Meet Jill Kloster of WREN Home Styling in Tarzana – West Valley

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jill Kloster.

Jill, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was 26 and set off in a 1989 mazda hatchback stuffed to the gills with the things that mattered, including a soapstone sculpture that my father had made when I was small. . I left my home in toronto and headed for the west coast without much of a plan (anyone who knows me will not find this a shock) . I landed a bartending job at the historic formosa cafe and as you do when you find yourself in lala land, I eventually fell into the entertainment industry.

I’d meant to have an adventure and explore the world and this was that kind of opportunity, so I took it. I became a freelance makeup artist, booking jobs on various films and commercials. I also worked on the tv show “the batchelor”. I loved it and it was a good fit until I started a family. When my kids, ethan and eiley, started school I began to think about what I really wanted to do. I’d renovated several houses as my family were troubadours for a time, moving around a bit and friends who had seen the work I did in my home, started asking me to help design their spaces.

Helping people bring to life their vision that provided them with comfort, inspiration, and real function was what I loved — telling their stories through design. I love those moments when I’m able to find what matters to people and create a living space around that. A way to find their soapstone sculpture, something they regard with sentiment and build a design around those. This to me, is an important part of design.

I was fortunate enough get a job as an assistant to a designer in beverly hills. Her brilliance, her vision and the way she was able to manifest it in design — that was everything I wanted. I learned so much from her and value the time I spent working with her and I regard this period as a transformative time in my professional career. I took what I learned from her and began to use those skills the way she did — to manifest spaces that people love. That moment, when a client sees that manifestation, with what matters to them nestled in the middle of it, that’s the moment I work for.

I started slowly, and intentionally. Starting a business is no small thing.
My friend Stacey, had asked to me help her get her house ready for market, where I met her realtor Stephanie Payab (Berkshire Hathaway – California Properties). Stephanie loved how I transformed Stacey’s home, and began referring me to clients she sold homes to who needed a designer.

I slowly began getting bigger projects — larger homes. There were moments, I think like most people have when they’re starting something new, when I felt like an imposter. Yes, I had an eye for design and had been able to create spaces that people loved and felt at home in, but was I really a designer?

Turns out? I was. With mentors and friends and some of the tenacity that got me across the country without a plan. Today I spend my days creating homes for people that begin with what matters to them — the things that they’d pack in their hatchbacks, and that? Feels like a real privilege.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Of course, there have been challenges. Or frankly, problems. Issues that felt insurmountable. I have a family, and like anyone balancing building a business and taking care of a family, I struggled to find balance. At times, I worried that I was taking on too much, but I also knew this work felt important to me. I was anxious to show my daughter, and my son for that matter, that there are adventures in the world worth going on, risks worth taking and long hours’ worth working to build something you believe in. So those things that have felt insurmountable, I’ve found mostly they’re not. You take things one thing at a time, get yourself organized, create a vision in your head, and then you just go to work.

I feel fortunate to be in a position where I am not the sole breadwinner in my family. So while there have certainly been challenges, I recognize that because I’m in this position it may have been easier for me to take those chances, to take the leap of faith that starting your own business requires, than it is for many people. Women especially. However, it is possible and I hope I can help cultivate young designers and mentor them in some of the ways I was.

WREN Home Styling – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I love helping people begin a new chapter. When clients come to me for design work, they’re so often on a new adventure or starting over in some way. I absolutely enjoy being on that journey with them, helping them design a new comforting space to seamlessly transition them into what’s next. Whether that’s a single mom starting over defining her own space for the first time, or an established family moving to a new home in a new neighborhood, I love being along for those first moments and helping them spotlight what matters most to them. I believe what sets me apart from other designers is the importance I place on establishing a real connection with my clients. Not just on a business level, but also on a personal level. I was told early in my career that becoming friends with clients is not a good idea, but sometimes its just not something you can control. Rebecca, my longest client, would concur.

The challenge with design isn’t to create a perfect space you, as a designer envision, but instead the challenge is in discovering and interpreting and bringing to life my clients’ visions. That’s the trick. To connect with people in such a way that your own creativity can serve their purposes and manifest their visions.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success for me is being able to earn a living and provide for my family doing something that invigorates, focuses and challenges me. I want to spend my time exploring what I can create – what I can make for people. Success is waking up in the morning, and feeling excited to get to work.

I know I’ve succeeded when a family sends me photos, long after the job is done, when the house isn’t staged for photos and life is overflowing from a room I’ve designed. Seeing children sprawled out on couches reading books, artists creating in studios I’ve envisioned and created, and friends perched on barstools I chose with a mess of food and drink spread out on an island that I custom designed with exactly this moment in mind. That’s when I know I’ve done what I set out to do. This is what drives my passion for my art.

Contact Info:

• Address: 18861 Ringling St.
  Tarzana, CA 91356
• Phone: 213-705-0272
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @wrenhomestyling

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