Today we’d like to introduce you to Raili Clasen.
Raili, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
After 15 plus years in the Surf Industry pioneering sales for brands such as Roxy (Quiksilver) and Paul Frank, I co-founded a hip housewares company called Alice Supply Co. We sold the company after four years, and my husband and I purchased a very worn down California ranch house. I hired a designer because I had no idea how to fix up a house, and my designer moved away several weeks in after she became engaged.
I couldn’t find anyone with a similar aesthetic at the time, so I dove in blindfolded. Once the house was done, our press contacts from our Alice Supply Co. days asked if they could feature the house in the magazines. The house was also featured in our local Home Tour that gives tours to OC homes to benefit the schools. I loved the process so much, I decided to buy only 50 business cards (there are 1700 tickets sold to the home tour) and put them out in case anyone wanted to hire me.
The rest is history. I started super small.. a kids bathroom here, a guest room refresh there, and soon was getting hired for full-service new builds. A whole new chapter was born, and now we have a company of 5 awesome creatives and have designed some pretty cool spaces including residential homes, Hollywood film studio corporate offices, and my favorite, the Kelly Slater Surf Ranch. We are also in the initial phase of our first hotel project!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Since I had zero knowledge and no real idea of what interior designers were responsible for, I made many mistakes initially. I knew I loved the creative process but had to learn quickly how to read plans, make detailed decisions, and learn about scale. I’ve ordered tubs that didn’t fit, lights that were not suitable for the space and furniture that was completely the wrong scale. With each of those mistakes that I had to eat financially, I knew those would never happen again. I called all those mistakes my master’s degree.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
We are known for a true California vibe, and most of our clients are youthful, active and not afraid to take chances. We get many out of state clients that were originally from California, who want their home in another state to feel like California. I always love to recreate the common spaces in a home to have a little bit of fun and do something unexpected.
What were you like growing up?
Well, for starters, I was tall… I feel like I was 6′ tall by 5th grade. This was a bummer only because coaches figured I was athletic and always asked me to try out for sports teams, WHICH I DID. I never made a team but was so crazy social they would make me team manager for everything…
I was not creative until I worked in my first marketing position for Raisins swimwear. The people I started hanging out with were so stylish and creative, I think it just rubbed off on me.
After that job, I definitely started being a part of design discussions even though I was always in the sales department.
I have always had zero fear for trying new things, and that has served me well in my career.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2728 East Coast Hwy #C
Aorona Del Mar, CA 92625 - Website: www.railiCAdesign.com
- Phone: 949-922-9684
- Email: [email protected]
Image Credit:
Chad Mellon and David Tsay and Lisa Romerain
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