Redefine Design by Koroseal

Meet the Creator: Traci Kloos

Koroseal VP of Design and Development // Interior Fashion Expert

Traci Kloos is a creator at heart, an industry knowledge expert, and a leader of the Koroseal design team. She is our VP of Design and Development, and designs with a passion for interior spaces. Under Traci’s leadership, our teams are encouraged to explore, create, and enjoy the design process each step of the way. As a fashion enthusiast and interior design industry expert, Traci drives innovation and creativity across the Koroseal team.

Traci’s Design Journey

As a child, Traci was immersed in artful thinking and inherited her mother’s creative spirit. While restoring their 1920’s childhood home from top to bottom, Traci’s mother not only set an inspiring creative example, but she also encouraged Traci to explore her creative side through various art projects. The art projects were not only enjoyable for Traci, but also kept her busy while her mom redesigned and renovated every inch of their home. Her mother’s inherent zest for learning, coupled with her independent nature proved to be inspiring. If she didn’t know how to do something, she would take a class or read a book - Traci’s mom wasn’t afraid to tackle any project. In fact, she embodied the concept of determination - beating cancer 3 times before Traci graduated high school. Traci always felt supported. Her mother not only encouraged Traci that she could do anything, but also provided boundless creative energy to inspire her.

Starting as a fashion design major in college, Traci quickly realized that living in New York or Los Angeles was not for her. After she got married, she took a year off of school and the newly married couple moved to California to start their future. It was there that Traci discovered her love of space planning, architecture, and interior design - or, as she likes to call it, interior fashion.

Since then, Traci has explored the interior design industry through her work with various brands and products - from cabinets, to floors, to walls - allowing her to pursue her love for improving living spaces.

Creator Turns Dream Maker

In both her professional and personal life, Traci loves a great interior project.

"My favorite projects center around my family and friends. Helping someone I care about design a new space, or reinvent one that already exists - and watching the joy it brings them when the project is complete - makes me extremely happy."

Traci brings this same passion to her work everyday. As a member of the Koroseal team for the past three years, her role is constantly evolving as we adapt to changes in the market and industry - finding new innovations to best serve our customers.

One of the things Traci enjoys most about her role at Koroseal is receiving sales team feedback. Working collaboratively is one of Traci’s strengths, as she pulls in insights from across the organization to consistently elevate our products.

"I love watching the sales team feedback during our product launch presentations. Seeing the excitement on their faces as they see the new products for the first time makes me so proud of the work we accomplish collectively."

As an avid trend follower, Traci leverages the latest design trends and innovations into her work everyday. She enjoys tracking trends that begin in the fashion world, appearing in clothing and accessories, and watching how they manifest into commercialized interior inspirations. Sometimes trends will transfer over as a direct interpretation, and other times patterns and colors will soften as they transition to the commercial market. Considering these trends, and using them as fuel to spark new creativity is second nature for Traci. Her team often incorporates the latest advancements in the interior industry; from influencing how we visualize our products, to market testing our designs.

As the industry continues to evolve, Traci's perspective of prioritizing constant innovation and improvement helps inspire our design team. By reflecting on previous work with the mindset of “how can we get even better?”, the team is able to drive new dream designs forward. This mindset was instilled upon Traci by one of her mentors earlier on in her career.

Working with color and pattern daily opens up a world of never-ending possibilities! Under Traci’s leadership, our teams collectively explore new product categories, new markets, and new opportunities - helping to cultivate product solutions that enable our customers to achieve the designs of their dreams!

Behind the Design with Traci

We met with Traci to learn more about her design process, approach, and inspiration. See what else she had to say!

What motivates you to continue evolving as a designer, and how do you stay updated on industry trends and best practices?

Traci: A few industry colleagues and I started a Design Share a number of years ago. This is an opportunity for non-competing brands in the commercial interiors space to get together annually and discuss trends, products, segments and the interiors industry as a whole. At the end of each meeting, we pull together products that we are preparing to launch or have recently launched and organize them by color family. It always amazes me how the products from different brands all blend together so harmoniously. I also value the input we get from our sales team members. They are truly our feet on the street and they provide us with up-to-date industry information. This is always immensely helpful. Lastly, going to trade shows and industry events is a good way to stay current.

What’s a hobby or interest that fuels your creativity?

Traci: I put myself through college working as a fitness instructor, personal trainer, and lifeguard. My happy place is the water - any body of water will do, lake, pool, and especially the ocean. Time near the water always re-energizes me. I still have my red lifeguard whistle and I take it with me during every beach vacation just to drive my kids nuts. My husband and I have 2 kids (Emerson and Evalynn) and 2 cats (Lula and Leo).

Describe something you enjoy about your day-to-day work?

Traci: On most days, I live vicariously through my team. My team is of course extremely creative. We have weekly updates where we review our development queue. I love how open the team is to share their work. The collaboration takes the design work to another level. My team is AMAZING! I have had the opportunity to dive into two of my favorite areas of design, through some of our most recent projects. The new Las Vegas showroom and the renovation of the New York showroom have allowed me to get back into space planning and material selection, which has been a lot of fun!

Feeling Inspired? Check out what Traci and her team have been up to! Explore Koroseal's latest manufactured wallcovering designs.