#AllCoopedUp with Founder of Clé Tile, Deborah Osburn
Clé Tile is one stop online shopping for the chicest tile around. Anytime a client or friend asks where to go for a quick tile refresh, I enthusiastically say CLE! And the design junkie in me gets pretty excited when I get a house to sell that has any of their tile inside. I’m still swooning over our Mansfield listing, pictured below. The founder and CEO, Deborah Osburn began a tile blog (Tile Envy) in 2009, which quickly garnered a following and inspired the launch of Clé Tile in 2012. Clé Tile champions tile as art as opposed to the functional backdrop we’ve known it to be. They source throughout the world for unique, artisan styles that will stand the test of time. At the forefront, Deborah Osburn runs the show like a well-oiled machine, despite the ever-changing obstacles that 2020 continues to throw our way. -Jenna
What’s your profession, and what does your day-to-day work experience look like now?
I am the founder and CEO of Clé Tile. Pre-pandemic life was always a blur, running from meeting to meetings and checking in with people - it was quite physical in retrospect. Now everything is a scheduled online meeting. I sit down with my tea at 7am and I barely move for 12 hours as meetings roll into each other and I try and catch up on emails and slacks in between. At the end of the day, I can barely see. I thought it would be easier, but I’ve never been so exhausted.
Are there objects or spaces in your house that you are newly appreciating? Or are there objects and spaces you have come to loathe?
I bought a fixer-upper in Sausalito which was just about to get renovated when the pandemic struck. Ironically I find myself in tile purgatory as I sit in limbo in a space that I have been designing for so long. My only solace is the magical San Francisco view that I NEVER take for granted and now get to appreciate all day long.
Describe your at-home quarantine uniform.
I hate to say it but it’s athletic wear. I have always derived so much inspiration from fashion- and lived for fashion news but now I'm barely looking at it. It makes me wonder how relevant is fashion if we aren't leaving our homes?
Who are you quarantining with? Do you feel the need to “get away”? How do you make it happen?
Before quarantine, my college sons and their girlfriends (plus pets) would have weekend getaways at our home but when COVID struck our home became their off-campus sanctuary. Think lots of laundry and five dogs. I am sure we all wanted to escape from time to time but it has been heartwarming to be together through this incredibly scary time in the world.
What’s the last thing you purchased online? Regret or obsessed? Describe your biggest quarantine indulgence.
Pre-quarantine I bought a pair of heels that have not seen the light of day in months! The only thing I have splurged on is a Birkenstock/designer collaboration, just further proof how fashion is moving into mostly essentials.
Tell us the best shows, podcasts, or books you’re loving right now.
Like many, I was mesmerized by the TV version of Normal People, so much so that I had to watch it twice. I also just finished André Leon Talley's autobiography, The Chiffon Trenches, which portrayed André's real life experiences in painful parallel to current events. It’s a brave and heartbreaking history that anyone interested in fashion should read.
Do you have any new quarantine activities or rituals? What are you doing for exercise?
I have become incredibly fit because my dog needs walks all day long. It’s the one thing that gets me out of my chair during the day, but she knows it has to be fast - and rigorous.
What is your favorite quarantine snack? What restaurants are you ordering takeout from?
Honestly I have been hesitant to order from restaurants unless I know the place well and there are only a few of those. And less of a snack, but I have been eating lots of zucchini noodles with my arrabbiata sauce. I have oddly much less of a desire for food or that kind of indulgence since this started, which is surprising to me.
What is the one item you’re glad you stocked up on? What do you wish you’d stocked up on?
There really is not anything. I’ve become much less obsessed with needing or wanting things in this lockdown. Surprisingly, but pleasantly.
What is your creative outlet and how are you making space for it?
Beyond my everyday creative work of designing tiles and overseeing marketing efforts, I approach all my work as a creative process. Whether it be resolving issues with customs or dealing with product stock- it’s always about finding the most creative solutions. Case in point: we are building a new warehouse space, and it’s proving super inspiring and creative for me to design the bathrooms so that they are also convenient for the truck drivers.
What’s been the biggest challenge for you throughout this?
I am still doing everything possible to keep our company afloat in the best fashion for the greater whole and realizing that I must stay aware that the world is having an enormous call to action and that we must see this through to a new world order. Anything less than that will be an utter loss of this moment in time.
When this is over I cannot wait to ___________.
Watch the world bloom into a better place.
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