Meet Claire Alba | Designer & Creator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Claire Alba and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Claire, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I have always created things that I wanted for myself and then offered it to other people. This began when I was in college and hand-painted glassware, that I sold at a gourmet food shop. I then made a feature-length video documentary on the history of salsa music (I was obsessed, dancing all the time and working in video production). And many years later, admiring a necklace that a friend of mine was wearing, I decided to begin making ceramic jewelry (which I still do) and expanded naturally to my housewares products. The Layer, which I’ll expand on – was also something I wanted for myself. It’s a simple and ancient model – necessity (or desire) is the mother of invention.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My artwork is sometimes actually art – and sometimes it’s bringing an idea to life. I have been making ceramic jewelry for many years and that led me to creating The Olive Boat and The Cherry Bowl. These are porcelain serving dishes that have a compartment to hide the unsightly pits. That brand is corico. Another brand I began is called The Layer. Now, The Layer is an intimacy blanket. I made this because I wanted it for myself. It’s an extraordinarily absorbent and waterproof blanket that protects against all sexy messes. You know the ones 😉 I’ll leave it at that. Most recently, I created an event space here in Denver, called the paperden, which features a unique paper art installation made from the pages of old books. I had been wanting to make this for many years and I’ve done it! It is absolutely lovely and available for all sorts of events. I also hold some of my own events there – one in particular is called Bread & Banter. This is a gathering of strangers over good food. A place to meet people you otherwise may not – totally organically – no algorithm to match you with anyone, no ice breaker games. Just a particularly lovely way to meet other people.

So you see – it’s not just one thing. Artistic expression is certainly part of it – clever product design is tucked in there, and just meeting people, connecting people together is greatly appealing to me. The world of creating things can be really isolating. My focus is turning much more towards experiences. In fact, I’d like to have a video podcast – in the paperden, in which I conduct quick interviews with all sorts of people around Denver. I’ll call it “Pages”. Stay tuned 🙂

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Well, one of the things I love most about Denver is how the mountains accompany me no matter what I’m doing – they’re at Target! I can’t get over that. I love it. Touring around the city – I particularly enjoy walking around the parks. Confluence and Washington are my favorites. City Market is always a fun draw – outdoor markets and perusing around to see the murals. RiNo and The Highlands are nice for strolling, as is “my” section of Broadway between 1st and Alameda. The food here in Denver is terrific – I love One Fold for breakfast. The Duck Congee is phenomenal. And I have to admit I will go for a taco just about any time. El Taco de Mexico is a staple spot for me – and La Diabla is my pick for a sit-down taco or pozole meal. Their cocktails are fabulous too. Potager is my go-to for French food and comfortable ambiance. There are so many wonderful restaurants in Denver. Sightseeing from one meal to another is a perfect way to enjoy this city 🙂

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I think if anyone deserves a shout-out in my story, it would be my mom. She had always been so encouraging and enthusiastic with all of my ideas. Actually, she was the one who suggested I make my own jewelry beads out of clay. I wholeheartedly dismissed the idea initially because ceramics is somewhat complicated (certainly more so than buying beads at a store) – but I quickly found myself shopping for my own kiln! My mom really instilled the, “go make it” notion in my head and was my biggest fan. You can always find an accountant – but someone who sincerely believes in you, throughout the ups and downs of any process – that is uniquely valuable.

Website: corico.com, getthelayer.com

Instagram: @coricodotcom @getthelayer @paperden.ver @breadandbanter