Clodagh

“When I’m running low, I hop on a plane or into a car and change environments. It’s all about being open and emptying your mind’s back door to leave room for new thoughts to come in the front.”

Since leaving high school at seventeen, dropping her last name and setting up her own fashion design company, Irish born Clodagh has been a force in the design world. Her motto “why not” has propelled her through many incarnations, starting with fashion, where she developed her brand into a couture collection that catered to movie stars and presidents, to today where she oversees her architectural and design firm, Clodagh Design.

Originally inspired by the pastoral and vivid Irish countryside (she’s named after a picturesque waterway and was raised in Oscar Wilde’s summer home), Clodagh’s aesthetic was further enhanced by her adventuresome spirit. A global nomad, she has traveled to 90-plus countries. The resulting trademark mix of spirituality, the exotic, and her belief in the unlimited possibility of good design in her work, has garnered Clodagh numerous awards including Interior Design’s Top 100 Interior Designers, Interior Design’s Hall of Fame, and induction into the prestigious Hospitality Design’s Platinum Circle. W Hotels recently named her a Wonder Woman for their program featuring women icons.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Clodagh Design. As the company has evolved from a storefront in the East Village to its current 12,000 square foot studio/showroom in NoHo, Clodagh has remained steadfast in her original mission began at 17: to remain true to herself, and to produce quality, inspirational product that enhances lives. She passionately believes that good design can support wellness and her long-standing work in spas attests to this. Her pioneering use of Feng Shui has enriched her projects with a pronounced grace and flow. She is constantly seeking new modalities to go beyond the physical in her work and has always incorporated sustainable materials and processes in her projects. One of her goals for 2008 is to have an entire studio team LEED certified.

In addition, Clodagh’s product design division recently launched an organic bedding line through Bed Bath & Beyond and will soon be launching a carpet collection with Bentley Prince Street and an indoor/outdoor textile collection with Perennials. Studio projects include the W Ft. Lauderdale Hotel and Residences and the Caledonia, the first luxury residential building on Manhattan’s High Line, with its Equinox gym and Assouline library.

An in-demand inspirational speaker, Clodagh is writing another book, Your Home Your Sanctuary, which will be released by Rizzoli in October. Her book Total Design is now in its third printing. And her foundation, Clodagh Cares, will soon be active with a website.

Why not, indeed?

For more information on Clodagh, please visit www.clodagh.com