Founder and lead designer, Claire Howard, was raised in New England, with time spent living in Rome, Paris, Copenhagen and New York, before landing along the central coast of California. She brings a worldly sensitivity to her design practice. “I grew up with a Hungarian mother who was a gypsy at heart and a business woman in the home - one of the most creative people I know. Beyond my mother, I come from a long line of designers, from leaders of the Bauhaus movement to American oil painters. I was lucky enough to grow up surrounded by great art and design in my home and in my blood.”

Claire received a degree in Fine Art from the College of Creative Studies, UC Santa Barbara, before pursuing a masters in Interior Architecture from Pratt Institute with a focus on furniture design. Claire worked for multiple award winning firms including Champalimaud, Anacapa Architecture, and Corinne Mathern Studio, before opening Studio Darla in June 2024, named after her beloved late Pitbull, Darla.