as possible to help me maintain the relationship with my customers. Within days of the fire prices of available properties and rentals had risen. Early days but I’m not too optimistic about quickly finding a location.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Our mission is simple: provide the community with the high quality customer service they have enjoyed for the past 40+ years, offer a wide choice of the very best products, provide first-class sales and installation services, and continue to maintain our competitive pricing which caters for all budgets.

Floorish supports the needs of customers by ensuring a wide choice of traditional materials are available while offering an extensive range of new, contemporary products: hardwoods, water resistant vinyls, custom drapery, plus rugs and runners. I source products globally by attending international trade shows, as well as from small local manufacturers when traveling. In this way, Floorish customers keep ahead of international trends. The products I most enjoy seeing installed are the Roger Oats runners and rugs which are made in the UK. I was really proud to learn that we were their number one account on the West Coast.

Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Travel has always been my passion. I love exploring and immersing myself in the places I visit, always making sure I see where the locals live, eat shop and relax together. I can spend hours walking the back streets in search of hidden gems. For the last 3 years I have enjoyed spending the summers touring the UK with my husband and 11 year son Leo. We have a flat in West London so spend at least a week there jumping on and off the tube discovering all the amazing neighborhoods or walking along the Thames, picnicking in parks and playing cricket. I want to make sure Leo has some of the same experiences his dad and I had growing up.

Pricing:

• It is very important to me that I have something for every budget.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.floorish.store
• Instagram: floorish.store