Deborah Osburn, founder and creative force behind clé, is a pioneering figure in the tile industry with more than 35 years of experience shaping how designers source and use artisan materials. As the voice behind the widely followed Tile Envy blog, Deborah has built a reputation for demystifying tile through education, storytelling, and a deep respect for craft. Under her leadership, clé has evolved from a curated online showroom into a design-driven studio that develops and manufactures its own collections, while also supporting architects and designers through every stage of the process, from sampling to installation. She continues to push innovation forward with initiatives like OUTERclé and ColourLab, expanding tile into high-performance and fully customizable applications. Across all of her work, Deborah remains committed to honoring traditional techniques while advancing modern design, redefining how the industry experiences tile. Learn more about Deborah and how she tells a story through clé in today’s Maker Monday.
A soft, shibori-inspired gradient rises through each tile, creating a layered, tide-like effect that feels both earthy and quietly atmospheric.
Andrew Joseph: How do you stay creative and inspired?
Deborah Osburn: I think all creatives find it impossible not to be creative. It’s our way of navigating the world and how we feel about what is happening around us. Inspiration can come from within or be triggered by something externally, and for me, it’s other creatives or creations or nature. It always comes back to some internal flame that is always burning and connecting our consciousness to our unconsciousness and vice versa.
AJ: Can you describe your design philosophy in three words?
DO: Not really! But if I really had to, it would be this: constant discovery and exploration.
A mix of heraldic icons and timeworn terracotta grounds gives each tile a storied, old-world character, like fragments of a historic courtyard brought into a modern setting.
AJ: What is your favorite aspect of your job?
DO: That I get to follow my passion — every. single. day. I never take it for granted; it is a privilege, and I have to pinch myself constantly.
AJ: What is your favorite place to find inspiration?
DO: Anywhere! I know that sounds cliché, but for me it rings true. That said, if I had to pick a favorite, it would probably be cinema — particularly, colored cinema — because it’s all there: visuals, sound, words, music, color, scale, shadows and light. It’s like a sensory buffet; find what you love, take everything you can and run with it.
Hand-blown and flattened into luminous rondels, these glass discs layer rich, 70s-inspired tones into a composition that feels equal parts sculptural, industrial, and quietly glamorous.
AJ: What is your favorite design era and why?
DO: There is a profound depth of feeling that comes to me when I am looking at primitive and prehistoric art (ex. pre-Columbian). I think it’s because it really predates words and is its own language that is both simple and yet otherworldly. Communicating and conversing without words — just with an image — is what all creatives have aspired to do throughout time.
AJ: What is your favorite design-related quote?
DO: I might take a little liberty here since my favorite is not exactly a design quote, but when I am helping people find their own design style, I often think of the Oscar Wilde quote, “Be yourself because everyone else is taken”. It really speaks to me because there are so many limited, stuffy, and arrogant design “rules”, but I wholly believe that when designing your own space, YOU are the only one that can make that space your own. And to me, that’s the only rule.
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